Women's Basketball

UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout Fall In NCAA Women’s Basketball Semifinal Contests

(Photos courtesy of D3photography.com)

**UW-Oshkosh and UW-Stout Sports Information Offices contributed to this recap.

SALEM, Va.--University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh and UW-Stout had their historic women’s basketball NCAA journeys come to an end in the national semifinals at the Cregger Center on March 20. UW-Oshkosh fell 49-47 to Smith College (Mass.), while UW-Stout dropped a 74-55 decision to New York University (N.Y.).
 
UW-Oshkosh finished the season with a 27-5 record and made its first national semifinal appearance since 1996, when it won the national championship. The 27 wins are the most for the Titans since the 1998-99 squad also had 27 victories. UW-Oshkosh also won its second straight WIAC regular-season championship – and 16th in program history – this year.
 
Against Smith (31-2), the Titans held the Pioneers to a 35.3 shooting percentage and their lowest-scoring output of the season in a game that featured 10 lead changes.
 
Sammi Beyer was the Titan’s leading scorer with 15 points off the bench. Paige Seckar also came off the bench and added 10 points, while Alex Rondorf and Kayce Vaile registered 12 and 10 rebounds, respectively.
 
The Pioneers scored eight of the final 12 points of the first quarter to grab a 14-9 lead. Seckar and Beyer made four free throws early in the second quarter, making the score 17-13 with 7:43 on the clock. The Titans held the Pioneers scoreless for nearly seven minutes and took their first lead of the game at 21-20 and had a 23-22 advantage heading into the locker room.
 
Out of the break, the Titans added five consecutive points to their total, leading 28-22 before the Pioneers scored for the first time in the half. Smith took a 33-32 edge with 2:02 on the clock. UW-Oshkosh responded with the last four points of the quarter on layups from Rondorf and Seckar for a 36-33 lead at the end of the third quarter.
 
The teams were tied at 42-42 at the media timeout with 5:05 left in the game and Smith jumped out of the break with four points, leading 46-42 with 2:26 on the clock. Beyer then cut the deficit to a point with a three at 1:13 and Kate Huml responded to a pair of Smith free throws with a layup with 12 seconds again cut the deficit to a point. The Pioneers converted a layup and rebounded an inbounds three attempted by Rondorf to secure the win.
 
Vaile played in 119 career games, the second most in program history, and concluded her career with 1,094 points, which ranks 17th in program history.
 
UW-Stout completed the 2025 campaign with a 23-8 record and reached the national semifinals for the first time in program history. The 23 wins match their total from a year ago and are the second most by a Blue Devil team.
 
Against defending national champion New York University (30-0), who extended their winning streak to an astounding 61 games - the longest in all of NCAA basketball - the Violets forced 15 turnovers, converting them into 24 points.
 
UW-Stout’s Raegan Sorensen scored 29 points on 14-of-26 shooting while grabbing eight rebounds. With her 14th point of the game in the third quarter, she surpassed Julia Hirssig's all-time program scoring record of 1,738 points, set in 2010. Sorensen finishes her career as the Blue Devils' all-time leading scorer with 1,754 career points – a total that ranks sixth in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference record book.
 
Amanda Giesen also reached double figures in scoring with 11 points, and Anna Mutch contributed seven points and six rebounds. Mutch finished her career with 1,442 points – a total that ranks fourth in program history, while Giesen had 1,319 points to finish sixth all time.
 
The Blue Devils started strong, trading baskets early with the Violets. Sorensen put UW-Stout on the board first, and the game remained close in the opening minutes. However, NYU's smothering defense and transition game quickly took over. The Violets led 22-13 after the first quarter.
 
NYU outscored UW-Stout 19-7 in the second quarter, stretching their advantage to 41-20 at halftime.
 
UW-Stout fought back in the third, with Sorensen continuing to lead the charge. The Blue Devils outscored NYU 16-14 in the period, cutting the deficit to as few as 17 points, but the Violets quickly answered each run.
 
NYU matched UW-Stout point-for-point in the fourth quarter to secure a spot in the third national championship game in program history.
 
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