UW-Oshkosh Picked To Win Women’s Basketball Championship
MADISON, Wis.--University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh has been selected to secure the 2016 Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) women’s basketball championship, according to a preseason poll conducted by the league’s head coaches and sports information directors.
The Titans, who enter the 2015-16 campaign ranked No. 6 in the D3hoops.com preseason poll, return eight of their top-nine scorers and 81 percent of their points scored (1,640 of 2,021) from last year’s team that won the WIAC tournament title for the second straight season. UW-Oshkosh owns 11 regular-season championships and has finished third or higher in the league standings 20 times in the past 26 seasons.
Junior guard Taylor Schmidt has started all 60 games the past two seasons and led last year’s team with 11.0 points per game, while ranking sixth in the WIAC with 3.10 assists per contest and eighth with a .804 free-throw percentage (119-of-148). UW-Oshkosh has two other players with 57 or more career starts in senior guard Ashley Neustifter (60) and senior forward Marissa Selner (57).
UW-Whitewater brings back all five starters from a year ago and is slotted for second in the eight-team league race. The Warhawks have won four of the last eight WIAC regular-season titles and had a 24-game conference regular-season win streak spanning 2012-14. Senior guard Abbie Reeves started all 26 games last season and led the league with 59 three-point field goals made and a .415 three-point field goal percentage (59-of-142). She topped the team with 10.7 points per game. Senior forward Lisa Palmer topped the squad with 7.7 rebounds per contest and added 7.4 points per game. UW-Whitewater will play just two home games prior to the calendar turning to 2016 – a span of 11 games. The Warhawks have made NCAA Division III appearances seven of the last eight years.
The Warhawks are followed in the league predictions by: UW-Eau Claire; UW-Stevens Point; UW-River Falls; UW-La Crosse; UW-Stout; and UW-Platteville.
UW-Eau Claire has 10 letterwinners back from last year’s team that recorded 11 of its 16 overall wins in conference play to tie for second. The last time a range (or ratio) of conference wins to overall wins was so close in the WIAC was 2000 when UW-Stout won 10 league games and recorded 15 overall victories. A season ago, senior guard Tennie Lichtfuss led the WIAC with a .896 free-throw percentage (60-of-67), while ranking third with 59 steals, fourth with 12.3 points per contest and fifth with a .370 three-point field goal percentage (37-of-100). Junior forward Ellen Blacklock led the league with 61 blocked shots. The Blugolds will face the University of Wisconsin in an exhibition game on Nov. 11.
UW-Stevens Point has eight returning letterwinners and three starters from last year’s squad that posted the 15th consecutive winning season for the program and won at least eight WIAC contests in each of the last 15 years. Junior guard Lauren Anklam led the squad with 10.0 points per game and 27 steals, while contributing 46 assists. She was third in the conference with 42 three-point field goals made and fourth with a .838 free-throw percentage (57-of-68). The Pointers will play 11 non-conference opponents that posted a combined record of 196-97 (.669) last season. Head coach Shirley Egner is 12 wins away from 500 in her career. She would become the 27th women's basketball coach in NCAA Division III history to achieve the mark.
UW-River Falls embraces the return of all five starters from the 2014-15 campaign, as well as all 11 of its top scorers. Junior forward Kate Theisen led the squad with 11.8 points per contest, while sophomore forward Taylor Karge was second with 11.2 points per game and senior guard Richell Mehus third with 10.2 points per contest. Theisen was fourth in the conference with a .488 field goal percentage and fifth with a .830 free-throw percentage. Karge was third in the league with 35 blocked shots, while Mehus was fourth with 57 steals. The Falcons will play five of their first nine games at Karges Center.
UW-La Crosse returns nine players who saw action in at least 20 games a year ago and brings back 98 percent of its scoring and 96 percent of its rebounding. Junior forward Rachel Atchison finished second in the WIAC with 67 steals, third with 42 three-point field goals made and sixth with a .821 free-throw percentage. The Eagles return three of the top-10 rebounders in the WIAC – junior center MaKenzie Miller was fourth (7.2), sophomore guard Elise DeNoyer eighth (6.5) and senior guard/forward Maggi Bishop 10th (6.0). The Eagles play three of their first four conference games on the road.
UW-Stout has six letterwinners back from a year ago and a roster that includes four seniors, four juniors, three sophomores and seven freshmen – these totals include three transfers (one sophomore, one junior, one senior). Three of the top-five scorers return, including junior forward Jenna Goldsmith, who led the WIAC with a .542 field goal percentage and topped the team with 12.0 points per contest. Senior guard Kyleigh Hebert contributed 9.0 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. The Blue Devils will play three of their first eight games at home – all three in November.
UW-Platteville has registered a fourth-place finish in the league standings back-to-back seasons and hosted its first-ever WIAC tournament game since the inception of the six-team format a year ago. The Pioneers have 12 newcomers on their roster and return 10 percent of their scoring and 11 percent of their rebounding. Junior guard Morgan Hartman leads the returnees after playing in all 26 games and chipping in 3.5 points per contest. In 2014-15, UW-Platteville finished eighth in NCAA Division III with 12.9 turnovers per game. The Pioneers will play eight of 10 games at home from early December to mid-January.
2015-16 Preseason Predictions--Voted on by WIAC Head Coaches and Sports Information Directors
|
2014-15 Record |
| 1. UW-Oshkosh |
23-7 overall, 11-5 WIAC |
| 2. UW-Whitewater |
13-13, 8-8 |
| 3. UW-Eau Claire |
16-10, 11-5 |
| 4. UW-Stevens Point |
14-13, 8-8 |
| 5. UW-River Falls |
9-16, 4-12 |
| 6. UW-La Crosse |
11-14, 6-10 |
| 7. UW-Stout |
6-19, 4-12 |
| 8. UW-Platteville |
15-11, 8-8 |
Team Snippets
UW-Eau Claire
Head Coach: Tonja Englund; 16th season at UWEC; 270-145
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 2/3
Returning All-WIAC: Teenie Lichtfuss, Sr., G (2014-First, 2015-First, 2015-All-Def.); Ellen Blacklock, Jr., F (2015-All-Def.)
UW-La Crosse
Head Coach: Lois Heeren; 23rd season (17th at UWL); 253-310 (overall) / 202-207 (at UWL)
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
Returning All-WIAC: Rachel Atchison, Jr., F (2015-Honorable); Elise DeNoyer, So., G (2015-Honorable); MaKenzie Miller, Jr., C (2015-Honorable)
UW-Oshkosh
Head Coach: Brad Fischer; 4th season at UWO; 69-17
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 10/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 4/1
Returning All-WIAC: Ashley Neustifter, Sr., G (2014-Honorable); Alex Richard, Jr., F (2015-Honorable); Taylor Schmidt, Jr., G (2014-Honorable, 2015-First); Marissa Selner, Sr., F (2015-Honorable)
UW-Platteville
Head Coach: Megan Wilson; 6th season at UWP; 47-80
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 5/9
Starters Returning/Lost: 0/5
Returning All-WIAC: None
UW-River Falls
Head Coach: Cindy Holbrook; 16th season at UWRF; 203-186
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 12/1
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
Returning All-WIAC: Richell Mehus, Sr., G (2015-Honorable); Taylor Karge, So., F (2015-Honorable)
UW-Stevens Point
Head Coach: Shirley Egner; 27th season at UWSP; 488-212
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 8/3
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
Returning All-WIAC: Lauren Anklam, Jr., G (2015-First)
UW-Stout
Head Coach: Mark Thomas; 29th season at UWST; 448-294
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 6/12
Starters Returning/Lost: 3/2
Returning All-WIAC: Jenna Goldsmith, Jr., F (2015-First); Kyleigh Hebert, Sr., G (2014-Honorable)
UW-Whitewater
Head Coach: Keri Carollo; 14th season at UWW; 247-120
Letterwinners Returning/Lost: 15/4
Starters Returning/Lost: 5/0
Returning All-WIAC: Lisa Palmer, Sr., F (2015-Honorable); Abbie Reeves, Sr., G (2015-First)
# # # # #