By: Jill Wunrow
GreenBayPhoenix.com

SAN JUAN, P.R. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The No. 18 Green Bay (4-0) women's basketball team got right down to business as it tipped off the San Juan Shootout with an 82-62 win over Illinois (2-4) Thursday at the Mario Morales Coliseum in San Juan, P.R. For the fourth consecutive game Julie Wojta (Francis Creek, Wis.) scored over 20 points, leading all players with 24 and Green Bay scored over 80 points in the win.

"Illinois is a very athletic team and I thought tonight we looked like more of a team as we passed the ball better than they did, we shared it better, moved it better offensively and that showed," said head coach Matt Bollant who improves to 6-2 against opponents from the Big Ten conference. "To score 82 points against that team says a lot about our ball movement and I am very proud of our performance against the Big Ten team."

Green Bay opened with back-to-back three pointers which were part of a 10-2 run to start the contest for the Phoenix. Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) sparked the scoring from the top of the key followed by a three from Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.) from the right wing.

The Phoenix entered the contest looking to improve on the defensive side of the ball and it did just that, holding Illinois scoreless until the 16:52 mark in addition to forcing 17 turnovers in the first half of play.

"We did a good job forcing turnovers by pressuring the ball and taking away space and making it tough for them to see," Bollant said of his team's defensive performance. "I think we forced them to play faster than they wanted to play."

Karisma Penn, who leads the Illini in scoring, picked up her second foul at the 14:07 mark after fouling Wojta underneath the basket. Penn sat out the remainder of the half after seeing just six minutes of action.

Freshman Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) sparked a 9-0 run for Green Bay, scoring five consecutive points for the Phoenix, boosting its lead to 25-12 with 9:40 to play in the first half. The run was capped off with a layup from Eichler to give Green Bay its biggest lead of the half, 29-12, at the 8:38 mark.

"Sarah plays so hard for us and it was great for us to get her more minutes tonight to help us both offensively and defensively," Bollant said. "The coaches have told me they want me to be more of an offensive threat and driving is one of my favorite things to do so I just try to be aggressive in that way," Eichler said of her 16 points, which tie a career high.

Illinois cut the Phoenix lead to nine with 3:14 remaining in the first half before Ritchie's aggressive rebounding on the offensive board drew a foul, increasing Green Bay's lead to 11 after a pair of free throws.

With 15 seconds to play in the half, Wojta stole the ball and took it the distance for the bucket, giving Green Bay the 38-25 lead at the break.

Green Bay shot 46 percent from the field going 14-for-30 while Illinois shot 38 percent (10-26). The Phoenix scored 17 points off Illinois' 17 turnovers with Eichler leading the way with 12 and Wojta chipping in eight.

Green Bay opened the second half just like it did the first, a three from Ritchie. Penn scored Illinois' first 14 points of the half, forcing the Phoenix to call time out at the 15:25 mark.

"We did a good job forcing turnovers but when Penn got touches she was definitely hard to stop," Bollant said of the junior who finished the game with 20.

Following the timeout Wojta gave Green Bay a 49-36 lead with a bucket underneath. The senior captain scored six of Green Bay's first 11 points in the half before picking up her third foul with 14:07 to play.

Stephanie Sension (Hopkins, Minn.) put the Phoenix back up by 12 with a three from the left wing followed by an Illini turnover forced by Wojta, who finished with a bucket and a 14-point Phoenix lead. With 7:51 to play Sension converted a three-point play with a shot fake, pull up jumper, drawing the foul for the 65-53 lead after the free throw.

"Illinois was making a run and I thought the three she hit really gave us a lift," Bollant said. "I felt her second half performance was big for us. We needed some help from the bench and to see her step up and play with confidence when the game is on the line was great."

Sension's three-point play with 7:51 remaining sparked an 18-9 run to close the game for the Phoenix. Wojta poured in eight points for Green Bay in the final six minutes while Eichler tied her career high 16 points with a drive and layup with 2:33 to play.

In addition to Wojta's 24 and Eichler's 16 points, Ritchie added 15 points while grabbing six rebounds for the Phoenix. Green Bay finished the contest shooting 50 percent from the field and 72 percent from the free throw line. Lukan continues to get better with each game as the redshirt freshman grabbed a career high five rebounds in the contest.

To watch Matt Bollant's postgame interview, click here.

ON DECK: Green Bay will face No. 25 Georgia Tech (4-0) in its final contest of the San Juan Shootout Saturday at 4:30 p.m. Fans can follow live stats of Saturday's contest here.

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