The UW Oshkosh women’s basketball beat Edgewood College 81-71 at the home opener Nov. 15 at the Kolf Sports Center.

UWO’s current record after the match is 4-0, a record that player Sarah Hardwick said the team’s energy has facilitated.

“Our energy has slowly built up,” she said. “It wavered a bit tonight, but it’s something we have to keep on working.”

The energy the team brought throughout the game was a strong and exponential one, leading to a 30 point Titan fourth quarter to push UWO to victory.

The Titans took the lead to start the first quarter, but Edgewood rallied to tie the game. The opening period was a back and forth affair and UWO found itself up 17-13 at the break.

In the second quarter, Oshkosh outscored Edgewood 16-19, boosting the teams score to 36-29 at halftime.

The Eagles offense began to catch fire after halftime, cutting the Titan lead to just four points by the end of the third quarter.

Freshman guard Avery Poole said it’s all about the practice and preparation the team has before games.

“We need to get up in our own players’ business in practice,” she said. “That’s going to be translated into our games.”

Coach Fischer knows that with their current talent pool, these mindsets in practice will continue the team’s growth.

“We have a deep gym of talent, and we have the ability to make each other really good everyday,” he said. “We’re playing against better players everyday than some of the teams we face, so we have to take advantage of our time together.”

Since the beginning of the season, the Titans have taken on tough opponents. For their exhibition opener, they held their ground against Division-I UW-Green Bay. The competition they have already faced this season has elevated the team’s goals, Coach Fischer said.

“Green Bay is the best team we’ll play all year and I want them to see what the best looks like,” he said. “If we can scratch and claw and hang in with the best, we can get to our goals faster.” 

The Titans will travel to Rock Island, Illinois, for the Augustana College Tournament over the weekend, playing first against DePauw University. Oshkosh will then face another team based on their performance in the first game. 

Coach Fischer said the Depauw competition will be tough, due to the team’s culture.

“When you play against teams who are used to winning, it’s hard to beat them,” he said. “There’s a program toughness that comes with everyone on the roster. Everyone on the roster is used to winning in a DePauw uniform, and we’re going down to Illinois to find out if we’re going to get better.”

Coach Fischer said he was impressed by Hardwick’s and Poole’s efforts through the night and their contribution to the team.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve sat with freshmen who had nights like tonight,” he said. “I’m excited; for us to be 4-0 at this point with all the new people is a bit unexpected. I like where we’re going from here.”

The games at Augustana will occur on Nov. 18 & 19 and will be followed by 11 days of no games. UWO will then take on UW-Platteville at home on Nov. 30.