University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh Titans

2005 Highlights

Schumacher Chosen To Coach Titans

UW-Oshkosh turned to one of its all-time hardwood greats and named Terri Schumacher on Friday (July 29) as its fourth head women’s basketball coach. The 1986 UW-Oshkosh graduate replaces Pam Ruder, who resigned after nine seasons to become the head women’s basketball coach at Southwestern University (Texas).

Schumacher, who made UW-Oshkosh’s Albee Hall her home during the 1984 and 1985 seasons, returns to her alma mater after spending the past 13 years as head girls’ basketball coach and physical education teacher at Oshkosh West High School. At UW-Oshkosh, Schumacher will also serve as the Assistant to the Intramural Director.

"I'm thrilled that Terri has decided to return to her alma mater and become a member of our coaching staff," said UW-Oshkosh Director of Athletics Allen Ackerman. "She has outstanding coaching credentials and is a quality individual. I'm extremely confident that our women's basketball program will continue to enjoy tremendous success under Terri's leadership and guidance."

Schumacher is regarded as one of the state’s premier high school coaches. The Plymouth native comes to UW-Oshkosh after improving Oshkosh West’s status as a last-place team in the Fox Valley Association (FVA) to that of a two-time Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) Division I state champion.

Schumacher has been the head coach at Oshkosh West since 1993. During her tenure at the school the Wildcats posted a 148-148 record, captured two WIAA Division I state titles, claimed two FVA crowns and advanced to four WIAA Division I State Tournaments. She also coached five athletes who went on to play National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I basketball, including 2003 Miss Wisconsin Basketball award winner Meredith Onson.

Since the 2000 season, Schumacher has guided Oshkosh West to an impressive 131-35 record. In 2002, the Wildcats captured the FVA title and posted a 22-3 record, including a 44-43 loss to Hudson High School in the semifinals of the WIAA State Tournament. In 2003, Oshkosh West grabbed the FVA title and capped a 26-0 season with a 62-27 victory over Middleton High School in the championship game of the WIAA State Tournament. In 2004, the Wildcats finished a 21-5 season with a 54-40 victory over Watertown High School in the championship game of the WIAA State Tournament. Last season, Oshkosh West compiled a 17-7 record, including a 39-37 loss to DeForest High School in the quarterfinals of the WIAA State Tournament.

Schumacher collected several individual awards while coaching at Oshkosh West. Among them is her selection as the 2003 Wisconsin Coach of the Year by the Associated Press. Schumacher also was named FVA Coach of the Year in 2002 and 2003, Wisconsin Coach of the Year by both the National Sports Federation and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2003 and 2004 and The Oshkosh Northwestern Coach of the Year in 2005.

Prior to her position at Oshkosh West, Schumacher coached the girls’ basketball team at Plymouth High School to a 69-44 record from 1987 to 1992. Schumacher’s best season at her hometown high school came in 1990 when she led the Panthers to an Eastern Wisconsin Conference championship and an 18-6 record, including a loss to Madison East High School in the quarterfinals of the WIAA Division I State Tournament.

Following graduation from Plymouth High School in 1981, Schumacher attended UW-La Crosse and played basketball for the Eagles during the 1982 and 1983 campaigns. She transferred to UW-Oshkosh after the 1983 season and played basketball for the Titans the next two years.

At UW-Oshkosh, Schumacher immediately became one of the dominant players in the WIAC and the NCAA Division III. In 1984, she received All-WIAC first team honors after averaging a league-leading 23.8 points per game. During an 82-70 loss to UW-Green Bay, Schumacher scored 41 points and made 19 field goals to establish a pair of UW-Oshkosh records.

In 1985, Schumacher led UW-Oshkosh to an 18-8 record and its first WIAC championship. Schumacher received NCAA Division III All-America first team honors and was chosen as the NCAA Division III Player of the Year by the American Women’s Sports Federation. She also claimed All-WIAC first team accolades after averaging a league leading 27.3 points and 5.1 steals per game. Schumacher concluded her UW-Oshkosh career by scoring 40 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in an 85-69 season-ending victory over UW-Whitewater.

Schumacher, the first NCAA Division III All-America selection in WIAC history, scored 1,209 points during her 47 games with the Titans. Her scoring output is the eighth best in UW-Oshkosh history. In 1996, UW-Oshkosh recognized Schumacher’s performance on the basketball court by inducting her into its Athletics Hall of Fame.

Schumacher, 42, follows Ruder, Kathi Bennett and Carol Anhalt as the head women's basketball coach at UW-Oshkosh. Anhalt posted a 288-127 record from 1971-89, while Bennett went 155-32 from 1990-96 and Ruder went 203-46 from 1997-2005.

Schumacher inherits a UW-Oshkosh program that has compiled 11 21-plus win seasons in the past 12 years, including a 31-0 mark and a NCAA Division III championship in 1996. The Titans have won 262 of their last 311 games, including 22 of 28 a year ago.

UW-Oshkosh opens its 2005-06 season against Fontbonne University (Mo.) on Nov. 18 in Waukesha.

Warnke To Join
Baldwin-Wallace College Athletics Staff

Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio) officials have named UW-Oshkosh's Kelly Warnke as its new head women's golf coach and assistant women's basketball coach. She comes to Baldwin-Wallace College following a five-year stint as the assistant women’s basketball coach at UW-Oshkosh.

A native of Casco, Wis., Warnke has a wealth of experience in many areas, including teaching, coaching and counseling students and student-athletes. She has six years of college coaching experience, five years of experience working in Student Affairs and two years as a course instructor.

As a four-year varsity student-athlete at UW-Oshkosh, Warnke played on three Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship teams, three squads that advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament and a team that won a Division III national title.

"We are pleased to have Kelly join our staff," said Head Women’s Basketball Coach and Senior Women’s Administrator Cheri Harrer. "Kelly has a wealth of experience at a quality institution that has been successful. Kelly will be our women’s golf coach and assist me with the women’s basketball program. She has both the skill and ability to make an impact at Baldwin-Wallace College."

While serving as an assistant at her alma mater, Warnke helped UW-Oshkosh to a five-year record of 104-30 and two WIAC championships (2001 and 2004). Prior to coaching there, she spent one year as an assistant coach at the University of Evansville (Ind.) in 1999-2000 and as a strength and conditioning intern at Arizona State University in 1999.

As a student-athlete, Warnke was both a solid player and leader and served as a team captain in 1998-99. She played on UW-Oshkosh’s 1996 NCAA Division III national championship team and the Titans' 1996, 1998 and 1999 WIAC championship squads.

In the classroom, Warnke is a strong believer in a quality education and compiled a 3.4 undergraduate grade point average with a Bachelor of Science degree in Exercise Fitness Management and a minor in Wellness Promotion. Warnke earned her Master’s of Science Education degree with an emphasis in Student Affairs in College Counseling from UW-Oshkosh in 2003 and carried a graduate school grade point average of 3.85.

At Baldwin-Wallace College, Warnke joins a women’s basketball program that is among the most successful in the NCAA Division III. Under Harrer’s direction, Baldwin-Wallace College has won five of the past seven Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season and four of the past seven OAC Tournament titles and has advanced to the NCAA Division III national tourney eight of the last 10 years, including a pair of "Elite Eight" finishes.

In golf, Baldwin-Wallace College also has had one of the top programs in NCAA Division III since its inception, including two OAC titles and two appearances at the NCAA Division III national tournament.

"The women’s basketball program at Baldwin-Wallace College has a reputation that stretches across the nation in Division III athletics and I am excited to have the opportunity to be a part of it," said Warnke.

Ruder Named Head Women's Basketball Coach
At Southwestern University

Bringing with her 15 years of NCAA Division III coaching experience, UW-Oshkosh's Pam Ruder was named Wednesday (May 4) as the new head women's basketball coach at Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas. She replaces Kerri Brinkoeter who coached the Pirates the past four seasons.

Ruder, an UW-Whitewater graduate, has spent all 15 seasons of her coaching career at UW-Oshkosh, and was a part of multiple NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship teams.

She started with the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team as an assistant coach from 1991 to 1996, working her way up the ladder to head coach at the school in May of 1996.

Ruder has not had any trouble finding success on the court. In her nine years as UW-Oshkosh's head coach, Ruder has compiled an impressive 203-46 record (.815), making her the sixth-winningest active coach in the NCAA Division III. She is also the sixth-winningest coach in WIAC history.

She guided her first UW-Oshkosh team to a 23-4 record, a NCAA Division III Tournament berth and a second-place finish in the WIAC. In 1998, she guided the Titans to a 26-2 overall record, a quarterfinal round appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament and the WIAC championship.

The following season, Ruder coached UW-Oshkosh to a 27-2 overall record, another quarterfinal round appearance in the NCAA Division III Tournament and a second straight WIAC title. Her efforts during that 1999 season gained her NCAA Division III Coach of the Year honors by the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA).

This past season, Ruder's Titans posted a 22-6 record and finished third in the WIAC. UW-Oshkosh also advanced to the final of the WIAC Tournament.

UW-Oshkosh women's basketball players have combined to receive two NCAA Division III All-America and 16 All-WIAC first team selections under Ruder's leadership. Among them is 2004 standout Kay Mikolajczak, who gained NCAA Division III All-America honors and received the Jostens Trophy, an award recognizing the most outstanding female student-athlete in NCAA Division III basketball. Mikolajczak also was named the 2004 Wisconsin NCAA Woman of the Year.

Prior to being named UW-Oshkosh’s head coach, Ruder served as an assistant coach at UW-Oshkosh from 1991 to 1996. During that span the Titans compiled a 138-25 record, made five NCAA Division III tournament appearances, made two trips to the NCAA Division III Final Four and won at least a share of five WIAC titles. In 1996, UW-Oshkosh went undefeated in 31 games and claimed the school's first and the WIAC's second NCAA Division III women's basketball championship.

A standout basketball player and three-year letter winner for UW-Whitewater, Ruder graduated from her alma mater with a bachelor's degree in business education and a coaching minor in 1984 before receiving her master's degree in business administration from UW-Oshkosh in 1992. Her accomplishments on the court as a player led her to being inducted in the UW-Whitewater Hall of Fame in 1999.

In addition to her coaching duties, Ruder also served as UW-Oshkosh's assistant director of athletics and the school's senior women's athletics administrator. Furthermore, she serves as the At-Large NCAA Division III Representative on the Executive Board of Directors for the WBCA.

“We’re very pleased to have attracted a candidate of Pam's caliber to lead the women's basketball program at Southwestern University,” said Director of Athletics Glada Munt. “She’s one of the top coaches in Division III women’s basketball, and we are excited for her to come in and build on the foundation that Coach Brinkoeter started. In a league with highly competitive women's basketball programs, I think Pam will not only be an asset to Southwestern University, but also to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC).”

Last year's Southwestern University women's basketball squad compiled a 9-17 overall record and finished eighth in the SCAC with a 5-9 mark.

Herrick Selected To All-Region Teams

The Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) and the internet site D3hoops.com have selected UW-Oshkosh forward Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) to its 2005 NCAA Division III All-Central Region Women's Basketball Teams.

Herrick was one of five players receiving all-region first team honors by the WBCA. She was joined on the squad by Janine Emmer of Ripon College, Susie Gutkowski of the University of Chicago (Ill.), Kelly Manning of Washington University (Mo.) and Amanda Nechuta of UW-Stevens Point.

Herrick was a third team selection on the squad chosen by D3hoops.com. Picked to the first team were Manning, Nechuta, Joanna Conner of Millikin University (Ill.), Cassandra Schultz of UW-Stevens Point and Jill Trenz of Wheaton College (Ill.).

Herrick started 26 of UW-Oshkosh's 28 games this past season and averaged 13 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest. She also shot 52 percent from the field and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. Herrick ranked second in the WIAC in field goal percentage and fifth in scoring.

Herrick scored 14 or more points in 14 games this past season, including a career-best 23 with eight rebounds and two assists in UW-Oshkosh's 87-62 win over UW-Whitewater on Dec. 1. She also scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds in UW-Oshkosh's 84-57 win over UW-La Crosse on Dec. 4 and counted 20 points and eight rebounds in the Titans' 74-67 victory over UW-Stevens Point on Feb. 23.

Herrick played in 24 games for UW-Oshkosh during the 2003-04 season and averaged 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per contest. She played in 28 games for the Titans during the 2002-03 season and averaged 3.4 points and 1.8 rebounds per contest.

Eggers, Herrick Receive
All-WIAC First Team Honors

Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) and Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) led four UW-Oshkosh selections on the 2005 All-WIAC Women's Basketball Team.

Eggers and Herrick were chosen to the first team, while UW-Oshkosh teammates Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) and Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) received honorable mention recognition. The choices were made by the league's nine head coaches.

Eggers, who transferred to UW-Oshkosh last fall after playing two seasons at NCAA Division II University of Nebraska-Omaha, averaged 11.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game for the Titans this past year. Eggers started 24 of the 27 games that she played in and shot 44.8 percent from the field, 38.7 percent behind the three-point line and 76 percent from the free throw stripe. Eggers ranked third in the WIAC in three-point field goal percentage, sixth in assists and free throw percentage and ninth in blocked shots (0.81).

Eggers scored 12 or more points in 12 games this past season, including a career-high 19 three times. She scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished off two assists in UW-Oshkosh wins of 62-60 over Rockford College (Ill.) on Dec. 30 and 62-49 over UW-Superior on Jan. 1. Eggers also scored 19 points, grabbed six rebounds and dished off three assists in UW-Oshkosh's 63-56 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Jan. 19.

Herrick started 26 of UW-Oshkosh's 28 games this past season and averaged 13 points and 6.1 rebounds per contest. She also shot 52 percent from the field and 70.8 percent from the free throw line. Herrick ranked second in the WIAC in field goal percentage and fifth in scoring.

Eggers and Herrick were joined on the 10-member first team by Rachel Becker of UW-Eau Claire, Shawna Koss of UW-La Crosse, Shannon Boatman of UW-Platteville, Erin Effle of UW-River Falls, Amanda Nechuta and Cassandra Schultz of UW-Stevens Point and Kelsey Duoss and Lindsey Erichsen of UW-Stout.

Rosicky started 26 of the 27 games that she played in for UW-Oshkosh this past season and averaged 8.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 1.6 assists per contest. She ranked second in the WIAC in three-point field goals (43) and sixth in three-point field goal percentage (36.8).

Turtenwald started all 28 games for UW-Oshkosh this past year and averaged 8.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.5 rebounds per contest. She ranked second in the WIAC in free throw percentage (79.7). Turtenwald received All-WIAC first team honors during the 2003-04 season after averaging 8.8 points, 3.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game.

In addition to Rosicky and Turtenwald, 11 other players received honorable mention recognition. They were Michelle Burns and Jessica Dickey of UW-Eau Claire, Katy Searing of UW-La Crosse, Holly Kaiser of UW-Platteville, Traci Reimann of UW-River Falls, Amy Scott of UW-Stevens Point, Erin Churchill of UW-Stout, Stephanie Janigo and Shannon Johannes of UW-Superior and Nya Geschke and Jessica Wendt of UW-Whitewater.

The WIAC also named Duoss, Nechuta, Turtenwald, UW-Eau Claire's Katie Murphy and UW-River Falls' Chantele Melgaard to its all-defensive team.

Nechuta was named the WIAC Player of the Year, while Effle was selected as the winner of the WIAC's Judy Kruckman Scholar-Athlete Award. UW-Stout's Mark Thomas was chosen as the WIAC Coach of the Year.

UW-Oshkosh finished the 2004-05 season with a 22-6 record, including a third-place 11-5 mark in the WIAC.

Titans Fall To Blue Devils In
WIAC Tournament Championship Game

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team came up short Saturday (Feb. 26) in Menomonie.

UW-Stout claimed the championship of the WIAC Tournament with a 68-53 win over the Titans. The win hands UW-Stout and automatic berth in the NCAA tournament.

"Defensively we did well, offensively it was a frustrating night," UW-O head coach Pam Ruder said.

The Titans struggled in the first half hitting only 6 of 27 shots for 22.2 percent from the field. UW-Stout scored six unanswered points to end the half, which was magnified by UW-Oshkosh missing seven shots from the floor in the final 3 minutes 54 seconds.

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) was the leading scorer in the first half for the Titans with seven points. All of Herrick's points came from the free-throw line.

UW-Stout shot slightly better in the first half, hitting 10 of 30 shots for 33.3 percent. Geissler and Lindsey Erichsen each had nine points for the Blue Devils at halftime.

UW-Oshkosh's only lead of the first half ended with 15:12 remaining when UW-Stout's Lindsey Geissler hit a layup to put the Blue Devils ahead 4-3. Stout worked the lead up to 10 points late in the opening half.

UW-Stout's dominance continued in the second half. The Blue Devils continually built up their lead for the rest of the game. UW-Stout's biggest lead was 17 points after Jenny Philipsky hit a pair of free throws to get the score to 67-50 with 21 seconds remaining on the game clock.

Both teams struggled holding on to the ball. UW-Stout committed 20 turnovers and UW-Oshkosh 16. Shooting improved for both teams in the second half with UW-Oshkosh shooting 34.6 percent (9-26) from the floor and UW-Stout shooting 40 percent.

During the regular season UW-Oshkosh led the conference from the floor by shooting 45.2 percent, but the Titans shot 28.3 percent (15-53) against UW-Stout. Conversely, Stout ranked seventh in the conference in field goal percentage at 38.3.

For the game, UW-Oshkosh's Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) was the high scorer, posting 15 points. The Titans also received 11 points from Knapp, 10 from Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) and nine from Herrick.

Two UW-Stout players tied for team highs with Erichsen and Geissler scoring 13 points each.

Titans Trip Pointers To Advance
WIAC Tournament Championship Game

There’s no secrets between the UW-Stevens Point and UW-Oshkosh women’s basketball teams and there’s also no secret that whenever the teams meet, it’s going to be a hard-fought battle

That was the case again on Wednesday (Feb. 23) in Stevens Point as the squads hooked up for the 12th time in four years and second time in six days with UW-Oshkosh prevailing for a 74-67 victory in semifinal round contest of the WIAC Tournament.

The Titans are now 22-5 overall and 6-0 in semifinal games in the seven-year history of the tournament. They advance to the finals for the fourth straight year to face top-seeded UW-Stout Saturday (Feb. 26) in Menomonie.

UW-Stevens Point has had the better of the rivalry in recent years, winning nine of the past 13 meetings, including both games this season and a win in Oshkosh on Saturday that clinched the regular season league title. However, all four of the Titans wins during the span have been in Stevens Point, including tournament semifinal games three of the last four years.

“Any game is big against Point, no matter what the situation is,” said Titans’ forward Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton), who led UW-Oshkosh with 20 points and sparked the offense for much of the second half. “We were so motivated. We weren’t going to let them beat us three times.”

UW-Stevens Point got off to a strong start, maintaining a four-point lead for much of the first half and holding a 21-17 cushion before the Titans tied the game and used back-to-back three-pointers by Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) and Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) during a 14-4 run to close the half.

UW-Oshkosh led 31-25 at halftime and slowly built on its lead throughout the second half, primarily due to the inside play of Herrick, who scored 19 of her 20 points in the first 28:11 of the contest. The Titans made nine of their first 13 field goals after halftime and shot 57.1 percent in the second half.

“We came out and executed well the first 15 minutes of the game,” UW-Stevens Point coach Shirley Egner said. “They just got hot in the second half. When you can allow them to score that easy, it’s hard to win.”

Every time UW-Stevens Point appeared poised to challenge the Titans’ lead, it seemed a different UW-Oshkosh player stepped up with a big shot. When the Pointers cut the lead to 45-39 with 13:33 left on a three-point play by Amy Scott, it was Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) who banked in a three-pointer for a nine-point lead. The Pointers had it back to seven points on four more occasions in the next five minutes, but Herrick, Kelly O’Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) and Eggers all hit shots to keep the advantage at nine points.

In fact, five Titans’ players finished in double figures as, in addition to Herrick, O’Keef had 15 points on six-for-eight shooting and Turtenwald had 14 points. Rosicky added 11 and Eggers had 10.

Meanwhile, the Pointers struggled getting the ball inside where they had success against the Titans in previous meetings. UW-Stevens Point was unable to take advantage from the perimeter, making just two of 14 three-pointers.

“We wanted to do a better job defensively and that was important to us,” UW-Oshkosh coach Pam Ruder said, admitting they switched defenders on Pointer forwards Amanda Nechuta and Amy Scott from past encounters. “On offense, we did an excellent job attacking and mixing things up.”

The Titans’ only downfall was at the free throw line where they were just 18-for-34 for the game and almost allowed the Pointers back in the game. UW-Stevens Point cut the lead to five points with nine seconds left and nearly intercepted an inbounds pass before fouling Turtenwald, who made her final two attempts to seal the win.

Nechuta led the Pointers with 21 points and nine rebounds, closing her career with a school record 1,801 points in her conference-record 120th game played.

Titans Pull Away To Defeat Warhawks
In WIAC Tournament Opener

UW-Oshkosh scored 18 of the first 22 points in the second half to pull away and defeat UW-Whitewater, 88-73, in a quarterfinal round contest of the WIAC Women's Basketball Tournament held Monday (Feb. 21) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (21-5) advances to the semifinal round of the eight-team WIAC Tournament, where the third-seeded Titans will visit second seed UW-Stevens Point (21-5) on Wednesday (Feb. 23). The Pointers qualified for their semifinal round contest with UW-Oshkosh by tripping seventh seed UW-Platteville (13-13), 65-56, on Monday. UW-Stevens Point, ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, has defeated UW-Oshkosh twice this season, winning games of 63-56 on Jan. 19 in Stevens Point and 63-59 on Feb. 19 in Oshkosh.

Other quarterfinal round winners of the WIAC Tournament on Monday were UW-Stout (20-6) and UW-Eau Claire (16-10), with the top-seeded Blue Devils edging eighth seed UW-La Crosse (11-15), 73-66, and the fifth-seeded Blugolds upsetting fourth seed UW-River Falls (17-8), 62-43. UW-Stout will host UW-Eau Claire in a semifinal round matchup on Wednesday.

Compliments of several UW-Whitewater (14-12) turnovers, UW-Oshkosh scurried to an 8-0 lead in the first half. The Titans struck early from the perimeter with a pair of 3-pointers by Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) and Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) before UW-Whitewater recorded its first basket. The Titans went to intermission leading 40-34.

"We definitely wanted to come out very strong initially," UW-Oshkosh head coach Pam Ruder said. "We were getting nice wide-open 3s and they were going in for us early."

Leaning on its eight point lead most of the first half, UW-Oshkosh never let the Warhawks within more than three. UW-Whitewater's Jessica Wendt hit one of two free throws with approximately eight minutes left before Rosicky's 3-pointer initiated a 7-0 Titans run.

The Titans outscored Whitewater 48-39 in the second half, leading by more than 20 at times.

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) and Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) led UW-Oshkosh in scoring with 16 points, while Rosicky added 14 and Turtenwald eight.

Amy Morris and Nya Geschke each scored 12 points to lead UW-Whitewater in scoring.

Pointers Trip Up Titans

Laurie Turtenwald The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team considers losing like missing a meal.

"It just makes us that much hungrier," said UW-Oshkosh's Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) after a 63-59 loss to UW-Stevens Point on Saturday (Feb. 19) in Kolf Sports Center. "UW-Stevens Point beat us twice in the past during regular season and then we beat them in the tournament. We'll just have to do it again."

The loss eliminates the Titans from the conference crown and drops UW-Oshkosh (20-5/11-5 WIAC) into third place in the league. UW-Oshkosh will be the third seed for next week's WIAC Tournament, opening play on Monday (Feb. 21) in Kolf Sports Center against sixth seed UW-Whitewater.

"We have to forget about this," said UW-Oshkosh's Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis). "It's unfortunate we couldn't have a share of the title, but now we have to focus on what's most important, and that's the conference tournament because that's what's going to get us that bid into the NCAA Tournament."

Stumbling early, the Titans allowed UW-Stevens Point a 14-8 head start. Then, with Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) in foul trouble and defensive miscommunications by UW-Oshkosh, the Pointers held their lead throughout the first half.

"They're a different team when Herrick is sitting on the bench," said UW-Stevens Point head coach Shirley Egner. "Herrick's a great player. They've been playing with four guards and a post player and now you take out their post player and we should be able to take advantage of that inside."

The Titans trailed 34-28 at halftime.

The offense couldn't fine a rhythm, with the exception of Rosicky and Turtenwald.

They combined for 17 of the Titans' 28 points at the break, including three 3-pointers.

"I thought Turtenwald played an excellent game for them," Egner said. "She was driving and kicking and making shots and distributing the ball. And defensively she stepped it up too."

Down by six, the Titans charged through the second half. UW-Oshkosh took the lead on a basket by Herrick with 12:48 remaining and ended a 14-point run with a 50-42 lead.

"We had a nice stretch and put together back-to-back efforts as far as offensively putting the ball in the hoop strong with a lot of people attacking," said UW-Oshkosh head coach Pam Ruder. "And defensively, we got the job done also."

UW-O led until the final four minutes. After scoring on a 3-pointer by Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) with roughly seven minutes remaining, the well dried up on the Titans' field goals.

"Our shots just weren't falling. I thought we were still moving the ball around like we had been, we just weren't getting those open looks," Turtenwald said. "They played great defense and it's unfortunate for us we didn't knock those shots down when we had them."

For more than five minutes, the Titans failed to score a single field goal. They had a pair of free throws as the Pointers went on an 11-2 spree.

Within one on a jumper by Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis) with 36 seconds left, the Titans couldn't get over the hump with the Pointers scoring the final three points of the game.

Titans Give Ruder 200th Coaching Win

Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) scored 18 points to tie a career high as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team gave head coach Pam Ruder her 200th win at the school with a 71-66 victory over UW-Platteville on Tuesday (Feb. 8) in Platteville.

Ruder, who was named UW-Oshkosh's third head women's basketball coach on May 2, 1996, has guided the Titans to a nine-year record of 200-44. Ruder is the sixth women's basketball coach in WIAC history win at least 200 games, joining UW-Stout's Mark Thomas (303), UW-Oshkosh's Carol Anhalt (288), UW-Eau Claire's Lisa Stone (277), UW-Stevens Point's Shirley Egner (268) and UW-Whitewater's Dianne Jones (229).

O'Keef helped UW-Oshkosh (19-4/10-4 WIAC) clinch a home game in the first round of the upcoming WIAC Tournament by scoring 18 points on six-of-nine shooting from the the field, including four-of-five shooting behind the three-point line, and two-of-two shooting from the free-throw stripe. O'Keef also grabbed four rebounds and dished off one assist during her 25 minutes of playing time.

UW-Oshkosh also received 16 points, three rebounds and three steals from Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton), 13 points, four rebounds and two assists from Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) and six points, seven assists and two rebounds from Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa).

UW-Oshkosh concluded the game shooting 57.1 percent (24-42) from the field, including 72.7 (8-11) behind the three-point line, and 62.5 (15-24) from the free-throw stripe. The Titans shot 66.7 percent (10-15) from the field in the second half while making four of their five three-point tries.

J.J. Jumper To Visit Kolf Sports Center

J.J. Jumper, the official basketball mascot of the NCAA, will visit UW-Oshkosh's basketball doubleheader against UW-La Crosse on Saturday (Feb. 5) in Kolf Sports Center.

J.J. Jumper's purpose is to increase enthusiasm and awareness of NCAA Basketball, while engaging and educating youth on healthy physical, emotional and educational values. J.J.'s mission is to represent both genders and all races.

J.J. Jumper is an attention-getting six-foot, five-inch green creature with orange hair, size 26 shoes and a big heart that motivates youth to do their best on and off the court. J.J. appears at men's and women's basketball games, giving away NCAA Basketball promotional items and performing skits during timeouts and/or halftime.

The 2004-05 basketball season is the fifth for J.J. Jumper. During the past four seasons, J.J. has made more than 300 visits at NCAA institutions, appearing at almost 600 basketball games. J.J. performs at regular season basketball games in all three NCAA divisions, conference tournaments and all NCAA basketball championships.

J.J. Jumper's appearance in Kolf Sports Center is also a part of the NCAA's Take A Kid To The Game Program. Kids, ages 12 and under, will receive FREE ADMISSION to the basketball doubleheader with the purchase of an adult ticket. Ticket prices for the doubleheader are $8 for adults and $4 for students (elementary through high school) and senior citizens. UW-Oshkosh students will be admitted FREE with their university identification card.

UW-Oshkosh's basketball doubleheader against UW-La Crosse begins at 5 p.m. with the women's game and concludes at 7:30 p.m. with the men's contest. Also on Saturday, UW-Oshkosh will hold its annual women's basketball alumni game. That contest involving former Titans begins at 2 p.m. in Albee Hall.

Titans Fall From WIAC Lead

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team fell out of first place in the WIAC standings for the first time in 28 league games when it lost a 61-50 decision to UW-Stout on Tuesday (Feb. 1) in Menomonie.

The setback dropped UW-Oshkosh (17-4/8-4 WIAC) to third place in the WIAC standings behind co-leaders UW-Stevens Point (16-4/8-3 WIAC) and UW-Stout (15-5/8-3 WIAC). UW-Oshkosh, which entered Tuesday's contest ranked 19th in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, had occupied first place in the WIAC standings since the first league game of the 2003-04 season.

UW-Stout, ranked 21st in the NCAA Division III, took control of UW-Oshkosh in the opening minutes of play as it scored 11 straight points to take a 13-4 lead at the 15:19 mark of the first half. The Titans cut their deficit to 16-13 at the 8:09 mark of the opening period, but the Blue Devils answered with nine of the next 14 points to take a 25-18 advantage to intermission.

Both teams struggled with its offense in the first half as UW-Stout turned the basketball over 13 times and shot 33.3 percent (11-33) from the field while UW-Oshkosh committed 18 turnovers and shot 29.6 percent (8-27) from the field.

UW-Stout increased its advantage to 33-20 at the 17:05 mark on the second half and held a lead of nine-plus points the rest of the game. The Blue Devils' largest lead of the contest was a 56-38 tally with 2:35 to play. UW-Stout committed another 13 turnovers in the second half, but made 12 of its 20 shots (60 percent) from the field and 11 of its 14 attempts (78.6 percent) from the free-throw line. UW-Oshkosh had only five turnovers in the second half, but managed to hit just 10 of its 36 shots (27.8 percent) from the field.

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) scored 16 points and grabbed six rebounds to lead UW-Oshkosh, while Whitney Tyriver (Fr. • Oshkosh) scored eight points. The Titans also received seven points, five rebounds and five steals from Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) and seven points and five rebounds from Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis).

UW-Stout, which defeated UW-Oshkosh 88-58 on Jan. 12 in Kolf Sports Center, was led by Kelsey Duoss. Duoss scored 19 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and blocked seven shots in 29 minutes of action. The Blue Devils also received eight points and nine rebounds from Lindsey Erichsen and four points, seven rebounds and four assists from Molly Hendricks.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the game shooting 28.6 percent (18-63) from the field, 23.5 percent (4-17) behind the three-point line and 66.7 percent (10-15) from the free-throw line. The Titans totaled 23 turnovers in the game and had only four scoring runs of four-plus points.

UW-Stout finished the game shooting 43.4 percent (23-53) from the field, 15 percent (3-20) behind the three-point line and 66.7 percent (12-18) from the free-throw stripe. The Blue Devils had 26 turnovers in the game and won the rebounding battle, 46-34.

Titans Stumble To Falcons

The defense was solid, but unfortunately for the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team, the offense wasn't where it needed to be in a 50-48 loss to UW-River Falls on Saturday (Jan. 29) in River Falls.

"Our defense's effort was commendable," UW-Oshkosh head coach Pam Ruder said. "But our offense was struggling again. We weren't able to get the ball in the hoop when we needed a bucket in the end."

The Titans shot 30.4 percent (17-56) from the floor, and Michele Rosicky's (Sr. • Plover) jumper with 1:54 left in the game was the last time UW-Oshkosh (17-3/8-3 WIAC) would score.

Rosicky finished with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting from the field, while Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) added 11 points and nine rebounds.

"Michele was the pleasant surprise," Ruder said. "She gave us a big spark off the bench hitting a couple of big 3s for us."

The Falcons (13-6/6-5 WIAC) were led by Erin Effle's 23 points and 10 rebounds.

"UW-River Falls came in and they were extremely aggressive," Ruder said. "We were ale to get the ball in the paint to find great scoring opportunities, but unfortunately we didn't get the ball to drop in as much as we needed for a win."

The Falcons shot 50 percent (14-28) in the first half, but only led by four points at halftime.

In the second half, UW-River Falls was held to 29.6 percent (8-27) shooting, but scored 11 second-chance points off 11 offensive rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh missed an opportunity to take over sole possession of first place in the WIAC as UW-Stevens Point lost in overtime to UW-Stout, 76-68.

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stevens Point remained tied for first place with UW-Stout one-half game out.

Titans Suffer Second Straight Loss

Facing a five-point halftime deficit to fifth-ranked UW-Oshkosh, the UW-Stevens Point women’s basketball team needed to rebound in more ways than on.

The Pointers did just that, opening the half with a 12-2 run and overcoming a huge deficit in first half rebounds to tighten the WIAC title chase with a 63-56 win over the Titans on Wednesday (Jan. 19) in Stevens Point.

Both teams are now 6-2 in league play and tied for first place at the midway point of the league schedule. The victory was UW-Stevens Point’s eighth straight and put the Pointers at 13-3 overall after a 5-3 start. UW-Oshkosh suffered its second straight defeat and fell to 15-2 overall.

The Titans owned a 25-10 advantage on the boards in a tightly-contested first half and scored the last five points of the period to take a 31-26 halftime lead. The advantage was the biggest by either team in the first half after UW-Stevens Point scored the game’s first six points.

The Pointers opened the second half on a roll, hitting nine of their first 12 shots and grabbing seven of the first eight rebound opportunities. UW-Stevens Point took the lead at 34-33 on a layup by Haley Houghton and expanded the lead to 42-35 before the Titans pulled to within 44-41 on a backcourt steal by Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) and layup by Kristin Mader (So. • South Milwaukee) with 11:01 remaining.

However, the Pointers fought off the Titans’ rally and pushed the lead to 55-43 with 6:13 left on a baseline jumper by Amy Scott as the Titans missed their next six shots.

UW-Oshkosh, which entered the game ranked 11th in the NCAA Division III in three-point field goal percentage and averages nearly six three-pointers per game, was held to two-for-10 shooting from behind the arc. Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis), however, hit one of the Titans’ two three-pointers to start a rally as UW-Oshkosh went on an 11-2 run, scoring eight straight points to finish the spurt and pull within 57-54 with 1:58 left.

The Pointers then missed a shot at the other end and the Titans had the ball with a chance to tie, but Turtenwald drove the lane and was called for a charge with 1:19 remaining. UW-Stevens Point missed two of its next four free throws, but Scott rebounded both times and also came up with a key defensive rebound in the final minute as the Pointers outrebounded the Titans 23-14 after halftime to seal their eighth win over UW-Oshkosh in the last 11 meetings.

UW-Oshkosh entered the game ranked sixth nationally in field goal percentage at 46.3 percent, but shot just 28.6 percent in the second half and 36.8 percent for the game.

Amanda Nechuta scored 24 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Pointers. Cassandra Schultz added 16 points and five assists. Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) and Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) shared scoring honors for the Titans with 19 points apiece.

Blue Devils Stun Top-Ranked Titans

The UW-Stout women's basketball team pulled away from top-ranked UW-Oshkosh midway through the first half and coasted to an 88-58 victory over the Titans on Wednesday (Jan. 12) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (15-1/6-1 WIAC), which was named the top-ranked team in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com on Tuesday (Jan. 11), had its 15-game winning streak end with the loss. The setback was the Titans' worst since an 85-55 loss to UW-Whitewater in Albee Hall on Dec. 14, 1985. It also was just fifth time since the 1974-75 season (734 games) that UW-Oshkosh had lost a contest by 30 or more points.

UW-Stout (10-5/3-3 WIAC) dominated nearly every facet of the contest after taking the lead for good at 14-11 on a three-point basket by Erin Churchill with 12:19 left in the first half. The Blue Devils then scored 25 of the next 38 points to take a 39-24 lead to intermission. UW-Oshkosh turned the basketball over nine times in the opening period and was held to just 21.2 percent (7-33) shooting from the field.

UW-Oshkosh fell behind by 21 points in the second half before Whitney Tyriver (Fr. • Oshkosh) cut the Titans' deficit to 46-27 on a layup with 17:12 to play. The basket was UW-Oshkosh's first since the 8:27 mark of the first half, a span of nearly 11 minutes.

UW-Oshkosh continued to chip away at the UW-Stout lead and pulled to within 55-43 on a layup by Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) with 11:55 remaining in the game. The Blue Devils responded to the Titans' charge with four straight points and 10 of the next 13 to take a 69-47 lead with 7:48 left. UW-Stout made only two baskets the rest of the way, but held off UW-Oshkosh by converting 15 of 22 free-throw tries.

Eggers led UW-Oshkosh in scoring with 12 points, while Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) and Darci Kerzan (So. • Pardeeville) added nine each and Tyriver eight. Herrick also collected six rebounds and recorded three steals for the Titans.

Churchill scored 24 points, grabbed four rebounds, dished off three assists and tallied two steals to lead UW-Stout to just its eighth victory over UW-Oshkosh in 47 meetings. The Blue Devils also received 14 points, four assists and three rebounds from Lindsey Geissler, 10 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots from Kelsey Duoss and 10 points, five rebounds and five assists from Molly Hendricks.

UW-Oshkosh shot 33.3 percent (11-33) from the field in the second half to finish the game at 27.3 (18-66). The shooting performance was the Titans' worst in 47 games. The Titans also shot 25 percent (3-12) behind the three-point line and 61.3 percent (19-31) from the free-throw line.

UW-Stout concluded the game shooting 45 percent (27-60) from the field, 35 percent (7-20) behind the three-point line and 71.1 percent (27-38) from the free-throw stripe. The Blue Devils, who won the rebounding tally, 47-41, and the turnover count, 18-20, converted on 23 of their 32 free-throw attempts in the second half.

Mikolajczak Named
NCAA Today's VIII Award Winner

Kay Mikolajczak, a former All-America performer in both women's basketball and women's outdoor track and field at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, has been named by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a 2005 recipient of the Today's Top VIII Award. The award honors eight distinguished student-athletes from the preceding calendar year for outstanding achievement in athletics, academics and community service.

Mikolajczak will be recognized Sunday (Jan. 9) during the Honors Dinner at the 99th Annual NCAA Convention in Dallas, Texas. The NCAA Today's Top VIII Awards are selected by the NCAA Honors Committee, which includes athletics administrators at member institutions and nationally distinguished citizens who are former student-athletes.

Mikolajczak, who graduated in May with a major in biology and a minor in pre-physical therapy, is the first student-athlete from UW-Oshkosh to receive the NCAA Today's Top VIII Award. The Franklin native is currently playing professional basketball in Denmark for the Vitus Bering Pirates of the Danish National League.

In addition to Mikolajczak, other 2005 NCAA Today's Top VIII Award winners include Kelly Albin (women's lacrosse) of the University of California-Davis, Caesar Garcia (men's swimming and diving) of Auburn University, Tara Kirk (women's swimming and diving) of Stanford University, Kelly Mazzante (women's basketball) of Pennsylvania State University, Ogonna Nnamani (women's volleyball) of Stanford University, Angela Ruggiero (women's ice hockey) of Harvard University and Kelly Wilson (women's soccer) of the University of Texas.

Past winners of the NCAA Today's Top VIII Award include football players Drew Brees, John Elway, Archie Griffin and Peyton Manning, basketball players Cheryl Miller and David Robinson, volleyball player Karch Kiraly and softball player Lisa Fernandez.

After playing her freshman basketball campaign (2001) at UW-Eau Claire, Mikolajczak transferred to UW-Oshkosh and led the Titans to three 20-plus win seasons. Mikolajczak played in 80 games during her UW-Oshkosh career, including 67 starting assignments and 62 victories. Mikolajczak totaled 127 blocked shots, 643 rebounds and 1,124 points during her UW-Oshkosh career, the first, ninth and 11th-highest totals in school history, respectively.

Mikolajczak received NCAA Division III All-America accolades by D3hoops.com and the Women's Basketball Coaches Association this past winter after helping the Titans to a 21-6 record and a share of the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) championship. The All-WIAC first team selection also averaged 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game while leading the league with 12 double-doubles.

In 2003, Mikolajczak gained All-WIAC first team honors and helped UW-Oshkosh to a 22-6 record by averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game. In 2002, Mikolajczak led UW-Oshkosh to a 21-7 record by averaging 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest.

Mikolajczak also was a three-year member of the UW-Oshkosh women£s outdoor track and field team. Last May, she placed fourth in the heptathlon to gain All-America honors and help UW-Oshkosh to the team title at the NCAA Division III Championship. Mikolajczak also finished fifth in the heptathlon to receive All-America honors at the 2002 NCAA Division III Championship. In 2003, she won the javelin at the WIAC Championship.

Mikolajczak compiled an astonishing 3.93 cumulative grade point average while attending UW-Oshkosh. The Salem (Va.) Rotary Club recognized Mikolajczak£s outstanding performance on the court and in the classroom by naming her the winner of the 2004 Jostens Trophy, an award recognizing the most outstanding female student-athlete in NCAA Division III basketball.

Mikolajczak was selected to the 2004 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America College Division Women's Basketball second team, an honor that marked the first time a UW-Oshkosh women's basketball player was recognized by the organization. She also was one of three recipients of the WIAC's 2004 Judy Kruckman Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award.

Last spring, Mikolajczak was announced as one of the 2004 winners of the UW-Oshkosh Chancellor's Award For Excellence. She also was presented the UW-Oshkosh John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, a postgraduate scholarship of $7,500 from the NCAA and a second team mention on the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Women's Track and Field/Cross Country squad.

Last October in Indianapolis, Ind., Mikolajczak was honored as the 2004 NCAA Woman of the Year representative for the state of Wisconsin. She was one of 52 NCAA Woman of the Year award winners, representing each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Mikolajczak was the first UW-Oshkosh student-athlete to receive the award.

Mikolajczak, a past recipient of the UW-Oshkosh Governor's, the UW-Oshkosh Chancellor's and the Brady Corporation scholarships, volunteered numerous hours with the Special Olympics, Senior Day Care, ADVOCAP and youth camps/clinics. She also was president of UW-Oshkosh's Student-Athlete Advisory Board and a member of the school£s Gender Equity Committee.

Titans Hold Off Pioneers

Brittany Herrick During the holidays, almost everyone encounters the guest who refuses to leave. That's what UW-Platteville was to UW-Oshkosh.

The Pioneers never posed much of a threat, but stuck around enough to bother UW-Oshkosh in a 58-49 Titans' victory on Wednesday (Jan. 5) in Kolf Sports Center.

"We weren't in a position to put them away tonight because of the errors we made," said UW-Oshkosh head coach Pam Ruder. "Obviously what we try and do is execute our system and we have to get all five people on the same page."

During several key stretches, the Titans weren't reading the same book. UW-Oshkosh committed nine turnovers in the first half and finished with 25 on the night.

"We made a lot of unforced errors tonight of a wide variety. Some of it was tying to do too much too soon, and some were some travel calls early," Ruder said. "We know in order to win this conference, we have to take care of the ball and that's what kept UW-Platteville in that game."

Grabbing a 12-11 lead, the Titans (14-0/5-0 WIAC) never relinquished control of the game. Though they chalked up another victory, it wasn't the type of performance expected of the third-ranked team in the NCAA Division III according to D3hoops.com.

"It was pretty much, we're going to take what we can get tonight," said UW-Oshkosh's Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa). "It wasn't necessarily clean tonight, but we're going to take it."

Trailing by seven at the break, UW-Platteville (9-3/2-2 WIAC) pulled within two, 27-25, with a couple of quick strikes early in the second half. However, UW-Oshkosh retaliated with an 11-0 run for a 38-25 lead.

Those types of runs were made possible by an UW-Oshkosh bench that outscored its counterpart, 26-9.

"I don't know about a team effort, but it can be classified as one with people getting those buckets here and there," Eggers said. "It's definitely what we needed, getting those points off the bench."

This wasn't by any means the type of message the Titans expected to send to the rest of the WIAC. UW-Oshkosh remains undefeated - doing so by shooting 56 percent from the field - but failed at closing out the game without help of key free throws in the final minute.

"We did what we needed to do tonight, but we know we could do better," Ruder said. "It wasn't our cleanest performance and we know we're starting a very tough stretch within the conference. This is traditionally a very strong time for us."

Eggers led UW-Oshkosh in scoring with 11 points, while Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) added 10. Holly Kaiser led UW-Platteville in scoring with 14 points.

Titans Overcome Late Deficit To Remain Unbeaten

Michele Rosicky's (Sr. • Plover) three-point basket with 49 seconds left to play capped a late second half rally as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team edged Rockford College, 62-60, in the championship game of the Rockford College Holiday Tournament held Thursday (Dec. 30) in Rockford, Ill.

UW-Oshkosh (13-0), ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, overcame a 51-44 deficit with 7:55 remaining in the contest by going on a game-ending 18-9 scoring run. The Titans' scoring spree featured 10 points by Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton), including a string of four consecutive UW-Oshkosh baskets.

Rosicky's game-winning shot was set up after UW-Oshkosh's Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) tied the score at 59-59 with 1:25 left in the contest and Kristina Dorman put Rockford College ahead 60-59 on a free throw with one minute remaining. The Titans led only three times in the second half, counts of 31-30, 32-31 and the game's final score.

UW-Oshkosh scored the first two points of the game, but fell behind 16-9 with 7:48 left in the first half. The Titans rallied back to tie the game at 25-25 and then scored six of the next eight points to take a 31-28 lead to intermission.

Eggers, who was named the tournament's most valuable player, scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished off two assists against the Regents. The Titans also received 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals from Herrick and 14 points and three rebounds from Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood). Herrick joined Eggers as a member of the all-tournament team.

Kristi Strunz scored 16 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded four steals for Rockford College, while Angie Butler scored 13 points and collected 10 rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh, which has defeated 194 of its last 234 opponents, shot 43.9 percent (25-57) from the field against Rockford College. The Titans also shot 35.3 percent (6-17) behind the three-point line and 60 percent (6-10) from the free-throw line. UW-Oshkosh totaled 17 turnovers in the game and lost the rebounding tally, 38-36.

Rockford College, winless in three meetings with UW-Oshkosh, finished the game shooting 39.6 percent (21-53) from the field, 25 percent (2-8) behind the three-point line and 59.3 percent (16-27) from the free-throw stripe.

Titans Battle Past Yellow Jackets

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team rallied from a six-point deficit early in the second half to defeat Baldwin-Wallace College (Ohio), 74-59, in an opening round game of the Rockford College Holiday Tournament held Wednesday (Dec. 29) in Rockford, Ill.

UW-Oshkosh (12-0), ranked third in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, advances to meet Rockford College (9-2) for the tournament championship on Thursday (Dec. 30). The Regents qualified for their title contest with the Titans by ousting The Franciscan University (Iowa), 79-68, on Wednesday.

UW-Oshkosh and Baldwin-Wallace College (6-4) played to seven ties in the first half before the Yellow Jackets took a 34-31 lead to intermission. With exception of the seven deadlocks, Baldwin-Wallace College led most of the opening period, including seven-point advantages of 28-21 and 31-24. UW-Oshkosh's biggest lead of the first half was two-point advantages of 8-6, 13-11 and 15-13.

Baldwin-Wallace College built a 39-33 lead in the second half before UW-Oshkosh stormed back to take a 45-41 advantage with 16:34 left to play. Following a tie at 49-49, UW-Oshkosh controlled the remaining 11:26 of the contest by outscoring its first-time opponent, 25-10. The Titans made only four baskets during the final 7:39 of play, but converted on eight of their 10 free-throw attempts. UW-Oshkosh's largest lead of the game was the 74-59 final score.

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) led UW-Oshkosh with 17 points and seven rebounds, while Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) scored 14 points, grabbed four rebounds and dished off four assists. Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) also added 13 points, two rebounds and two steals.

Michelle White led the Yellow Jackets in scoring with 12 points, while Carly Flowers and Stacia Shrider added eight each. Jessica Latimer collected a game-high eight rebounds for Baldwin-Wallace College.

UW-Oshkosh shot 54.2 percent (26-48) from the field, including 45.5 (5-11) behind the three-point line. The Titans shot 68 percent (17-25) from the free-throw line.

Baldwin-Wallace College, which suffered its third straight loss, shot just 37.9 percent (22-58) from the field. The Yellow Jackets also shot 46.7 percent (7-15) behind the three-point line and 80 percent (8-10) from the charity stripe.

UW-Oshkosh overcame a 38-27 disadvantage in rebounds by committing just nine turnovers. Baldwin-Wallace College had 21 turnovers in the game.

Titans Down Green Knights

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team took advantage of a slow St. Norbert College start and strolled to a 74-62 victory over the Green Knights on Saturday (Dec. 18) in De Pere.

UW-Oshkosh (9-0), which entered the game ranked fifth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, scored the first seven points of the contest and built a 20-3 advantage just eight minutes into play. St. Norbert College (2-3) was doomed in its effort to upset UW-Oshkosh right from the opening tip as it misfired on 14 of its first 15 shots from the field.

Trailing 34-18, St. Norbert College put together an 11-1 scoring run to cut its deficit to 35-29 with 1:41 left in the first half. The Titans then scored the last four points of the opening frame to take a 39-29 lead to intermission. Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) led UW-Oshkosh in the first half by totaling 10 points and five rebounds.

St. Norbert College made the score 43-38 in the second half before UW-Oshkosh reeled off nine straight points to take a 52-38 advantage with 13:04 to play. The Titans led by double digits the final 14:31 of the contest, including a 70-55 tally with 3:48 left.

Herrick had 18 points, seven rebounds and four steals to lead UW-Oshkosh, while Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) added 15 points, two rebounds and two steals. The Titans also got 13 points, four assists and three rebounds from Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis), 10 points, eight rebounds, three rebounds and two steals from Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) and 10 points and two assists from Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover).

Kelly Dugan scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds for St. Norbert College, which lost to UW-Oshkosh for the 11th time in 12 meetings. Abbey Johnson also contributed five points and 10 rebounds for the Green Knights.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the game shooting 42.9 percent (27-63) from the field, including 56.3 percent (9-16) behind the three-point line. The Titans also shot 91.7 percent (11-12) from the free-throw line and scored 30 of their points off the 23 St. Norbert College turnovers.

St. Norbert College recovered to shoot 45.6 percent (26-57) from the field after shooting 60 percent (15-25) in the second half. The Green Knights also shot 38.5 percent (5-13) behind the three-point line and 83.3 percent (5-6) from the free-throw stripe.

The two teams will play again on Wednesday (Dec. 22) in New Orleans, La.

Titans Move Into WIAC Lead

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team controlled UW-River Falls from the opening basket and coasted to an 82-62 victory over the Falcons on Saturday (Dec. 11) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (8-0/4-0 WIAC), which moved into sole possession of the WIAC lead with the win, never trailed UW-River Falls (6-2/2-1 WIAC) as it scored the first five points of the contest.

UW-Oshkosh stormed to a 15-5 lead at the 12:28 mark of the first half and increased its advantage to 31-16 nine minutes later. The Titans, behind 14 points from Shannon Eggers (Jr. ¢ Council Bluffs, Iowa), went to intermission leading 41-24. UW-Oshkosh shot 60.9 percent (14-23) from the field in the first half, compared to just 36.7 percent (11-30) for UW-River Falls.

The second half proved to be a mirror image of the first for the Titans as they scored another 41 points while shooting 55.6 percent (15-27) from the field. UW-Oshkosh opened the second half by increasing its lead to 47-26 before UW-River Falls staged a 17-7 scoring run to cut its deficit to 54-43 with 12:47 left in the game. Thanks to an 18-8 scoring run, UW-Oshkosh pushed its lead back to 21 points (72-51) with 5:45 to play. The Titans led by 17-plus points the remainder of the game.

UW-Oshkosh finished the contest with five players in double-figure scoring. Eggers led the Titans with 16 points, while Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood) and Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) scored 12 each and Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) and Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis) 10 each. Herrick also added six rebounds and four assists and O'Keef two rebounds and one assist.

UW-River Falls' Chantele Melgaard led all scorers with a game-high 20 points, counting 13 of them in the second half. The Falcons also received 12 points and seven rebounds from Megan Lindman.

UW-Oshkosh, which defeated UW-River Falls for the 30th time in 31 meetings, concluded the game shooting 58 percent (29-50) from the field and 77.3 percent (17-22) from the free-throw line. The Titans made seven of their 15 shots (46.7 percent) behind the three-point line.

UW-River Falls finished the contest shooting 41 percent (25-61) from the field, 29.2 percent (7-24) behind the three-point line and 55.6 percent (5-90 from the free-throw stripe. The Falcons were out rebounded by a 31-29 tally.

Titans Edge Blugolds On Late Basket

Shannon Eggers' (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) layup with eight seconds left gave the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team its only lead of the game and a 63-61 victory over UW-Eau Claire on Wednesday (Dec. 8) in Eau Claire.

The contest matched two of the top teams in the country as UW-Oshkosh (7-0/3-0 WIAC) was ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com and UW-Eau Claire (7-1/2-1 WIAC) ninth.

UW-Oshkosh, which trailed by as many as nine points in the first half and six points on three occasions in the second, scored its winning points following a missed UW-Eau Claire shot with 23 seconds remaining in the contest. The Blugolds pushed the basketball upcourt following Eggers' score, but didn't get off a shot before the final buzzer sounded.

Eggers tied the score at 61-61 with 1:38 left in the contest on a wide-open layup out of the Titans' half-court set.

UW-Eau Claire's Jessica Dickey missed a three-point shot on the ensuing possession, and then a steal by Becca Carstensen gave the Blugolds another chance. But Michelle Burns' jumper was off the mark, setting the stage for Eggers' game-winning basket.

UW-Eau Claire led 32-26 at halftime and by as many as nine points during the opening period. The Blugolds jumped to a 9-2 lead and built a 21-12 advantage with 7:11 remaining in the first half. Joanna Leafblad hit a three-point basket with 23 seconds left in the first period to put UW-Eau Claire up 32-24, but UW-Oshkosh's Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) hit a jumper at the buzzer to send the game to halftime with the Blugolds up by six points.

UW-Eau Claire struggled shooting the basketball in the second half as it shot just 31 percent (9-29). The Blugolds scored just three points, all on free throws, on their last seven possessions of the game and were outscored, 8-3, in the final five minutes. Liz VanDrasek's rebound and putback with 5:04 left was UW-Eau Claire's last field goal.

UW-Oshkosh shot 50 percent (16-32) from the field in the second half to overcome a 49-43 deficit with 10:53 to play. The Titans stayed close to the Blugolds in the second half thanks to 10 points from Eggers and eight from Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton).

UW-Oshkosh's starting five accounted for 53 of its 63 points. Herrick led the Titans in scoring with 14 points, while Eggers tallied 13 and Rosicky 12. Eggers paced the Titans with nine rebounds, while Abby Holler (Sr. • La Crosse) collected eight and Herrick seven.

Dickey led UW-Eau Claire in scoring with 15 points, while Katie Murphy counted 12 and Burns 11. Carstensen and Rachel Becker both grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Blugolds.

UW-Oshkosh finished the game shooting 40 percent (26-65) from the field, including 38.9 (7-18) behind the three-point line. The Titans shot 57.1 percent (4-7) from the free-throw line.

UW-Eau Claire concluded the contest shooting 36.7 percent (22-60) from the field, including 32 percent (8-25) behind the three-point line. The Blugolds shot 75 percent (9-12) from the free-throw stripe.

The contest featured only 17 turnovers, with UW-Eau Claire committing just seven. The Titans won the rebounding battle, 43-37.

Titans Surge Past Eagles

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team outscored UW-La Crosse by 25 points during an 11-minute span of the second half to pull away and defeat the Eagles, 84-57, on Saturday (Dec. 4) in La Crosse.

UW-Oshkosh (6-0/2-0 WIAC) went to intermission leading 37-31 and scored the first two points of the second half to build a 39-31 advantage with 19:34 to play. Following six straight points by UW-La Crosse (4-2/0-1 WIAC), UW-Oshkosh distanced itself from the Eagles by scoring 35 of the next 45 points to take a 70-47 lead with 6:19 remaining in the contest. The Titans, who had seven players register points during their monumental scoring run, led by 24-plus points the rest of the game.

UW-La Crosse turned the ball over 15 times and was held to just 26 points and 29.2 percent (7-24) shooting from the field in the second half. UW-Oshkosh shot 55.9 percent (19-34) from the field in second half while scoring 24 of its 47 points off UW-La Crosse turnovers.

Play in the first half featured six lead changes and five ties. UW-Oshkosh's biggest lead of the first half was 10 points, scores of 35-25 and 37-27, while UW-La Crosse's largest advantage of the opening period was two points, scores of 13-11 and 16-14. UW-La Crosse shot just 32.4 percent (11-34) from the field in the first half, but trailed only 37-31 at halftime after posting a 24-16 rebounding advantage and forcing nine UW-Oshkosh turnovers.

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) scored 20 points, grabbed five rebounds and blocked two shots to lead UW-Oshkosh, while Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) added 10 points and four rebounds. The Titans totaled 36 points, 16 rebounds and 11 steals off the bench, including nine points, three rebounds and three steals from Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis) and eight points, three rebounds and one steal from Whitney Tyriver (Fr. • Oshkosh).

Shawna Koss scored 14 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead UW-La Crosse, while Jana Merchlewitz contributed 11 points and six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, concluded the game shooting 55 percent (33-60) from the field and 76.5 percent (13-17) from the free-throw line. UW-La Crosse shot 31 percent (18-58) from the field and 75 percent (18-24) from the free-throw stripe. The Titans, who defeated the Eagles for the 32nd time in 33 meetings, rallied to win the rebounding battle, 39-37.

Titans' WIAC Opener A Success

Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) tallied a career-high 23 points to lead five double-figure scorers as the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team upended UW-Whitewater, 87-62, on Wednesday (Dec. 1) in Kolf Sports Center. The contest was the WIAC opener for both squads.

Herrick compiled her 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting from the field and 5-of-7 shooting from the free-throw line. She also grabbed eight rebounds and dished off two assists during her 31 minutes of action.

In addition to Herrick's performance, the Titans also received 11 points, seven rebounds and four steals from Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa), 11 points and four assists from Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) and 10 points and five rebounds from both Kristin Mader (So. • South Milwaukee) and Kelly O'Keef (Jr. • Shorewood).

UW-Oshkosh (5-0/1-0 WIAC) began the game by taking an 11-1 lead just 3:48 into play. The Titans extended their advantage to 27-14 before UW-Whitewater (3-3/0-1 WIAC) staged a 16-6 scoring run to make the count 33-30 with 24 seconds left in the first half. UW-Oshkosh went to intermission leading 35-30 following a basket by Eggers with just seven seconds left in the opening period. Herrick led the Titans to their five-point halftime lead by scoring 12 points and collecting six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked sixth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, put the Warhawks away midway through the second half. Leading 48-43, the Titans went on a 21-2 scoring run, including eight points by Mader, to take a 69-45 advantage with 6:43 left in the game. UW-Oshkosh's largest lead the rest of the way was 28 points, scores of 81-53, 83-55 and 85-57.

Lindsey Buechner led UW-Whitewater by scoring 15 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. The Warhawks also received 10 points and three rebounds from Kristine Lyman.

UW-Oshkosh, which has won 21 of its last 24 games against UW-Whitewater, shot 52.5 percent (31-59) from the field, including 50 percent (7-14) behind the three-point line. The Titans also made 18 of their 23 attempts (78.3 percent) from the free-throw line. UW-Oshkosh had 20 turnovers and won the rebounding battle over UW-Whitewater, 45-36.

UW-Whitewater shot 32.4 percent (22-68) from the field, including just 20 percent (2-10) behind the three-point line. The Warhawks made 16 of their 22 tries (72.7 percent) from the free-throw line. UW-Whitewater committed 22 turnovers in the contest.

Titans Smother Eagles

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team limited Edgewood College to only six baskets in each half as it throttled the Eagles, 58-34, on Saturday (Nov. 27) in Madison.

UW-Oshkosh's victory, its fifth straight over Edgewood College, was keyed by a defense that yielded a field goal percentage of just 20 percent (12-60) and registered 16 steals and a school-record tying 10 blocked shots. The Titans have now held all four of their opponents of the 2004-05 season under 43 points and 29 percent shooting from the field.

UW-Oshkosh (4-0) and Edgewood College (2-2) combined to miss their first seven shots of the contest until Nickie Updike scored the first of her game-high 14 points to give the Eagles an early 2-0 advantage.

Edgewood College increased its lead to 9-5 before UW-Oshkosh rallied to take the lead for good at 14-12 on a three-point basket by Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) with 5:48 remaining in the first half. The Titans then scored nine of the next 12 points to take a 23-15 advantage to intermission.

Edgewood College cut its deficit to 25-20 in the second half before UW-Oshkosh scored five straight points to take a 30-20 lead with 16:57 to play. The Titans recorded their 24-point victory by outscoring the Eagles, 21-5, during the last 11:19 of the contest.

Eggers totaled nine points, four blocked shots, three rebounds and two assists for the Titans, while Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) compiled nine points, five rebounds, two assists and two steals. UW-Oshkosh also received eight points and two assists from Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) and seven points, 10 rebounds and two steals from Abby Holler (Sr. • La Crescent, Minn.).

In addition to her 14 points, Updike also had 10 rebounds for Edgewood College. The Eagles also got seven points and three rebounds from Jordane Kittoe.

UW-Oshkosh, ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, shot 34.7 percent (17-49) from the field and 70 percent (21-30) from the free throw line. The Titans won the rebounding battle against the Eagles, 45-44.

Titans Overwhelm Falcons

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team received scoring from all 14 players as it blistered Concordia University, 98-33, on Tuesday (Nov. 23) in Kolf Sports Center.

UW-Oshkosh (3-0), ranked ninth in the NCAA Division III by D3hoops.com, opened the game with an 18-0 scoring run and didn't allow a Concordia University (0-3) point until 12:47 left in the first half.

UW-Oshkosh followed the Falcons' first score, a basket by Leah Buyarski, with seven straight points to take a 25-2 advantage with 9:30 remaining in the opening period. The Titans scored 22 more points in the first half and went to intermission leading 47-15.

UW-Oshkosh opened the second half with a 25-2 scoring run to post a 72-17 lead with 11:54 left in the game. The Titans maintained a lead of 53-plus points the final 9:20 of the contest, with the game's final score being the largest point differential.

Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover) led UW-Oshkosh in scoring with 14 points, while Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa) added 11, Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) 10 and Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis) and Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) nine each. UW-Oshkosh compiled a 37-28 rebounding advantage as Kara Kujawa (So. • Plover) and Herrick both collected five to lead the Titans. UW-Oshkosh had all 14 of its players participate in at least 10 minutes of the contest.

Ashley Vorwerk had 10 points to lead Concordia University in scoring, while Erika Ensign contributed nine. Buyarski led the Falcons with six rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh concluded the game shooting 53.7 percent (36-67) from the field, including 59.4 percent (19-32) in the second half. The Titans made a WIAC-record 13 three-point baskets by shooting 72.2 percent (13-18) behind the three-point arc. UW-Oshkosh also made 13 of its 16 free throws (81.3 percent), blocked seven shots and committed just seven turnovers.

Concordia University shot just 28.2 percent (11-39) from the field, including only 25 percent (2-8) behind the three-point line. The Falcons made nine of their 14 free throws (64.3 percent), but were hindered in their performance by 27 turnovers.

Titans Trample Spartans

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team allowed only 22 points over the final 30 minutes of play as it routed Aurora University (Ill.), 65-33, on Saturday (Nov. 20) in Wheaton, Ill.

UW-Oshkosh (2-0) opened the contest with eight straight points and remained in control of Aurora University (0-2) the rest of the way. Aurora University did pull to within 14-11 of UW-Oshkosh with 10:12 left in the first half, but the Titans responded to the Spartans' charge by going on a game-ending 41-22 scoring run.

Aurora University counted only 12 points in the second half as it committed 13 turnovers and shot just 16.7 percent (5-30) from the field. The Spartans' largest deficit in the second half was the game's final tally.

UW-Oshkosh was led by Abby Holler (Sr. • La Crescent, Minn.), who scored 11 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for her second career double-double. The Titans also received 10 points, three rebounds and two steals from Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis) and 10 points, two rebounds and two assists from Michele Rosicky (Sr. • Plover).

Off the bench, UW-Oshkosh benefited from the seven points and two assists of Becky Knapp (So. • West Allis), the two points and six rebounds of Whitney Tyriver (Fr. • Oshkosh) and the two points and five rebounds of Kristin Mader (So. • South Milwaukee).

Beth Plucinski and Alison Kohler both had six points to lead Aurora University in scoring, while Courtney Lillard collected a team-high seven rebounds.

UW-Oshkosh finished the game shooting 48.1 percent (25-52) from the field and 60 percent (12-20) from the free-throw line. Aurora University shot 22 percent (13-59) from the field and 50 percent (5-10) from the free-throw stripe. The Titans won the rebounding battle by a 46-34 tally.

Titans Defeat Eagles In Season Opener

It wasn't the prettiest season opener in the 34-year history of the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball program, but in the end it was an easy 59-42 victory for the Titans over Benedictine University (Ill.) on Friday (Nov. 19) in Wheaton, Ill.

UW-Oshkosh (1-0) won its season debut for the 25th time in 31 years despite committing 25 turnovers and shooting just 38.1 percent (24-63) from the field. UW-Oshkosh's defense also contributed to the inconsistent flow of play by forcing Benedictine University (0-1) into 22 turnovers and just 26.7 percent (16-60) field goal shooting.

Benedictine University, winless in its two previous meetings with UW-Oshkosh, took a 12-8 lead at the 12:39 mark of the first half. UW-Oshkosh rallied back from its early deficit by scoring 13 of the next 15 points to take 21-14 lead at the 6:59 mark of the opening period. The Titans went to the halftime break holding a 30-22 advantage.

UW-Oshkosh opened the second half with a 22-4 scoring run to take a 52-26 lead with 9:01 left in the game. The Eagles outscored the Titans, 16-7, the rest of the way to cut their margin of defeat to 17 points.

Shannon Eggers (Jr. • Council Bluffs, Iowa), making her UW-Oshkosh debut after transferring from NCAA Division II University of Nebraska-Omaha, scored 12 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished off four assists to lead the Titans. UW-Oshkosh also received nine points, eight rebounds and three steals from Laurie Turtenwald (Sr. • West Allis), eight points, nine rebounds and two assists from Brittany Herrick (Jr. • Appleton) and eight points and six rebounds from Abby Holler (Sr. • La Crescent, Minn.).

Amanda Burditt led the Eagles with eight points, three steals and two assists, while Tamika Curtis added seven points, 11 rebounds and four steals.

2004-05 Season Preview

The UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team enters the 2004-05 season with a good combination of factors working in their favor.

Those factors include the mention that UW-Oshkosh is an experienced squad, but at the same time is extremely hungry for another highly successful campaign. That hunger is fueled by the fact that despite winning a seventh WIAC title in the past 11 seasons and posting 20-plus victories for the 10th time in 11 years last winter, UW-Oshkosh missed out on its annual goal of making it to the NCAA Division III Tournament.

With 11 players back and three talented newcomers, there is a sense that this year's UW-Oshkosh squad knows the kind of hard work and dedication it will take to capture another WIAC title and return to NCAA Division III postseason play. The Titans enter their 34th intercollegiate season coming off a 2003-04 experience that featured them compiling a 21-6 record, sharing the WIAC championship with UW-Stevens Point and ranking in the top 25 in season-ending NCAA Division III polls conducted by the Women°s Basketball Coaches Association (21st) and D3Hoops.com (24th). Last year's team also led the NCAA Division III in both field goal percentage (48.4) and three-point field goal percentage (40.4).

UW-Oshkosh's list of veteran performers is led by returning starters Abby Holler, Kelly O'Keef, Michele Rosicky and Laurie Turtenwald. Holler and Turenwald both started 24 games for the Titans a year ago, while Rosicky started 20 and O'Keef 18. UW-Oshkosh also returns Pam Fehring, Brittany Herrick, Becky Knapp and Kristin Mader, players who averaged at least eight minutes of playing time per contest last season.

Turtenwald, a senior guard, returns as UW-Oshkosh's most heralded performer after receiving All-WIAC first team honors a year ago. Turtenwald averaged 8.8 points, 3.3 assists and 3.0 rebounds per game last season while shooting 47.1 percent from behind the three-point line and 88.1 percent from the free throw line. Her marksmanship from the three-point and free throw areas led the WIAC. Turtenwald has played in 73 games during her UW-Oshkosh career, including 25 starting assignments.

Holler, a senior forward, gained All-WIAC honorable mention recognition last year after averaging 8.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest and shooting 55.8 percent from the field. Holler has played in 77 games during her UW-Oshkosh career, including 38 as a starter.

Rosicky, a senior guard, averaged 7.9 points and 2.1 assists per game last year while shooting 36 percent behind the three-point line. Rosicky, who has made 83 three-point baskets during her UW-Oshkosh career, has played in 73 games for the Titans, including 35 as a starter.

O'Keef transferred to UW-Oshkosh from NCAA Division I Loyola University (Ill.) last year and responded to the change of scenery by averaging 6.4 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. The junior guard shot 45.6 percent behind the three-point line to rank second in the WIAC.

Also in the returning mix for the Titans are Fehring, Herrick, Knapp and Mader. Herrick, a junior forward, averaged 6.6 points and 2.5 rebounds per game last season while shooting 50.9 percent from the field. Knapp, a sophomore guard, averaged 4.7 points and 2.3 rebounds per contest last year, while Fehring, a junior forward, averaged 3.6 points and 1.7 rebounds, and Mader, a sophomore forward, 2.2 points and 2.3 rebounds.

Three new faces join UW-Oshkosh's roster this season - junior guard Shannon Eggers, sophomore guard Kara Kujawa and freshman guard Whitney Tyriver. Eggers transfers to UW-Oshkosh from NCAA Division II University of Nebraska-Omaha, where she started 46 games for the Mavericks the past two seasons. Last year, Eggers averaged 8.9 points, 3.2 assists and 2.9 rebounds per game. Kujawa is a transfer from UW-Stevens Point, while Tyriver is an Oshkosh West High School product who led the Wildcats to WIAA Division I state titles in 2003 and 2004.

Pam Ruder enters her ninth season as UW-Oshkosh's head coach. During her tenure at UW-Oshkosh, Ruder has guided the Titans to a 181-40 record, including a 105-23 regular season mark against WIAC opponents.

Since its inaugural 1971-72 season, UW-Oshkosh has been a pillar of success, both at the conference and national levels. The Titans have captured one NCAA Division III championship, claimed 10 WIAC titles, made 10 NCAA Division III Tournament appearances, posted 11 20-win seasons and been victorious in 624 of their 823 games played.

Mikolajczak Named
Wisconsin NCAA Woman Of The Year

UW-Oshkosh's Kay Mikolajczak may have ended her athletics career as a Titan when she graduated in May with a degree in biology, but the awards continue to accumulate for the All-America performer in both women's basketball and women's outdoor track and field.

The Franklin native will be honored Sunday (Oct. 31) in Indianapolis, Ind., as the 2004 Wisconsin National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Woman of the Year. Mikolajczak is the first UW-Oshkosh student-athlete to be presented the award.

Mikolajczak is one of 52 NCAA Woman of the Year award winners, representing each state, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The prestigious award recognizes outstanding female student-athletes who have excelled in academics, athletics and community leadership, and have completed their collegiate athletics eligibility. Colleges and universities from across the country nominated 276 student-athletes, with a committee comprised of representatives from NCAA member schools selecting the state winners.

The state-level winners include 30 student-athletes from Division I, 11 from Division II and 11 from Division III. A national winner, the NCAA Woman of the Year, will be announced on Sunday at a dinner emceed by Dot Richardson, a former U.S. Olympic gold medal winner in softball, and Sheri Coale, head women's basketball coach at the University of Oklahoma.

Mikolajczak's selection also marks the fourth consecutive year that the Wisconsin NCAA Woman of the Year as been from a school in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC). Previous WIAC honorees were Arlene Meinholz of UW-Eau Claire in 1006, Tina Basten of UW-La Crosse in 2001, Allison Erickson of UW-Whitewater in 2002 and Jocelyn Loe of UW-La Crosse in 2003.

Mikolajczak is currently playing women's basketball for the Vitus Bering Pirates, a top division team in the Danish National League. This past season, Mikolajczak received NCAA Division III All-America and All-WIAC first team honors after helping the UW-Oshkosh women's basketball team to a 21-6 record and a share of the WIAC title. Mikolajczak averaged 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds and 1.3 blocked shots per game this past year while leading the WIAC with 12 double-doubles.

Mikolajczak, who played her freshman season at UW-Eau Claire, totaled 643 rebounds and 1,124 points during her three-year UW-Oshkosh career, the ninth and 11th-highest marks in school history, respectively. In 2003, Mikolajczak gained All-WIAC first team honors and helped UW-Oshkosh to a 22-6 record by averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals and per game. In 2002, Mikolajczak led UW-Oshkosh to a 21-7 record by averaging 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest.

Mikolajczak compiled an astonishing 3.93 cumulative grade point average while attending UW-Oshkosh. The Salem (Va.) Rotary Club recognized Mikolajczak's outstanding performance on the court and in the classroom by naming her the 2004 winner of the Jostens Trophy, an award recognizing the most outstanding female student-athlete in NCAA Division III basketball.

Mikolajczak was selected to the 2004 College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America College Division Women's Basketball second team, an honor that marked the first time a UW-Oshkosh women's basketball player was recognized by the organization. She also was one of three recipients of the WIAC's 2004 Judy Kruckman Women's Basketball Scholar-Athlete Award.

Mikolajczak was a member of the UW-Oshkosh women's outdoor track and field teams in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Last May, she placed fourth in the heptathlon to gain All-America honors and help UW-Oshkosh to the team title at the NCAA Division III Championship. Mikolajczak also finished fifth in the heptathlon to receive All-America honors at the 2002 NCAA Division III Championship.

Last spring, Mikolajczak was announced as one of the 2004 winners of the UW-Oshkosh Chancellor's Award For Excellence. She also was presented the UW-Oshkosh John Taylor Senior Scholar-Athlete Award, a postgraduate scholarship of $7,500 from the NCAA and a second team mention on the 2004 CoSIDA Academic All-America College Division Women's Track and Field/Cross Country squad.

Mikolajczak, a past recipient of the UW-Oshkosh Governor's, the UW-Oshkosh Chancellor's and the Brady Corporation scholarships, volunteered numerous hours with the Special Olympics, Senior Day Care, ADVOCAP and youth camps and clinics. She also was president of UW-Oshkosh's Student-Athlete Advisory Board and a member of the school's Gender Equity Committee.

Mikolajczak To Play Basketball In Denmark

Former UW-Oshkosh women's basketball standout Kay Mikolajczak has made the final roster of the Vitus Bering Pirates, a top division women's basketball team in the Danish National League.

The Pirates, who finished third in the Danish National League a year ago, begin their 2004-05 regular season schedule in mid-October and conclude it in mid-March. The squad is expected to average two games per week until the playoffs commence at the end of March. The Pirates will play their home games in Horsens, Denmark.

Mikolajczak, the lone American on the Pirates' roster, competed for UW-Oshkosh from 2002-04 after transferring from UW-Eau Claire. The Franklin native gained NCAA Division III All-America honors this past season after averaging 17.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.3 blocked shots per game. Her performance helped the Titans to a 21-6 record and a share of the WIAC title.
Kay Mikoljczak with Pirates

In 2003, Mikolajczak helped UW-Oshkosh to a 22-6 record by averaging 13.4 points, 7.6 rebounds. 2.7 steals and 1.9 assists per game. In 2002, Mikolajczak helped the Titans to a 21-7 record by averaging 11.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.1 steals and 1.6 steals per contest.

Mikolajczak totaled 643 rebounds and 1,124 points during her 80-game UW-Oshkosh career, the ninth and 11th-highest marks in school history.

Ruder Appointed To
WBCA Executive Committee

In an effort to equally represent all levels of womenls basketball on the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Executive Committee, WBCA President and Old Dominion University (Va.) head women's basketball coach, Wendy Larry has appointed UW-Oshkosh women's head basketball head coach Pam Ruder to represent non-NCAA Division I institutions.

"In support of our mission and by-laws, we felt it was imperative that there be a voice that speaks on behalf of our non-NCAA Division I membership and to be represented on our Executive Committee," said Larry. "Coach Ruder has been an active member of our association for years and also serves as a NCAA Division III Representative on our Board of Directors; therefore, making her an ideal choice for this position."

As an appointee to the WBCA Executive Committee, Ruder will serve a two-year term, which expires upon her second term on the WBCA Board of Directors in August 2006. Her primary role will be to keep the WBCA Executive Committee abreast of current issues and activities surrounding non-NCAA Division I institutions.

Ruder begins her eighth season at UW-Oshkosh owning a sparkling resume, one that includes a 181-40 overall record, a 105-23-league record, four NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and four WIAC championships. Ruder's .819 overall winning percentage currently ranks her fifth among all active head women's basketball coaches in NCAA Division III.

"We are looking forward to having Coach Ruder serve on our Executive Committee," said WBCA CEO Beth Bass. "I am very confident that she will do an excellent job providing further insight and will be a great representative for our members."

The WBCA Executive Committee consists of the Past-President, President, Vice-President, Secretary and Treasurer. However, since the Committee only had NCAA Division I members represented, President Larry took the option, as stated in the WBCA By-Laws, to designate one additional person to the Executive Committee.

Other members of the WBCA Executive Committee include: Vice President, Mickie DeMoss (Head Coach, University of Kentucky); Secretary, Bonnie Henrickson (Head Coach, University of Kansas); Treasurer, Dianne Nolan (Head Coach, Fairfield University); and Past President, Marsha Sharp (Head Coach, Texas Tech University).

Founded in 1981, the WBCA promotes women's basketball by unifying coaches at all levels to develop a reputable identity for the sport and to foster and promote the development of the game in all of its aspects as an amateur sport for women and girls. For more information about the WBCA, please visit WBCA.org.