With its most recent win over Benedictine University (Illinois) 71-40 at the Kolf Sports Center Dec. 16, the UW Oshkosh women’s basketball team improved to 7-0 to start the year for the first time since 2018.

Head coach Brad Fischer said that this group of players is the most focused that he has coached in his 13 years at the helm of the Titans.

“I think we’ve tasted enough success to know how close we are” Fischer said. “But we also have enough disappointment with the way our seasons have ended [and] that has motivated them to work. All of them have improved so much that I just think we have raised ourselves to a level that maybe we haven’t been at in 13 years.”

One player that has had a massive impact on and off the floor for the Titans has been Avery Poole, who leads the team with 10.1 points per game. Poole said that her biggest inspiration is her sister Aubrie.

“She has spinal muscular atrophy type one, which is a rare disorder that affects her entire body except her mind,” Poole said. “She’s the one that inspired me to go into nursing school because I know from our personal family experiences how much a nurse can make an impact on someone’s life. She also inspires me in basketball to keep pushing and make it through the days that I’m in pain or struggling. I know she would do whatever she could to be in my position, so I try to keep that in mind.”

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.