By: Jill Wunrow
GreenBayPhoenix.com

DETROIT, Mich. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - No. 14/12 Green Bay (15-0, 5-0 HL) held off a late second half charge by Detroit (8-10, 4-2 HL) as it set a program-record 35 consecutive regular season wins with its 68-59 win over the Titans Saturday at Calihan Hall.

"It was great to see our balance, it's something we've been striving for," Bollant said of his team's performance. "Julie naturally does what she does and then other players stepping up and making plays, showing our balance was special to see today."

Four players scored in double figures for the Phoenix with Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) leading all scorers with 20 points while Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) added 16, Julie Wojta (Francis Creek, Wis.) 15 and Sarah Eichler (Grafton, Wis.) 13. Both teams scored 28 points in the paint as Green Bay was outrebounded 43-32 by the Titans.

"We're happy we got two road wins against two very good teams in the conference," said fifth year head coach Matt Bollant. "Physically we didn't play as well as we could have, we lost our aggressiveness down the stretch as they made their run."

Detroit's largest lead of the game came in the opening half at the 14:39 mark when Megan Hatter drained a three from the left wing to give the Titans the 7-5 lead.

Stephanie Sension (Hopkins, Minn.) scored back-to-back buckets with less than eight minutes to play to give Green Bay the 18-14 lead before the Titans answered with a three to cut the lead back to one. Green Bay built a five-point lead (22-17) with 5:58 to play when Bauer sank a jumper for the Phoenix from the left wing.

"She gave us a lift coming in off the best in the first half and then other players did the same in the second half, obviously Julie hitting shots like she always does and Adrian and Sarah showed some toughness when we really had to have it," Bollant said.

With 2:46 remaining in the opening half, Ritchie drained a three pointer from the right wing to boost the Phoenix lead to 27-20. Hannah Quilling (Eau Claire, Wis.) found Ritchie for Green Bay's final bucket of the half with 1:00 remaining, giving the Phoenix a 29-20 lead, its largest of the half.

Ritchie and Bauer led all scorers with nine points each in the opening half while Wojta lead the way on the boards with six rebounds. Green Bay scored 14 of its first half points in the paint as it shot 41 percent from the field (12-29) while scoring a season-low 29 points against a league opponent in the opening half.

Wojta opened second half with back-to-back buckets down low to give the Phoenix the early nine point lead (33-24) of the half. At the 15:27 mark, Ritchie made a beautiful cut to the basket as Quilling dished her the ball for the 10-point lead (37-27). Eichler later drained a three from the top of the key for the 40-27 advantage, part of an 8-0 run for the Phoenix.

Green Bay's defense held the Titans scoreless for six-and-a-half minutes before Shareta Brown took it to the hole, drawing a foul on Eichler while converting the three-point play to cut the Phoenix lead to 12 (42-30). Wojta answered with a three from the left wing to boost the lead back to 15 with 11:21 to play.

Detroit went on an 8-2 run, cutting Green Bay's lead to 10 (48-38) with 8:16 remaining before the Phoenix drained back-to-back threes from Wojta and Bauer to boost its lead to 55-38 with 7:33 to play. The Titans full-court defensive pressure closed the gap to seven (55-48) with a bucket down low from Jalesa Jones with 4:53 remaining, part of a 12-2 run by Detroit.

"We had a 17 point lead and they got excited down the stretch, the easiest time to play basketball is when your team is on a run," Bollant said of Green Bay's late run. "Detroit is a really dangerous team, they have some great athletes."

With 2:31 to play Ritchie took a charge on the defensive end, giving the Phoenix momentum and forcing the Titans to foul but still managing to come within nine down the stretch.

Green Bay shot 42 percent in the contest, going 24-of-57 from the field and 78 percent from the free throw line (15-of-19). Detroit freshman Shareta Brown led the Titans with a double double performance scoring 19 points while leading all players with 15 rebounds.

UP NEXT: Green Bay returns to the confines of the Kress Events Center Thursday, Jan. 19 as it hosts Youngtown State at 7 p.m. before hosting Cleveland State, Saturday, Jan. 21 at 2 p.m. For tickets, click here.

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