Box Score

RIVER FALLS, WIs. (uwrfsports,com) - In heartbreaking fashion, the number 11 UW-River Falls women's basketball team (22-5, 12-2 WIAC) fell to number 15 UW-Oshkosh (22-5, 11-3 WIAC) 65-64 for the Falcons second loss at Karges this year.

UWRF was led by Brynn Liljander with 22 points on 6-13 shooting including a three pointer at the buzzer to put UWRF down just one point.

The first quarter was a back and forth game with the Titans scoring seven of the first 10 points of the game to go up 7-3 with 7:14 to go. UW-River Falls responded with a 9-0 run to end the quarter capped off by a Taylor Karge jumper to make the score 12-7.

The Falcons dominated the beginning of the second quarter going up by as much as six points, and but the Titans would not shy away and used three straight three point shots for Emma Melotik that brought UW-Oshkosh into a tie with the Falcons 21-21 with 2:25 to go in the half.

The three pointers kept coming from the Titans as another three put UW-Oshkosh up 24-21 but just 13 seconds later, Liljander connected on an and-one and sank the free throw to make the score 24-24 at the halftime break.

At halftime, Karge ended with 10 points, but was battling foul trouble, and Melotik had nine for the Titans.

The second half started off with a 17-0 run by UW-Oshkosh and the Falcons were down 41-24 with 5:46 to go in the third quarter. UWRF got their second half scoring started with an and-one by Kate Theisen and a free throw from Brynn Liljander. UW-Oshkosh used a three pointer from junior Taylor Schmidt to hold back the Falcons momentum. Theisen kept the Falcons rolling in the third with her second three pointer attempted this season and brought the Falcons within 13 with 3:15 to go in the third quarter.

The UW-Oshkosh Titans kept the Falcons at bay and led by 16 with 46 second to go in the third quarter. The Falcons frantically made a late run and ended the quarter with a layup by Liljander and steal and three point shot that Katie Messman was fouled on, and she put the Falcons just down 11 after all three free throws were good.

In the final quarter of play, the Falcons riding the momentum used an 8-2 run to pull within five points of the Titans with 7:33 to go in the game.

UW-Oshkosh kept fighting off the Falcons run and exchanged baskets for the next three minutes with the score 56-49 with 4:27 remaining. Brynn Liljander broke that trend with a three pointer with 4:00 to go in the game and a free throw from Theisen put the game at 56-53 with 2:54 to go.

The Falcons got as close as one point with a three pointer from Liljander and a layup from Theisen that put UWRF down 61-60 with 15 seconds to go. The Titans got the ball to Schmidt and she connected on all four of her free throws to end the game and will give the Titans their automatic bid to the NCAA National Tournament.

For the game, the Falcons were 20-48 (41.7 percent) and shot 6-23 (26.1 percent) from beyond the arc. The Falcons were 18-27 (66.7 percent) from the charity stripe as well. UWRF won the rebound battle 34-31 with 10 of those being offensive rebounds.

UWRF was led by Liljander with 22 points and five assists along with four rebounds. Theisen scored 19 points of 7-11 shooting and had seven rebounds. Katie Messman scored 11 points with two three pointers. Karge finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

The fate of the future of the UW-River Falls women's basketball team now sits with the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee and they will release the division three women's basketball bracket Monday at 1:30 with an online stream. The Falcons were regular season champions in the WIAC for the first time since 1989.