Paige Seckar kept the UW-Whitwater defense on its heels in UW-Oshkosh's WIAC-opening win over the Warhawks. Photo by Steve Frommell, UW-Oshkosh Sports Information

The calendar flipped to 2026 earlier this week, but Saturday felt a lot like 2025, as No. 3 UW-Oshkosh defeated No. 10 UW-Whitewater and Gustavus Adolphus knocked off No. 19 Bethel. Plus, No. 9 Hope sent its large crowd home happy with a win over Calvin and Anderson did something for the first time in more than a dozen years.

• Saturday scoreboard: Men | Women
• Men's recap: F&M, Tufts remain on a roll
• More headlines: Men | Women
• D3football: Getting ready for Stagg Bowl LII

No. 3 UW-Oshkosh got WIAC play started on the right foot, as the Titans dropped No. 10 UW-Whitewater 71-63 in the teams’ conference opener.

The Titans opened the second quarter on a 15-3 run keyed by 11 points from Paige Seckar and led 56-42 at the half. The Warhawks got within two possessions a couple of times in the fourth quarter, but a 7-0 Oshkosh burst capped by Sarah Hardwick’s layup put the game out of reach.

Seckar finished with 20 points, giving her 10 double-digit scoring performances in 12 games, all of them Titan victories. Renee Rittmeyer had 11 points and 12 rebounds for the Warhawks (10-2, 0-1 WIAC), which heads to UW-Stevens Point on Wednesday night.

The Pointers lost their opener at UW-Eau Claire, 74-71, as the Blugolds pushed their win streak to 10 straight. UW-Eau Claire (11-1, 1-0 WIAC) is off to its best start since 2008, when the Blugolds won their first 12 and finished 24-6.

No. 13 llinois Wesleyan used smothering defense to clobber No. 14 Carroll, 85-52, in the first of two scheduled meetings between the CCIW contenders. The Titans scored 35 points off 27 Carroll turnovers and attempted 22 more field goals than the Pioneers.

No. 5 Johns Hopkins completed another impressive week by handing William Paterson its first loss, dropping the Pioneers, 64-43. The Blue Jays trailed 20-17 after one period, but outscored William Paterson 21-2 in the second. Johns Hopkins (10-0) outrebounded the Pioneers by 22 and outscored them by 20 in the paint.

No. 9 Hope sent its large home crowd home happy by beating rival Calvin, 67-56, in front of 2,409 fans at the DeVos Fieldhouse. Terin Maynard had 13 points in 20 minutes, and Leah Richards went 10-for-10 from the foul line for the Flying Dutch (11-1, 4-0 MIAA), who have beaten the Knights in 20 of their last 21 meetings. Calvin (7-5, 2-1) played without All-American Anna Fernandez and lost Hannah Sall three minutes into the game.

DePauw hung tough with No. 11 John Carroll before a 6-0 run pushed the Blue Streaks past the Tigers, 83-76. Leading by one, John Carroll got six free throws and made all of them to seal its 10^th win and drop DePauw to 7-6, 0-2 in conference.

The other two ranked NCAC teams won handily. Abby Cooch dropped 21 points, and No. 20 Denison drilled Kenyon, 85-54, while No. 16 Ohio Wesleyan rode an 18-point, 20-rebound performance past Oberlin.

Gustavus Adolphus showed it is still a force in the MIAC race by knocking off No. 19 Bethel, 78-68. The Gusties grabbed the lead with an 18-0 run in the first half and the Royals never recovered. Kaitlyn Schaefer led Gustavus (6-5, 2-2 MIAC) with 23 points, as Bethel dropped a game behind Concordia-Moorhead (68-41 winners over St. Scholastica) and St. Mary’s (60-38 winners at Macalester).

No. 15 Amherst returned to Massachusetts from its West Coast trip and held off Emerson, 78-69, in overtime. Laura Mendell scored 24 points in 44 minutes for the Mammoths, who yielded 19 points to All-American Bri Frongillo but on 24 shots over 50 minutes.

The day’s most exciting finish came in Indiana where Victoria Detraz’s three-point play in the final minute of double-overtime sent Anderson past Transylvania, 66-65. Sydney Sierota racked up 20 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists, and six steals for the Ravens (6-6, 2-3 HCAC), which beat the Pioneers for the first time since December 2011. The loss was just Transylvania’s second in conference in five seasons. 

Skidmore also skids no more after beating Tufts, 67-63, ending its six-game losing streak. Sara Hastie scored 16 points off the bench for the Thoroughbreds, including a late three-pointer that staked Skidmore to a four-point lead. Skidmore heads to No. 1 New York University for a Monday matinee matchup in Manhattan.