Danielle Frank blocked eight shots and pulled down a tournament-record 19 rebounds in UW-La Crosse's 67-59 victory over UW-Oshkosh during the first round of the WIAC Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday (Feb. 23) in La Crosse.

The Eagles (20-6) advance to play at UW-Whitewater on Friday (Feb. 25) in a semifinal contest.

Frank topped all players with 19 points to lead UW-La Crosse past the Titans (12-14) for the third time this year. Dana Churchill added 16 points, nine boards and four assists in the win.

Each team connected from downtown during the opening minutes before a Shelby Churchill (Sr. • Sheboygan) lay-in equaled the score at 5. The Titans then rallied with an 11-1 scoring run that spanned less than three minutes. Michelle Boeder (Sr. • Oshkosh) punctuated the rally, nailing a three-pointer to gain a 16-11 cushion with 10:49 on the clock.

The two squads were separated by no more than three points for the next six minutes. Converting five straight free throws, the Eagles began to pull away. Their advantage stretched to 31-22 when Churchill scored inside with 2:17 remaining.

Megan Wenig (So. • Oshkosh) tallied two late buckets, including a coast-to-coast lay-up at the buzzer, to pull the Titans within 35-26 at halftime. After the break, she buried a three-pointer, and Katie Kitzke (So. • South Milwaukee) followed with one of her own to make it 43-36 at the 13:57 mark.

The Eagles' shooting heated up midway through the half, as Kassie Robinson swished consecutive jumpers. The margin eventually reached 12 points (54-42) with 9:38 to play when Lindsey Litrenta dialed up a long-distance field goal.

UW-Oshkosh used a trio of Churchill buckets to get as close as six (58-52), but UW-La Crosse sank 11 foul shots in the final eight minutes. Churchill ended the game 10-of-11 as the Eagles combined to hit 80 percent at the charity stripe (24-30).

Wenig paced the Titans with her 14 points and four rebounds, while Laura Ebbens (Sr. • Appleton) totaled 12 points and six assists in her final collegiate contest. UW-Oshkosh used 11 points from Kitzke as it posted team marks of 39 percent from the field, 42 percent from downtown (5-12) and 67 percent on free throws (6-9).

UW-La Crosse's triumph was the 11th by the three-seed over the six-seed in the past 12 WIAC Tournament openers. The Eagles captured the rebounding category, 43-33, in addition to making 37 percent of their shots and 31 percent of their three-pointers (5-16).