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The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team fell short of its third consecutive Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship Sunday in a 69-40 defeat at No. 14 UW-Oshkosh in the conference tournament title game presented by Culver's.
The Warhawks (18-9 overall) will find out their NCAA Tournament fate during Monday's Selection Show, which airs at 1:30 p.m. Central Time on ncaa.com. The team was ranked seventh in the latest NCAA Central Region Rankings.
The Titans (24-3) led wire-to-wire in the contest and shot 46.9 percent from the floor, including a 72.2 percent clip in the second half.
UW-Whitewater was held to 28.6 percent shooting and was outscored 38-16 on points in the paint.
Sophomore guard
Emily Schumacher (Waukesha, Wis./Waukesha South) was the lone Warhawk in double figures with 11 points and two steals. Senior forward
Olivia Freckmann (Milwaukee, Wis./Pius XI) tallied eight points, six rebounds and two blocks, and junior guard
Camri Conley (Sugar Grove, Ill./Kaneland) posted six points.
UW-Oshkosh held a 13-5 advantage midway through the first quarter before UW-Whitewater cut its deficit to 13-11 with 2:44 remaining following a pair of free throws by junior guard
Becky Raeder (Sheboygan Falls, Wis./Sheboygan Falls).
The Titans made an 8-0 run from the 1:07 mark of the first to the 7:38 mark of the second to take their first double digit lead at 21-11. They led by as many as 11 before the Warhawks cut it to 26-24 with a 12-3 run, which was capped by a 3-pointer by Schumacher.
UW-Oshkosh led by five at halftime, and UW-Whitewater cut it down to four after Schumacher's 3-pointer with 6:16 on the clock in the third.
From there, the Titans ended the quarter on a 16-0 run and led 49-29 entering the fourth quarter.
Conley hit a free throw to start the scoring in the period, and that was as close as the Warhawks would get the rest of the way.
UW-Whitewater tied for second in the conference standings with a 10-4 record in league play during the regular season. The team earned the No. 2 seed in the WIAC Tournament and defeated third-seeded UW-La Crosse 53-51 in Friday's semifinal at Kachel Gymnasium.
UW-Oshkosh, the regular season champion and top seed in the conference tournament, earns the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Championship, which begins next week.
