GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The road to the Horizon League Championship will once again go through Green Bay. Becoming the first team in program history to reach 30 wins in the process, the Phoenix secured the right to host Friday's semifinals and Sunday's championship game with a dominant performance Wednesday night in its quarterfinal contest against Loyola.

The game was in doubt for all of two minutes before top-seeded No. 13/11 Green Bay (30-1) rattled off 11-straight points to lead 11-0 by the first media timeout. Loyola (12-18), the tournament's eight seed, did not score a basket until the 13:54 mark, and the Phoenix responded to that with a 12-0 spurt before cruising to an 89-41 win, its school-record 30th of the season.

"It is special," said head coach Matt Bollant of the record 30th win. "Green Bay has had such a rich heritage and so many great teams. To think about how good we were two years ago to win 29 and how good we were last year to win 28, to get the number 30 is special, and it is something that we will look back on at the end of the year and enjoy.

"I was really pleased with the start of the game and the way we played in the first half. Give our players a lot of credit for being on edge and being focused."

Senior Celeste Hoewisch (Hortonville, Wis.) led the charge out of the gate for the Phoenix, outscoring the Ramblers by herself in the opening 20 minutes. The Co-Horizon League Player of the Year had 19 of her game-high 23 points at the break as Green Bay led 55-16. Fellow senior Kayla Tetschlag (Sheboygan, Wis.), with whom she shared the league's top honor, added eight points and four assists as the Phoenix shot a blistering 60 (21-35) percent in the first half.

"We came out focused and ready to go, and that is what you want to be doing this time of year. Playing your best basketball," said Hoewisch. "Everybody took their turn setting the tone. Kayla helped early with eight really quick points, and then it was my turn. That is how this team has been all year. Everyone takes their turn and does what they need to do to help us win."

The seniors were not alone in helping the Phoenix to its largest first-half point total of the season. Sophomores Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.) and Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) added 12 and 11 points respectively. Eichler opened the second half with a triple to finish with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting.

"[Sarah] has steadily gotten in a little better shape and a little stronger throughout the year, and I have seen her confidence grow," said Bollant. "She has always been a really great defender, but it is good to see her now being explosive attacking the rim and knocking down some threes. She brings a level of toughness to our team, and that is important to our success."

Junior Julie Wojta (Mishicot, Wis.) scored seven-straight points early in the second half, capped by a three-point play with 13:57 remaining to push the Phoenix lead to 50 (72-22). The all-conference performer finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds for her ninth double-double of the season and fifth in her last nine games.  

With the potential of playing three games in five days, the insurmountable lead allowed Bollant to rest his players. No Phoenix player logged more than 26 minutes, with Hoewisch's game-high total coming in only 22 minutes played. Every Green Bay player saw action, with nine finding the scoring column.

"It was good to get them some rest because I know that Friday's game is going to be really physical," said Bollant. "Last time we played Wright State Molly Fox didn't play and she is as physical as any post player in our league. We got them out early in the second half once we set the tone."

"It is to our advantage, especially for us old people," Hoewisch joked of getting the extra rest.

Green Bay held the Ramblers to 31.9 percent shooting from the field (15-47) and used 15 steals to force 26 turnovers. The numbers helped the Phoenix to dominant margins in rebounds (47-33), assists (21-5), points in the paint (28-6) and points off turnovers (31-10).

Green Bay advances to Friday's semifinal and will face fourth-seeded Wright State, who dispatched Milwaukee 63-58 in Dayton Wednesday night. The contest will tip at approximately 8 p.m. following Butler-Cleveland State, slated for a 5:30 p.m. start at the Kress Center. For more information, visit the Horizon League Tournament Central page on GreenBayPhoenix.com.