With the wins over UW-La Crosse and UW-Stevens Point last week, the UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team not only earned the 15th Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference regular season title in program history, they also clinched the No. 1 seed for the WIAC tournament.
As the team now shifts their attention to postseason play, it doesn’t come without remembrance for how they got here.
Senior Kayce Vaile credits the work ethic the team had for why they are here.
“Everyone puts in the work each day, and we raise the bar to get better each day.” she said. “We look at any player on our team and say they are ready to go out and make an impact in the game.”
Sophomore Avery Poole credits the success of the season for how close the team is on and off the court.
“We are truly a family, and everyone on the team is there to support each other no matter what is going on, she said, “Beyond the support that we have for each other, we have a lot of fun and that is what brings us together on and off the court.”
The tightness of the group showed in the biggest win of the season for the Titans. After falling short to the UW-Whitewater Warhawks at Kolf Sports Center earlier in the season, the Titans were able to respond with a 57-46 win at UW-Whitewater on Jan. 31 behind a 14-point game from senior Kennedy Osterman.
The win over the Warhawks was not only the Titans first win at UWW since 2021, but it was also what gave Titans the one game advantage in the WIAC regular season standings.
The Titans start their run in the WIAC tournament as the No. 1 seed on Feb. 21 as they will face off against UW-La Crosse in the semifinal round. The Titans swept the Eagles in the regular season, winning 68-56 at La Crosse on Jan. 17, and most recently 64-55 on Feb. 14 at Kolf Sports Center.
If the Titans got a victory against the Eagles, they will host the championship game on Friday night against the winner of the UW-Stout versus UW-Whitewater game.
If the Titans won their game on Wednesday they will have home court advantage for the WIAC championship game.
“By hosting, we will have our fan base filling in the gym,” Poole said. “Being comfortable in our own gym and having a crowd full of people there to support us will translate our energy on the court.”
Vaile said the Titans realize that they will just need to continue to play quality basketball throughout the tournament.
“We just need to keep getting better every day we get the chance to, and we aren’t gonna let that chance slip away.” she said.
The Titans first game of the WIAC tournament against UW-La Crosse was Wednesday night. Check the results of the game on the UWO athletics website.
