UW-Oshkosh 61, UW-Stout 58 |
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OSHKOSH (February 22, 2019) - UW-Stout's turnaround season came to an end with a 61-58 loss to top-seeded UW-Oshkosh Friday in the WIAC Women's Basketball Championship (presented by Culver's) in a semi-final game at Kolf Sports Center.
After getting soundly beaten twice by the defensive-minded Titans (23-3) this season, the Blue Devils (18-9) were not going to let the same thing happen this time around.
The 14th-ranked Titans took an 18-11 lead after the first period, but Stout rallied back to trail by three, 31-28, at halftime.
Amber Fabeck scored 13 points in the first half and had two blocked shots to lead the Blue Devils.
The Blue Devils took their first lead of the game, 36-35, at 7:28 of the third period on a 3-pointers by
Bailey Diersen. Oshkosh surged to a five point, 47-42, lead at the end of the third period, but the game turned into Stout's favor in the fourth quarter. The Blue Devils took the lead with 8:20 left in the game on a
Kyncaide Diedrich bucket. The Titans would grab a one point lead back, 51-50, when Stout went on an 8-0 run, capped off by a 3-pointer by Diedrich at 4:33 to give Stout a 58-51 lead.
But that would be all the scoring Stout would get the rest of the night as the Titans ended the game on a 10-0 run and advance to the WIAC Championship game for the sixth straight year. The Titans will host UW-Whitewater, Sunday, Feb. 24. The Warhawks edged UW-La Crosse, 53-51, in the other semi-final game.
Fabeck led all scorers and four Blue Devils in double figures with 18 points. Diedrich added 13 points and had a game-high seven rebounds.
Shannan Watkins tossed in 11 points and pulled down six rebounds. Diersen finished with 10 points. The Titans were led by Melanie Schneider with 13 points. Isabella Samuels had 10 points.
Stout shot 45.1 percent (23-51) for the game, while Oshkosh hit 41.2 percent (21-51). The Titans' biggest advantage came at the free throw line. Stout was 8 of 11 from the line, while Oshkosh was 15 of 19.
The game marked the final game for seniors Diedrich, Diersen and
Carolyn Feddema. With two steals tonight, Diersen broke the school single season steals record with 91, breaking Amy Jamieson's mark of 90 from the mid-1990s. Diersen wrapped up her career with 1272 career to finish fourth on the all-time Stout scoring list. Diedrich wrapped up her career with 1269 points to rank fifth all-time.
Last season, the Blue Devils finished the season at 7-18 and 0-14 in conference play. Tonight's game was Stout's first WIAC tournament second round game since the 2009-10 season.
