The UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team cruised to a 71-40 victory over Benedictine University Illinois on Monday. The Titans remain undefeated through their final non-conference contest of the season at Kolf Sports Center.
UWO is off to its first 7-0 start since the 2018-19 campaign, when it won nine games straight before losing to Hope College (Michigan) in the Dutch’s tournament on Dec. 28, 2018.
The Titans shot 49.1% from the field, 50% from 3-point range and 66.7% from the charity stripe in the game, while holding the Eagles (3-4, 1-1 NACC) to 31.1% from the field and 20% from 3-point land.
Thirty-four of Oshkosh’s points came in the paint, with 29 points on the Eagles’ 18 turnovers, 15 points on second chances and 42 points off the bench.
UWO’s Alex Rondorf and Sammi Beyer each scored a team high nine points. Rondorf shot four times from beyond the arc, making three attempts. Beyer went 4-of-8 from the field and 1-of-3 from 3-point range. Kayce Vaile pulled down seven rebounds (two offensive), while Kate Huml registered six assists. Beyer and Paige Seckar both notched a pair of steals.
Rondorf and Avery Poole made back-to-back 3-pointers to open scoring and Vaile converted a layup to put UWO up 8-0 before Benedictine scored its first point on a free throw. Five consecutive Eagle points pulled them within three points (12-9) with 2:50 left in the opening period before Oshkosh’s Mahra Wieman and Beyer combined for five points of their own. Allison Jarvis tallied the final points of the quarter on a layup, making the score 17-11 in favor of the Titans.
UWO led by as many as nine points three times throughout the second quarter before Beyer stole a possession and made a fast break layup with 1:57 remaining, putting the Titans up 30-19. After two Eagle baskets, UWO’s Mallory Hoitink and Seckar each converted a layup to make the score 34-22 headed into the half.
The Titans scored the first seven points of the third quarter with a Vaile layup, a Hump jumper, and a Rondorf three. The Eagles outscored Oshkosh 6-2 over the next three minutes with two 3-pointers, decreasing the deficit to 15 points. In the last 4:30 of the period, UWO scored 10 points to Benedictine’s two, six of which came at the charity stripe. The Titans led 53-30 after three quarters of play.
Seckar helped Oshkosh pick up where it left off, starting the Titans’ 9-0 streak at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Neither team scored more than twice in a row the rest of the way, while UWO increased its edge to as much as 33 points, eventually winning by 31.
The Titans will head down to the Wisconsin Dells later this week for the UW-Oshkosh Titan Classic at JustAGame Fieldhouse. They face Augustana College (Illinois) (3-6, 1-2 CCIW) on Friday (Dec. 20) at 7 p.m. and the University of Northwestern (Minnesota) (3-4) on Saturday (Dec. 21) at 2 p.m.
