GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The No. 17/13 Green Bay (26-1, 15-0 HL) women's basketball team is keeping pace with the Green Bay Packers after earning sole possession of its own 13^th league championship. The Phoenix will be the No. 1 seed and host the Horizon League championship Mar. 9-13 after its 75-48 win over Valparaiso (7-21, 4-12 HL) Thursday night at the Kress Events Center.

"I'm just happy for our administration," said head coach Matt Bollant. "We talk so much about our players and coaching staff and I'm not sure Ken (Bothof), Jeanne (Stangel) and Dan (McIver) get enough credit for what gets done here at Green Bay. I've been at different colleges and I'm not sure I've been around three better people from an administration standpoint."

The Phoenix opened the contest draining consecutive three pointers by Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) and Hannah Quilling (Eau Claire, Wis.), sparking a 20-8 run throughout the first nine minutes of play. Hoewisch led all players with 11 points at the break, all scored within the first 12 minutes of action.

"I thought we played a really great first half," said Bollant who is 65-4 overall in Horizon League play. "Our defense was solid and we took advantage of what they gave us on the outside with the three pointers."

Following a pair of free throws from Valparaiso with 8:24 to play in the first half, Green Bay sank three-consecutive three pointers, two by Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) and one from Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.), in addition to a three-point play from Quilling, boosting the Phoenix lead to 37-15 with 5:21 remaining in the opening half.  

The Crusaders scored a pair of consecutive buckets before the Phoenix finished the half with an 8-0 run to lead 45-19 at the break. Green Bay scored 23 of its first half points off turnovers while sinking nine three pointers. In addition to Hoewisch's 11, Quilling and Ritchie each chipped in nine.

Green Bay led by as many as 30 in the second half as eight players scored at least five points for the Phoenix throughout the contest. Sophomore Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) scored all of her game-high 13 points in the last 14 minutes going 5-for-8 from the field, including two three pointers.

As a team, the Phoenix converted a season-high 12 three pointers, sinking at least nine in the last six of seven games.

"We come into a game looking to get the ball inside and today they weren't guarding the three as well as we thought they would've," said Hoewisch who also finished with 13. "We take what the defensive gives us and I think when we're on that edge that's all it takes for us, we're great shooters."

Green Bay finished the contest shooting 39 percent from the field and 58 percent from the free-throw line, while scoring 33 points off the Crusaders' 28 turnovers. Julie Wojta (Mishicot, Wis.) posted her eighth doublepdouble of the season and fourth in five games after chipping in 10 points and grabbing a game-high 11 rebounds.

One goal down, more to go... Winning its 13th-consecutive regular-season title was just one of many goals for this year's Phoenix squad, and with three games to go there is still a lot to play for. "Everybody on this team is focused," said Hoewisch. "As seniors we don't need to remind our teammates what's at stake. What we do in the regular season is a big deal but to get that automatic bid is another goal of ours and we know what we have to do."

Comparing and contrasting... There's no question this Green Bay team has matured since last season and feels more confident than ever heading down the final stretch of its regular season and into post-season play. "I think without a doubt we're better than last year and I think this team is ready to make more of a run," Hoewisch said. "Defensively this team is capable of getting a stop when we need it most."

"We have more people that are capable of stepping up defensively and offensively for us," added Tetschlag. "Compared to last year we have more threats and can go deeper into our bench with more substitutes and that's been really helpful."  

 The Phoenix will play its final regular-season home game Saturday, Feb. 26 at 2 p.m. when it hosts Butler (17-10. 11-4 HL) in its annual PinkZone game at the Kress Events Center. Saturday's crowd is expect to be the largest-ever at the Kress Center so fans are encouraged to call ahead for tickets or order online here.