OSHKOSH, Wis. – The No. 15 Washington University in St. Louis women's basketball team's run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament came to an end on Friday evening as WashU fell to No. 2 and sectional host Wis.-Oshkosh 64-43. The loss sees the Bears' season end with a 21-7 overall record.
Junior
Lexy Harris finished with a team-high 12 points to go with her seven rebounds. Junior
Amelia Rosin nearly had a double-double when she finished the game with eight points and a team-high eight rebounds. Junior
Sidney Rogers finished with nine points, four rebounds, and the team-high three assists.
As it did for most of the season, WashU led the Titans in rebounding 32-30. The Bears also outscored UWO in points in the paint, 28-24.
It was a slow start for both teams in the first quarter with WashU taking advantage of the fewest points allowed in a quarter this season as the Bears led 10-4 after the first 10 minutes of play.
It took 3:18 before any points were added to the scoreboard for either team when Sarah Hardwick hit a layup for the Titans, as the home team took a 2-0 lead. UWO would hit another layup at 6:08 to put themselves ahead 4-0, but those would be the last points scored in the quarter.
Just nine seconds later, the Bears started a 10-0 run over the next 2:59. The run started with a layup from Harris and concluded with a layup from junior
Sydney Starks. Once again, neither team could find the basket in the final three minutes as WashU led 10-4 going into the second quarter.
The teams traded baskets to start the second period with UWO hitting a three at 9:14, Rogers making a jumper at 8:56, and the Titans getting their own jumper at 8:34 as WashU led 12-9.
The Titans regained the lead at 6:56 on a jumper by Avery Poole, 13-12. Over the next 60 seconds, WashU would gain the lead, lose the lead, and regain it on a jumper by Rosin at 5:56, 16-15. Another layup from Rosin at 4:43 put the Bears up 18-15.
However, UWO responded with a 7-1 run to close out the first half and take a 22-19 lead into the locker room break.
Both teams came out of the locker room on fire with the Titans going up by six at 9:14 and WashU answering with a three from Rogers at 8:56 and a layup from junior
Alyssa Hughes at 8:15 to pull within one, 26-25.
Over the next seven minutes, UWO slowly began to extend their lead, leading by as many as nine on a three with 1:58 remaining in the quarter before a pair of free throws with 30 seconds left in the period put the Titans ahead 44-33.
The teams played even over the first three minutes with UWO maintaining its 11-point advantage, 49-38 after Hughes made a three-pointer at 7:00. The Titans pulled away for good with a 9-1 run over the next three and a half minutes on a three by Sammi Beyer at 3:37 to lead 58-39.
Harris would hit the final two baskets for the Bears including her 12th point of the contest at 1:26 as UWO held on to advance to the Elite 8 with the 64-43 win.
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