YPSILANTI, Mich. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Three players scored in
double figures including Kayla Tetschlag (Sheboygan, Wis.) who posted her
second double-double of the season as the No. 23/21 Green Bay (8-0) women's
basketball team beat Eastern Michigan (5-4) 68-44 Monday night.
"They're a team that won 20 games
last season so we had a lot of respect for them coming into this game," said
head coach Matt Bollant. "I was very happy with how we started, we were very
sound defensively."
The Phoenix jumped out to a fast start
with a 29-3 run as Julie Wojta (Mishicot, Wis.) led the charge scoring 12 of
her game-high 20 points in the first half. Green Bay held the Eagles scoreless
for over nine minutes throughout the opening period building a 40-14 halftime
lead.
Ranked first in the nation in
turnover margin, the Phoenix forced Eastern Michigan to turn the ball over 10
times in the first half while capitalizing with 12 points.
"We did a great job of transitioning
and forcing turnovers in addition to our ability to switch screens has made it
tougher on opponents," said Bollant.
Tetschlag chipped in nine of her
11 points while leading all players with 10 boards in first half action as
Green Bay shot 47 percent from the field and 25 percent from the free-throw
line.
With 13:31 to play in the second half, Eastern
Michigan went on a 9-2 run hitting three consecutive three pointers while
cutting Green Bay's lead to 20 (49-29). "I was disappointed in the second half
that we lost our edge and let them convert on transition," Bollant said.
The Eagles came as close as 16
with under five minutes remaining before the Phoenix sealed the win on a 10-0
run. Nine players scored for the Phoenix as Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.)
chipped in 13 while grabbing a career-high five steals. Celeste Hoewisch
(Hortonville, Wis.) scored seven while going 5-5 from the charity stripe.
Tetschlag tied a game-high 11
rebounds while Wojta had nine. "Kayla and Julie were the difference makers for
us, especially in the first half," said Bollant. "They crashed the boards hard
and gave us a big lift."
Green Bay shot 40 percent from
the field and 81 percent from the free-throw line while holding the Eagles to 25
percent shooting from the field and 17 percent from beyond the arc.
The
Phoenix returns home as it hosts Southeast Missouri (3-5) Friday at 7 p.m. at
the Kress Events Center. Green Bay will hit the road to Milwaukee on Sunday as
it faces Marquette (7-1) at 2 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.
