UW-Oshkosh women's basketball head coach Brad Fischer secured his 200th career victory as the Titans knocked down a season best 13 3-pointers en route to a 71-40 win over St. Norbert College during the final game of the UW-Oshkosh Classic on Saturday (Nov. 20) in Kolf Sports Center.
UW-Oshkosh (6-1), ranked 17th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, jumped out to leads of 27-9 after one quarter and 48-17 at intermission before both teams put up 23 points in the second half. The Titans, who extended their winning streak to four games, went 13 of 22 from 3-point range for their most made 3-pointers since going 13 of 29 from beyond the arc at Loras College (Iowa) on Nov. 16, 2019.
The Titans erased their only deficit when Leah Porath's layup knotted the score at 2 with 9:35 left in the opening period. Another Porath layup less than a minute later provided UW-Oshkosh the lead for good at 4-2 at the 8:49 mark. The Titans went on to outscore St. Norbert College, 17-5, over the final seven minutes of the first quarter and shoot 5-for-8 from 3-point range during a second period in which the Green Knights attempted just four field goals.
Fischer improved his career record to 200-50 in his 10th season at the helm of the Titans. Fischer is the third UW-Oshkosh women's basketball coach to reach 200 wins, joining Carol Anhalt (288-127 record from 1972-89) and Pam Ruder (203-46 from 2007-2005), and the 11th in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference history.
Porath, a 2021 D3hoops.com First Team All-American, led all players with 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting from the floor to go along with four assists in 21 minutes played. Porath, the two-time reigning WIAC Player of the Year, has now scored in double figures during 49 of UW-Oshkosh's last 52 games.
Kayce Vaile added a career high 14 points for the Titans, shooting 5-for-7 from the field, including 2-for-2 from beyond the 3-point arc.
UW-Oshkosh featured 11 scorers as Kennedy Osterman had a season best 12, Julia Silloway nine and Jenna Jorgensen eight. Abby Kaiser contributed five rebounds and a career best five assists for the Titans, who also received five boards from Jorgensen.
The Titans finished contest shooting 49% (24-49) from the field, 59.1% from 3-point range and 66.7% (10-15) at the free throw line. UW-Oshkosh owned advantages of 31-21 in rebounds, 18-9 in assists, 11-15 in turnovers and 9-4 in steals.
St. Norbert College (2-3) went 17 of 44 (.386) from the floor, 3-for-13 (.231) from beyond the 3-point arc and 3-for-8 (.375) at the foul line while holding a 3-2 edge in blocks.
Mary Cravillion paced the Green Knights with nine points. St. Norbert College's Kaycee Gierczak chipped in eight points, one blocks and a steal.
Titan Nikki Arneson, who scored a season best 29 points during a 72-42 victory over Alma College (Mich.) on Friday (Nov. 19) and tallied another two points Saturday, was named the Most Valuable Player of the two-day UW-Oshkosh Classic. Arneson was joined on the All-Tournament Team by Porath and Kaiser from UW-Oshkosh, Gierczak and Jessica Boerner from St. Norbert College, and Kendall Griffioen from Alma College.
UW-Oshkosh, which owned a double figure advantage for the final 36:15 of the game, led by as many as 33 points on two occasions Saturday, building a 55-21 advantage following a Silloway 3-pointer with 6:35 remaining in the third quarter and a 63-30 cushion after a Vaile 3-pointer at the 9:09 mark of the fourth period.
The Titans begin WIAC play at UW-Eau Claire on Dec. 1.