January 30, 2010 - Green
Bay (18-2, 7-2) won its 30
th consecutive regular season home game in
the Horizon League with a 78-54 win over Valparaiso (6-14, 3-6).
In a great first half battle Green Bay forced Valpo to turn
the ball over six consecutive times for a total of 16 turnovers, including 11
steals. However Valpo shot 75 percent from three-point range sinking 6-8 shots,
finishing the half with 62 percent shooting from the field.
"We shouldn't have let them shoot the way they did in the
first half; we definitely weren't happy with the way we played," said Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) who had three steals in the first half.
The Phoenix carried a 40-33 lead into the locker room at
half with eight players putting points on the board. Julie Wojta (Mishicot,
Wis.), Kayla Tetschlag (Sheboygan, Wis.) and Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.) each
had eight for the Phoenix while Hoewisch had six and led all players with three
steals.
With 15:56 to play in the second half, Valpo cut Green Bay's
lead to three (46-43) before Green Bay went on a 16-0 run which spanned over six
minutes before Valpo's Raegan Moore scored two of her game-high 17 points. Valpo made 2 of 12 shots and had nine turnovers in the final 15 minutes of the game.
"I was very pleased with the second half; I thought our aggressiveness
was very different compared to the first half," said head coach Matt Bollant.
"Our mentality during that run was night and day and it really helped change our
tempo," added Bollant.
Four players scored in double figures for the Phoenix as Wojta
led the way with 14 points and seven rebounds while Eichler had career highs
with 11 points and five steals.
With Detroit's 62-54 win over Cleveland State, the Phoenix
is now tied atop the Horizon League with the Titans. Green Bay will travel to
Detroit on Thursday where they will battle for sole possession of first place
at 6:00 p.m.
---www.GreenBayPhoenix.com---
