By Justin Grones (@JustinGrones)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
DAYTON, Ohio.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - In the last of four straight games away from the Kress Center, Green Bay
felt right at home at Wright State's Nutter Center, where the Phoenix came away
with a 70-48 victory over the
Raiders on Monday night. The win completed the season sweep over Wright State,
and improved Green Bay to 16-2 overall and 6-0 in the Horizon League. The loss
dropped Wright State to 9-10 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
Green Bay dominated the first half, holding Wright State to
just 2-26 (7.7 percent) from the field and held a 29-12 advantage on the
boards. The Raiders were held without a field goal for the first 14:26 of play
before Ivory James scored on a three. The Phoenix opened the game on a 15-2 run
over the first 6:18, sparked by an Adrian
Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) three. Ritchie finished the game with 13 points.
"We came out and played extremely well in the first half, and
anytime you go up 35 on the road, especially in the first half, you're setting
yourself up for success," head coach Kevin
Borseth said.
Ritchie extended the lead to 30 points at 44-14 on a three
with 2:27 remaining in the first half, as Green Bay held the Raiders scoreless
for the final 4:34 of the opening frame to take a 49-14 lead into the break.
Wright State opened the second half on a 5-0 run, and used an
11-0 run just minutes later to cut the deficit to 57-34.
"We didn't come out with the same intensity as we had in the
first half, and Wright State was a lot more physical and made us make mistakes
in the second half," Borseth said. "Even with the lead we built in the first
half, we need to play with the same intensity for the entire 40 minutes and not
just one half."
Redshirt junior Breannah
Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) used outstanding moves in the post to keep the lead
at double digits, as she scored six of her 14 points in the second half. She
finished with a tied-career high 14 points, which was set in the win over St. Bonaventure on Jan. 5. Fellow post player Stephanie
Sension (Hopkins, Minn.) added 13 points, while Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) added 11.
The game was the 13th time in 18 games this season a team
failed to score 50 points, but Wright State became the first team this season
to not commit 17 or more turnovers. The Raiders had 14 on the evening.
Green Bay will return to the Kress Center to host UIC on
Saturday at 2 p.m., marking the first time the team has played at home since
Jan. 12.
