GREEN BAY, Wis. - The
Green Bay (7-0) women's basketball team won their 25
th consecutive
regular season game in a tale of two halves with an 82-69 win over Northern
Iowa (2-5) on Saturday.
"We got a lead and we kind of lost our focus; that's the
first time I've felt that way all year," said head coach Matt Bollant.
In the first half Green Bay led 9-7 before capitalizing off
Northern Iowa turnovers to go on a 15-0 run in the first half of action. UNI
reached double digit scoring when Ashwaubenon native Kim Wypiszynski hit a pair
of free throws and broke the drought with 9:49 to play in the first half.
The Phoenix led 55-31 at the break scoring 22 points off
turnovers. Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) had 13 points while Kayla Tetschlag (Sheboygan, Wis.) added 12 thanks to impressive 63.3% shooting from
the field and 90% from the free throw line by the young Green Bay squad.
With a 24-point lead at the half, Green Bay struggled to
carry that momentum over to the second half, "we just didn't play with a lot of
energy in the second half but it was a good learning experience for us," said
Bollant.
The Phoenix turned the ball over 14 times in the second half
allowing UNI to take advantage scoring 12 points off the miscues while going on a 10-0 run. Northern Iowa
outscored Green Bay 38-27 in the half while the Phoenix shot 27.3% from the
field.
Despite the "disappointing" second half by head coach Matt Bollant, Hoewisch tied a career-high 21 points making every free-throw
opportunity (9-9) for the fourth time this season. Tetschlag led all players on
the boards grabbing 9 rebounds and scoring 21 points.
With the win Green Bay tied the record for the best start (7-0)
in school history since moving to Division I in 1987.
The Phoenix will hit the road this upcoming week with a trip
to Ball State on Thursday followed by Evansville on Saturday. Green Bay will
return to the Kress Events Center to host in-state rival Marquette on Saturday,
Dec. 19.
---www.GreenBayPhoenix.com---
