The UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team extended its undefeated streak to seven games after traveling to Michigan and defeating Finlandia University by a score of 93-46.
All 14 Titans played and scored, with three players in double figures.
Traveling to face the Lions was the fourth consecutive away game and the first of three consecutive out the state. For Oshkosh, this marked one of their last non-conference games of the season as well, as the team will travel to North Carolina for two games over winter break.
In the game, three UWO players led the team in scoring: sophomore guard Olivia Campbell, graduate forward Madeline Staples and freshman forward Karsyn Rueth. Each player contributed ten points, with Staples and Rueth both providing offense.
Campbell went three-for-four from the field, including making her only 3-pointer of the contest, and knocked down all three shots from the charity stripe. She also had four rebounds and three steals to fill the stat sheet.
Campbell said the team’s depth is correlated with its offensive performance, a factor that can parlay success into conference play.
“I think this [offensive output so far] says a lot about how well we play together, and I think in every game we have played, there have been multiple leading scorers each night,” Campbell said. “And if one person is having an off game, anyone can pick it up. I think it also says a lot about our defense. A lot of time, our defense creates our offense, so that shows how good of a team we are offensively and defensively.”
Senior forward Eliza Campbell provided nine points, five rebounds, two assists and one steal in the 47-point win. Eliza Campbell played 19 minutes and went four-of-nine.
The starting unit for the Titans contributed 37 of the 93 points, making 13 shots. The bench continued its strong showing this season, providing the majority of the offense, as nine members provided 56 points of offense on 21 of 39 shooting.
On the starting unit, point guard Chloe Pustina put up three points, knocking down her only three-point shot. She recorded two rebounds, one steal and helped facilitate the offense by tying for the team-high in assists with three.
Pustina said the team’s effort and depth speaks to the Oshkosh culture, which is paramount to the team’s success.
“We have a huge bench, and we play so many people every game, so we play well together and no one is selfish and we do a great job sharing the ball,” Pustina said. “I think that helps a lot with scoring, as anyone can pick it up any night.”
The remaining starters for the Titans, guard Emma Melotik and forward Isabella Samuels, helped round out the starting unit. Melotik contributed six points and three assists on two 3-pointers, while Samuels led the team on defense with five offensive rebounds and eight boards total to almost earn a double-double, combined with nine points.
Off the bench, Staples filled the stat box with five rebounds, three assists and one steal in addition to her ten points. Of her five rebounds, three were on the offensive side of the glass.
Rueth scored her 10 points by knocking down four of her five shots and both free throws. She also contributed one assist, defensive rebound, block and steal in the victory.
As a freshman, Rueth does not have much experience on the college level. However, she said the team’s dynamic has been helped by the non-conference schedule the team has faced.
“It helps us later on down the road if we get into the tournament, and we are going to have to play games one after another,” Rueth said. “We are going to go on long trips and have to play at night and be able to play again the next day, so these prepare us for later down the road and in the season.”
The freshmen contributors, Rueth, Leah Porath and Nikki Arneson, combined for 20 points, six rebounds, three assists, five steals and two blocks in the win. Porath hit a three for her only points, while Arneson had seven points on three-for-six shooting to go along with two steals and a block.
Head coach Brad Fischer said even with the team’s offensive performance early on, the team has areas to focus on with the conference schedule upcoming.
“Our challenge every day in practice is to push each other, and we feel like we are pretty deep talent-wise,” Fischer said. “We have to, on a daily basis, give each other that type of resistance that we are going to see in conference. Our girls know and we have a lot of veterans that know what the league is like, so they know teams like Luther [College] is more similar to what we see in conference than some of these other teams. We start with Whitewater right away, so we are kind of looking with one eye at the start of conference to make sure we are ready for that first night.”
Over break, UWO will travel to North Carolina to play two games against Meredith College. For the final home game of the year, the Titans host Carroll University in the first-ever collegiate basketball game in the Menominee Nation Arena.
Over interim, the team will begin its run through the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference by traveling to UW-Whitewater on Jan. 3rd and hosting UW-La Crosse on the 6th.
