GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Working on defensive pressure for three consecutive days paid dividends as the No. 21/15 Green Bay (18-1, 7-0 HL) women's basketball team had its second-largest margin of victory (+48) over in-state rival Milwaukee (6-12, 3-4 HL) Saturday, beating the Panthers 87-39 at the Kress Events Center.

"I thought our week of practice prepared us well," said head coach Matt Bollant. "For us it's all about the defensive end, when we play with great energy defensively it dictates our offense."

Green Bay opened the game with a 32-9 run, forcing the Panthers to turn the ball over 16 times throughout the first 14 minutes of play. Milwaukee reached the double-digit scoring mark with 5:09 remaining in the first half when Jenilee Klomstad sank a free throw. The Phoenix closed the half with a 10-3 run to lead 42-13 at the break, its largest halftime margin (+29) of the season.

"We set the tone right away, forcing turnovers and never let them get any kind of rhythm going," said Bollant. "We pride ourselves on being the most aggressive team and I thought our start today really showed that."

Third in the conference in scoring, Green Bay held Milwaukee's Lindsay Laur to just two points in the first half. Laur's lone bucket came with 11:25 to play, snapping a 9-0 run by the Phoenix. While holding Milwaukee to 19-percent shooting in the first half, no player on the Panthers' roster scored more than four points throughout the first 20 minutes of play.

In addition, Green Bay forced Milwaukee to turn the ball over 17 times while capitalizing with 19 points off Panther miscues. The Phoenix also out-rebounded Milwaukee 22-12 with Hannah Quilling (Eau Claire, Wis.) and Kayla Tetschlag (Sheboygan, Wis.) each leading the way with four boards in first half action.

Offensively, Green Bay shot 51 percent from the field in the first half of play building its lead to as many as 30 with less than a minute to play. Julie Wojta (Mishicot, Wis.) picked up her second foul with 16:41 to play in the opening half, paving the way for sophomore Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) to step in and show off her shot. Bauer poured in 11 points in the first half alone while Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) also chipped in 13.

"Our players are so unselfish. Julie said at halftime, 'that was really fun to watch sitting over there'," Bollant said. "Lydia is as good as a shooter as anyone in our league. After coming back from her shoulder injury early in the season it was great to see her step up and take shots."

The Phoenix stayed on edge in the second half as Tetschlag scored 13 of her game-high 20 points while grabbing six boards as part of her game-high 10. It was Tetschlag's seventh double-double of the season and 11th of her career. Bauer finished with a career-high 20 points after pouring in nine in the second half, sparking Green Bay's play off the bench.

"A lot of what we do off the bench is because of the leadership of Celeste and Kayla and we don't want to let them or our teammates down," said Bauer. "We come off the bench and our first priority is defense and then offense comes after that."

"The players on the bench have been pushing themselves with more conditioning and just looking stronger and have become certainly better at guarding the dribble along with their willingness to fight," said Bollant.

The Phoenix outscored the Panthers 45-26 in the second half while shooting 50 percent from the field and 82 percent from the free-throw line. The 87 points scored by the Phoenix was the most since Nov. 29, 2009 and the fewest allowed not only by Milwaukee but also by a Phoenix opponent in the season.

"We've been working on putting a full game together and it feels so good to finally get back on track and play the way that we're capable of," said Hoewisch who finished with 19 points while tying a career-high seven steals.

Not going unnoticed in Green Bay's impressive performance was the play of Quilling who continues to do a solid job in the starting line-up in place of an injured Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.). Quilling set a Kress Center Record with a career-high 11 assists while also tying her career-high six rebounds.

"Hannah has some toughness to her and she just made good decisions with the basketball and pushed the ball hard; we always trust how hard she's going to fight for us," commented Bollant.

The Phoenix will make its second road trip in league play on Thursday, Jan. 27 as it travels to Butler to take on the Bulldogs at 6 p.m. Green Bay will wrap up its trip to Indiana battling Valparaiso Saturday, Jan. 29 at 7:05 p.m. before returning to the Kress Events Center Feb. 3 to host Cleveland State.