Final Minute Dooms St. Norbert in Loss at UW-Oshkosh

From Sports Information Director, December 16, 2013 | Women's Basketball
by Dan Lukes, dan.lukes@snc.edu, (920) 403-4077

OSHKOSH - St. Norbert College saw a late lead evaporate in the final minute, with UW-Oshkosh getting four free throws in the final 43 seconds to pull out a 58-56 non-conference win at Kolf Sports Center.

The Green Knights (6-2) snapped a 54-54 tie on Brianna Byrne's layup with 2:32 remaining. Neither team scored again until Oshkosh's Sarah Stecker drained two free throws with 43 seconds left to knot the game at 56-56.

St. Norbert missed on its next possession, and with two seconds remaining the Green Knights were again whistled for a foul. The Titans' Taylor Schmidt made both free throws to clinch the win. It marked the second time in as many trips to Oshkosh that St. Norbert lost a two-point game inside two seconds to play.

Oshkosh (10-0), ranked No. 21 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25, fell behind by as many as nine points in the first half. Byrne's 3-pointer with 9:59 left in the first half gave the Green Knights a 25-16 lead. St. Norbert had three players collect at least two fouls in the first half, and the Titans went on from their nine-point deficit to close the half on a 14-4 run to take a 30-29 lead at the break.

There was only one lead of at least four points in the second half - coming when Oshkosh took a 52-48 lead on a Stecker hoop with 5:02 to go. St. Norbert knotted the game on its next two possessions on a pair of Morgan Heim baskets.

St. Norbert shot 46.2 percent from the floor, making 24 of 52 field-goal attempts. The Green Knights held the Titans to 41.9 percent shooting, with the host connecting on 18 of 43 shots. The different came at the free-throw line, where Oshkosh was 19-for-23 and St. Norbert was 3-for-5. The Green Knights did not attempt a free throw in the second half.

Heim led St. Norbert with 15 points, while Heidi Van Sistine added 10 points.

Schmidt led Oshkosh with 11 points, while Ashley Neustifter added 10 points.