OSHKOSH, Wis.- The UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball team will host UW-Stout in the WIAC Tournament championship game (presented by Culver’s) on Friday (Feb. 22) at 7 p.m. at the Kolf Sports Center.
The Titans (22-4) will play in their league-leading 15th WIAC title matchup with eight of those appearances coming under head coach Brad Fischer from 2014 to 2021. They have made appearances in 23 of the 26 league tournaments to date and have won seven tournament titles, tied for most with UW-Stevens Point. The Pointers won their last WIAC Tournament title in 2013 to cap a string of six consecutive championships. UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire are next with four league tournament titles apiece, followed by UW-Whitewater with three. UW-Oshkosh also leads the league in conference tournament wins with a 36-15 record in the WIAC postseason headed into Friday. Oshkosh won its first title in the inaugural edition of the event in 1999 and most recently won three-straight from 2019 to 2021.
The Titans won the conference’s regular season title with a 12-2 record, earning the top seed and a first-round bye in the tournament. They hosted fifth-seeded UW-La Crosse in the semifinal round on Wednesday (Feb. 21), defeating the Eagles 77-52.
The third-seeded Blue Devils (20-7), who are playing in their sixth consecutive and 20th-straight league tournament, own a 22-15 record in conference postseason play after beating sixth-seeded UW-River Falls, 70-54, in Menomonie on Monday and second-seeded UW-Whitewater, 69-59, on Wednesday. Stout has won all four of its WIAC Championship title game appearances (2002, 2005, 2006, 2007).
The Titans and Blue Devils have faced each other in the conference title game twice before, with Stout holding a 2-0 series record. Stout defeated Oshkosh 90-71 on Feb. 23, 2002, and 68-53 on Feb. 26, 2005, both in Menomonie.
In the regular season this year, UW-Oshkosh swept UW-Stout. The Titans won 63-58 in Menomonie on Saturday, January 6 and 58-47 in Oshkosh on Saturday, January 27. The Titans, who have won the last three matchups, have not lost to the Blue Devils at home since a 77-71 double-overtime loss on January 11, 2020.
UW-Oshkosh, currently ranked 14th in the nation by D3hoops.com and 25th by the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, have scored 66.5 and allowed a league-low 46.5 points per game this season, which ranks 13th in NCAA Division III. The Titans also force a league-high 18.4 turnovers and steal 9.88 possessions per game.
Five Titans are averaging better than five points and 20 minutes per game this year. Kennedy Osterman (Sr. • Pewaukee) leads UW-Oshkosh’s offense with 11.3 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, while Kayce Vaile (Sr. • Greendale) averages a team-high 8.3 rebounds with 10.8 points per game. Osterman leads the conference with a 39.8 percent clip from three, a 90.3 percent clip from the line and 2.3 steals per game while Vaile is the league leader in rebounds with 8.3 per matchup. Bridget Froehlke (Jr. • Wrightstown) is scoring 9.8 points per game for UW-Oshkosh, which also receives 6.2 points from Sarah Hardwick (So. • Fond du Lac), and 5.7 points from Kate Huml (So. • Janesville).
UW-Stout paces the WIAC with 73.8 points per game, while allowing 59.4 per contest. The Blue Devils also lead the league with a 45.5 field goal percentage and 16.30 assists per game.
Raegan Sorensen is Stout’s top pointer scorer with 18.4 per contest and paces the team with 7.9 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game. Amanda Giesen, Lexi Wagner, and Anna Mutch all average more than 20 minutes and score 18.4, 12.4, 12.1 and 10.7 points per game. Sam Schaeffer dishes out an average of 3.4 assists as well with an additional 4.5 points per game.
The winner of Friday’s game will receive the conference’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament that begins on Friday, March 1.
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