La Crosse, Wis. - The University of Wisconsin-La Crosse women's basketball team fell 56-48 to 23rd-ranked UW-Oshkosh Thursday night in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Championship (presented by Culver's) Semifinals in Mitchell Hall. The Eagles drop to 16-10 on the season while the Titans improve to 21-5 on the season. UW-Oshkosh advances to its fifth straight tournament title game and will play at 12th-ranked UW-Whitewater for the WIAC Championship Saturday, February 24.

UW-Oshkosh, the tournament's third-seed, never trailed Thursday. UWL's Elise DeNoyer tied it at 2-2 when UW-Oshkosh scored the next 12 points to lead 14-2 with 3:22 remaining in the first quarter. The Titans led 16-3 at the end of the first quarter, going seven-of-17 (41.2%) from the field. The Eagles were one-of-12 (8.3%) from the field in the first quarter, missing their final 10 shots. 

UWL, seeded second in the WIAC Championship for the first time in school history, came back to outscore UW-Oshkosh, 11-4 in the second quarter to cut the halftime deficit to 20-14. The Eagles shot 36.4% (four-of-11) from the field in the second quarter while the Titans shot 18.2% (two-of-11).  

Annie Schumacher's layup for UWL cut the lead to 20-16 with 9:34 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles would get no closer the rest of the game. UW-Oshkosh later led 23-18 with 7:36 left when it went on a 12-4 run to lead 35-22 with 3:38 remaining on a Isabella Samuels free throw. The Titans led 41-27 after three quarters. 

UW-Oshkosh took its largest lead of the game at 43-27 with 9:28 left after a Karsyn Rueth layup. The Titans led 45-30 with 6:46 remaining when the Eagles used a 10-2 run to cut the deficit to 47-40 with 1:34 left on Dani Craig's three-point field goal. UWL trailed 48-42 with 1:17 left on a pair of Ava Kramer free throws, but UW-Oshkosh scored the game's next six points to lead 54-42. The Titans scored their final nine points of the game at the free throw line, including going six-of-six in the final :38.

UWL shot 32.0% from the field, including 35.3% (six-of-17) from three-point range, and 90.9% (10-of-11) at the line. Kramer led the Eagles with 16 points and three assists while DeNoyer totaled 13 points and six rebounds. Craig finished with eight points and team-high seven rebounds. 

UWL drops to 0-4 all-time in the tournament semifinals, advancing in 2006, 2011, 2017 and 2018. 

UW-Oshkosh shot 37.3% from the field, including 20.0% (four-of-20) from three-point range, and 63.6% (14-of-22) at the line. Samuels led the Titans with 14 points and 10 rebounds while Eliza Campbell totaled 11 points. Emma Melotik finished with eight points and Chloe Pustina totaled seven points and four assists. UW-Oshkosh will be playing in its 11th tournament championship game in school history, going 4-6 in the previous 10.