GREEN BAY, Wis. - The
Green Bay women's basketball team made a few final tune-ups before they hit the
road to open their regular season at North Dakota on Friday.
The Phoenix played its final exhibition game as it handled
UW-Parkside 78-46. One of the things Green Bay wanted to improve upon was their
defensive play. The Phoenix forced Parkside to turn the ball over 31 times and
allowed them to take just 37 shots from the field.
"I thought during the first half we showed we can take the
ball away and force turnovers. Obviously we want to see that more in the second
half but overall I was really pleased with our efforts defensively," said head
coach Matt Bollant.
On the offensive side of the ball decision making helped
Green Bay finish with just 11 turnovers; something the Phoenix struggled with
early on last season, "I feel like we're making the easy pass, we're not
rushing ourselves and Celeste has done a great job in the point position with
Hannah being out," said Bollant.
Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) led all scorers with 17
points while freshman Stephanie Sension (Hopkins, Minn.) chipped in 11 as Green
Bay shot 41% in the game. Julie Wojta (Mishicot, Wis.) led Green Bay on the
boards finishing with eight rebounds and freshman Adrian Ritchie (De Pere,
Wis.) had seven.
Green Bay once again proved they will have a lot of depth
and talent this season coming off the bench as the Phoenix scored 33 bench
points, "Lydia, Bre, Stephanie and Adrian all played well coming off the bench
so we're going to have to rotate because our bench is really important to us,"
said Bollant.
The Phoenix will look to improve upon its exhibition play as
it will open up their regular season on the road on Friday, Nov. 13 at North
Dakota followed by a stop at South Dakota on Sunday. Green Bay will host
Florida International in their home opener on Saturday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m.
---www.GreenBayPhoenix.com---
