The UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball team clinched its third straight overall WIAC regular season last week by beating No. 25 UW-La Crosse 61-35 on Wednesday, Feb. 18, at Kolf Sports Center.
Senior forward Bridget Froehlke said winning the WIAC overall title for a third straight year is a testament to the team’s hunger to win.
“Everyone who comes to play at Oshkosh wants to be a winner and every year we try to build upon what past players have accomplished,” Froehlke said. “The WIAC is an extremely competitive conference, so doing this three years in a row is something we are all very proud of.”
Guard Sammi Beyer led the way for the Titans in the win going 6-for-14 on the night for 16 points with a 2-for-6 performance from the three-point line.
Despite committing eight turnovers on the night which contributed to an early 6-0 deficit for UWO, the Titans defense was what won them the game. UWO shot 42.6% on the night with a 38.9% from three point range while holding UWL to a 26.4% night from the field. A 10-2 second quarter from the Titans allowed them to pull away from a 16-10 lead entering the quarter into a 26-12 halftime lead. From there it was all Titans as they cruised to the win to clinch the overall WIAC regular season title for the third consecutive season.
Being able to overcome the start in the game against UWL was another example of the trust that the team has in each other and the faith that they can handle whatever is thrown at them.
“The La Crosse game was a big game for us, but our mindset was the same it has been all year,” forward Paige Seckar said. “We always stress the importance of making it difficult for the other team right out of the gate by playing great defense and taking great shots, but if and when that doesn’t happen, we trust that we will be able to get the game back in our control. The La Crosse game was a perfect example of that. We went down 6-0 early, but we kept the trust in each other, and got the job done at the end of the night.”
UWO went into this season with expectations of being the preseason WIAC champion and the nationally ranked preseason No. 3 team. Despite that, the team has been able to continue to keep up where they left off last season by just staying focused.
“I think this year’s team has done a really good job of staying in the present,” Froehlke said. “We’re definitely motivated by the goals we are capable of reaching, but each day focus on the little things like discipline, toughness, and competing.”
With winning their third overall WIAC championship, the Titans will once again be the No. 1 seed for the 2026 WIAC Tournament. UWO fell in the tournament championship game the last two seasons (77-65 to UW-Stout in 2024 and 65-62 to UW-Whitewater in 2025) and will hope that this year the third time is the charm.
Seckar said she believes that if the team can stick to what they do best even if they can’t do it all 40 minutes that they will be in a good position
“Our main goal going into this year’s WIAC tournament is doing all of the little things we talk about on a daily basis, and to trust that we have prepared enough and worked on our stuff long enough to put us in a position to play great,” Seckar said. “We know that it’s not going to be perfect, but we know we can stack enough good possessions and stick to what we do best long enough to be able to come out on top in any game we find ourselves in.”
The Titans will open this year’s tournament in the semifinal round on Wednesday, Feb. 25 as they will host No. 4 seed UW-River Falls. The Titans swept the Falcons in the two matchups the teams had in the regular season (65-33 at UWRF on Jan. 17, and 69-47 at UWO on Feb. 7).
UWO’s opener in the WIAC tournament will take place at 7 p.m. on Wednesday from Kolf Sports Center. You will need to buy a pass from the WIAC Network to watch or you can listen to the game on 90.3 WRST FM.
