RIVER FALLS, Wis. — The UW-River Falls Women's Basketball team earned an emphatic victory on Saturday at Page Arena, defeating #4/#5 UW-Oshkosh, who entered the game with a perfect 17-0 (6-0) record.
The Falcons weathered the storm in the first half, before a huge third quarter flipped the game in favor of UWRF. The victory improved the Falcons' record to 11-7 overall and 3-4 in WIAC play.
The game was also a celebration of National Girls and Women in Sports Day, with both women's basketball and women's hockey competing at the Falcon Center on Saturday. The celebration honors women's accomplishments and involvement in sports, and more information can be found here.
The game started with a quick 5-0 run by the Titans, but the Falcons cut the lead back and never trailed by more than four points in the remainder of the frame. UW-Oshkosh took its largest lead in the second quarter, as UWO shot 7-13 (53.9%) from the field in the second frame. The Falcons trailed by as much as nine points, but stayed within reach down 33-27 at halftime. Zoey Buchan scored 10 points in the first half, as a 50% first-half shooting clip by the Titans kept the visitors ahead.
The Falcons came alive in the third quarter, putting together their best shooting quarter (57.1%) and out-scoring the Titans 21-10 overall. UW-Oshkosh led 36-29 with 8:25 remaining, before UWRF erupted for an 11-0 run, which was capped off by a three-pointer from Braelyn Beiler and a jumper by Jocelyn Plonski that put UW-River Falls up 40-36 with 5:02 left in the period. The Falcons pushed their lead to as large at seven points, and went into the final frame leading 48-43.
After UW-Oshkosh opened the fourth quarter with a jumper to cut UWRF's lead to 48-45, Olivia Hoerl answered back with a three-pointer to put the Falcons up 51-45. The Titans responded with a three-pointer and an and-one on consecutive possessions to tie the game back up at 51-51 with 6:15 to go. UWRF never trailed down the stretch, but UWO managed to tie the game on two more occasions.
With 3:05 remaining in regulation, Hoerl nailed a three-pointer that put UWRF up 58-55 and brought the crowd to its feet. The basket was followed by 2:36 of scoreless basketball, which included four defensive stops by the Falcons. The Titans began fouling down the stretch, as Karleigh Creasey sank back-to-back free-throws to put UWRF up 60-55 with 29 seconds remaining.
A three-pointer by UW-Oshkosh with 12 seconds remaining cut the Falcons' lead to 61-58, but this proved to be the final field goal of the game, as UWRF converted three out of four free throws on the ensuing possessions — the Falcons also forced a crucial five-second turnover on a UW-Oshkosh inbound that helped secure the game, with UWRF winning 64-59.
After an efficient shooting performance by UW-Oshkosh in the first half, UW-River Falls limited the visitors to 9-28 (32.1%) from the field in the second half. As a team, UWRF capitalized off 13 second-chance points and 20 points in the paint.
Three Falcons scored in double-figures in the win, led by Hoerl with 17 points off 6-15 shooting — she was also the team's top rebounder with seven boards. Buchan finished with 15 points, four assists, and four rebounds. Olivia Miron totaled 11 points and six rebounds.
The win is the first win over a top-25 opponent in women's basketball since the Falcons defeated #14/#17 UW-Eau Claire on January 25, 2023.
Up next, UWRF will travel to Eau Claire to face off with the Blugolds on Jan. 29. Tip-off at UW-Eau Claire is scheduled for 7 p.m.
