The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater women's basketball team fought back from two possessions down in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime, but was outlasted 73-68 against UW-Oshkosh in a Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contest at Kachel Gymnasium.
Trailing 61-57 with 1:37 on the clock in the fourth quarter,
Veronica Kieres (Chicago, Ill./Resurrection) converted a steal into a jumper to bring the Warhawks within two.
After a pair of missed free throws on the other end, UW-Whitewater (2-1 overall, 2-1 WIAC) tied the game with under a minute to go thanks to a jump hook in the lane from
Johanna Taylor (Wauwatosa, Wis./East).
Each team had a chance to take the lead in the final 30 seconds, but their jumpers missed.
Taylor gave the Warhawks an early lead in the extra period, but UW-Oshkosh ran off nine of the next 11 points for a 70-65 advantage at the 1:39 mark.
A jumper by
Aleah Grundahl (DeForest, Wis./DeForest) brought UW-W to within three with 1:21 to play, but the Titans (2-1, 2-1) scored with 19 seconds to play and never led by fewer than four the rest of the way.
Grundahl finished with a team-high 15 points to go along with nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Rebekah Schumacher (Whitewater, Wis./Whitewater) totaled nine points, seven rebounds and two steals, and Taylor, Kieres and
Maggie Trautsch (Sun Prairie, Wis./DeForest) each recorded eight points.
UW-Whitewater held UW-Oshkosh to 35.7 percent shooting from the floor but was limited to 34.8 percent shooting on the other end. The Titans held a 25-17 advantage in made free throws.
After an evenly played first quarter that ended with a 3-pointer by Trautsch to beat the buzzer, the Warhawks led for most of the second, taking a 31-24 advantage with 2:55 to go. UW-W led 31-27 at halftime.
UW-Whitewater continued to lead over the first four minutes of the third before the Titans took a 41-37 near the midway point of the quarter. The Warhawks scored the next six points and ran their lead to five by the end of the period.
UW-W led by as many as seven early in the fourth before UW-O came back to take the lead over a five-minute stretch up to the final two minutes.
The Warhawks and Titans take the court again Friday in Oshkosh. Tipoff is slated for 7 p.m.
