Whitewater downs Oshkosh for rematch of '13 title game

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Mary Merg scored 23 points to lead Wisconsin-Whitewater to a 69-57 win over rival Wisconsin-Oshkosh Friday night in their Division III women's basketball Sweet 16 matchup.

The Whitewater (25-4) win set up a rematch with DePauw, which defeated the Warhawks in the 2013 national championship game.

The host Tigers defeated Carthage 73-54 in the night's second game.

The loss ended the Oshkosh Titans' season at 26-4, with three of the four losses coming at the hands of conference rival Whitewater.

Whitewater shot just 33 percent from the floor, but forced 20 Oshkosh turnovers and pulled down 13 rebounds. That added up to 11 more shot attempts than the Titans.

Merg was joined in double figures by Kristen Ruchti with 12 and Reilly Stewart with 11.

Ruchti led the Warhawks with eight rebounds, while Kaitlyn Thill had four assists. Merg also had four steals.

Morgan Kotka led four double figures scorers for the Titans with 12 points. She was followed closely by Katelyn Kuehl (11), Sarah Stecker (11) and Taylor Schmidt (10).

Marissa Selner pulled down 10 rebounds and Kuehl led the way with three assists. Stecker blocked three shots.

In what was a close contest most of the way, Whitewater pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 13 points before settling on the 12-point margin.

The Warhawks take on the Tigers (30-1) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Neal Fieldhouse.



At DePauw University
Division III Women's Basketball Tournament Third Round
UW-Whitewater 24 45 -- 69
UW-Oshkosh 20 37 -- 57
Whitewater (25-4):
Merg 7-18 6-7 23, Ruchti 6-11 0-0 12, Stewart 2-4 6-9 11, Thill 1-9 5-6 8, Mandrell 2-4 2-2 6, Burton 2-7 0-0 6, Olsen 0-3 3-4 3, Reeves 0-5 0-0 0. Totals: 20-61 FG, 22-28 FT, 69 points.
Oshkosh (26-4):
Kokta 6-11 0-2 12, Kuehl 3-6 4-4 11, Stecker 4-12 3-4 11, Schmidt 1-3 8-8 10, Selner 3-6 0-0 6, Neustifter 1-4 1-2 3, Tollefson 1-4 0-0 2, Richard 1-2 0-0 2, Truttman 0-2 0-1 0, Mirsberger 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-50 FG, 16-21 FT, 57 points.
3-pt FG:
UWW 7-21 (Merg 3-5, Burton 2-5, Stewart 1-1, Thill 1-4, Reeves 0-3, Olsen 0-3), UWO 1-6 (Kuehl 1-1, Neustifter 0-1, Truttman 0-1, Kokta 0-1, Tollefson 0-2). Rebounds-off: UWW 37-13 (Ruchti 8-2), UWO 39-8 (Selner 10-3). Assists: UWW 8 (Thill 4), UWO 8 (Kuehl 3). Steals: UWW 10 (Merg 4), UWO 2 (2 with 1). Blocks: UWW 1 (Burton 1), UWO 3 (Stecker 3). Turnovers: UWW 10, UWO 20. Fouls: UWW 20, UWO 20. Technicals: None.

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