The UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team opened up the 2025 NCAA Division III tournament with a win over Calvin University (Michigan) 61-52 on Friday at the Kolf Sports Center.
Despite being held off the scoreboard for the entire first quarter, Kayce Vaile managed to lead the team in points with 16.
Vaile said the key to managing the double team defense she faced was to slow the game down.
“It all came down to slowing down and communication,” Vaile said. “I really relied on my teammates to communicate where the double team was coming from.”
The first quarter was all about defense. After Knights forward Hannah Sall made a jumper to put Calvin up 4-2, three minutes went of the clock with out a score. UWO guard Sammi Beyer drilled a three to not only break the scoreless drought but also to give the Titans the lead for the first time in the game at 5-4. After Beyer responded to a Calvin bucket with a jumper to reclaim the lead at 7-6, both teams again held each other scoreless for the immediate 2:01 that followed. UWO’s Kate Huml broke the scoring drought with a jumper to extend the Titans’ lead at 9-6.
Behind six second chance points from the Knights, Calvin went on a 9-0 run to claim a 15-9 lead. But a 3-pointer by Alex Rondorf got UWO right back in it to end the first quarter down 15-12. Second chance points also was the story for Calvin in the second quarter, with 13 of the Knights’ 17 points coming off of second chance opportunities. But in the quarter, UWO never faced a deficit larger than seven points as UWO was able to go into half only down 32-29.
The Titans started the third quarter on a 7-2 run to reclaim the lead at 36-34 and held onto the lead for the rest of the game. UWO pulled away with a 14-7 run in the third quarter behind eight points in the quarter from Rondorf to go into the fourth up 43-39. In the fourth, UWO had an answer to nearly every run the Knights had. With 4:36 left in the game, Calvin got the score down to 49-48, but the Titans responded with a 3-pointer from Beyer to get the lead back to a two score game. UWO kept the lead at multiple scores the rest of the quarter and pulled away from Calvin to win by nine points.
Coach Brad Fischer said the Titans were able to flip a switch in the second half.
“We’ve been coming out of halftime pretty strong,” Fischer said. “We talked at halftime about day one habits and I thought we were so much better.”
Now the Titans flip their focus to Saturday, where they will face No. 24 Bethel University (Minnesota) in the Second Round of the NCAA tournament.
Fischer said he knows the turnaround needs to be quick for the Titans.
“When you play a team this time of year that knows who they are, it’s a huge challenge,” Fischer said.
Tip off for the Titans’ game against the Royals will take place at 7 p.m. at Kolf Sports Center.
