By: Joey Daniels (@GBJoeyD)
ESTERO, Fla. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Adding a victory over a Pac-12 team to its ledger, the Green Bay women's basketball team continued its outstanding stretch of basketball with a 63-57 victory over Arizona State in the Gulf Coast Showcase semifinals on Saturday night at Germain Arena.
Green Bay (5-1), now winners of four-straight games, trailed by as much as nine points in the second half before storming back to pull out the six-point victory. The Phoenix will now face No. 3 UConn in the Gulf Coast Showcase Tournament Championship game tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. CT.
The Phoenix saw four players in double figures, led by Mehryn Kraker's 19 points. Lexi Weitzer finished with 12 points and seven rebounds, playing the best game of her career on one of the biggest stages. Megan Lukan ended the game with 13 points and her sister Kaili Lukan finished with 12 points, with (Kaili) Lukan scoring two huge baskets that gave Green Bay the lead for good down the stretch.
“One thing we do is compete. It really helps when you make some baskets and you get a little bit of success from your scoring. Our team saw the light at the end of the tunnel and really fought hard to get back in it,” head coach Kevin Borseth said.
The second half started out rough for the Phoenix, as Arizona State (4-1) raced out with an 8-0 run that gave the Sun Devils their largest lead of the game at 37-28. That was when Kraker nailed a much-needed three-pointer in transition, receiving a pretty pass back from Kaili Lukan.
From that three-pointer forward, Green Bay was able to steadily make it its own game. Arizona State did gain a six-point lead with under six minutes to play, but Tesha Buck and Megan Lukan were able to convert back-to-back baskets to create a one position game, before going up by as many as five down the stretch and icing it with free throws.
The Phoenix had a game plan of going inside, and succeeded in doing so as all 28 of their points scored in the first half were scored in the paint. Green Bay finished with 52 points in the paint, double to that of the Sun Devils' 26.
“We came out and played our game. We struggled a bit early on in the second half, but it was definitely a team win as we battled back together and pulled through in the end. It's incredible that we're having the opportunity to show the basketball world what we have, and we're winning these games against some of the best teams,” said Kaili Lukan.
Green Bay forced Arizona State into 20 turnovers, while the Phoenix only totaled 12. Green Bay shot 54 percent (27-50) as a team in the game, marking the fourth time this season the team has shot over 50 percent.
With the victory over Arizona State, the Phoenix has now logged victories over a team from the Big East, Big Ten, ACC and Pac-12, enjoying one of the best stretches of team play under Borseth. The Phoenix will now look to add a victory over a team from the American Athletic Conference and defending national champion next.
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