By: Joey Daniels (@GBPhoenixWBB)
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GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – Already clinching at least a share of its 17th-straight Horizon League Championship, the Green Bay women's basketball will look to secure the outright regular season title and revenge at Oakland on Thursday night at the Athletics Center O'Rena.
Green Bay (22-4, 12-1 HL) is in the midst of a five-game winning streak, winning those games by an average of 27.6 points per game, including its last two games by an average of 40.5 points which was boosted bya . The Phoenix clinched yet another league title and the No. 1 seed in the Horizon League Tournament on Saturday and saw head coach Kevin Borseth win his 600th career game on Thursday.
Oakland (11-15, 5-8 HL) is the only team in league play to have beaten the Phoenix, but since that win on Feb. 4 in Green Bay, it has lost four of its last five games. The Golden Grizzlies will play two of its final three games at home, where it owns a 3-3 record.
Tournament Central: Visit the official tournament site for the upcoming Horizon League Tournament, which will be hosted by Green Bay. (Click link)
REMARKABLE RUN
With Green Bay's 71-32 thrashing of UIC on Saturday, the program clinched at least a share of its 17th-straight Horizon League Championship. This impossible run for the Phoenix began back in 1998-99, Kevin Borseth's first season as head coach of the Phoenix which means that Borseth is a perfect 12-for-12 in league championships. During this remarkable stretch, Green Bay has won the title outright 14 of the 16 times and will look to make it 15 of 17 with one more win in its final three league games. The program has never won less than 12 league games during that span and has finished with one or fewer losses in 10 (currently 11 including this season) of those years.
CONFERENCE CONTROL
In conference games alone, the Phoenix leads the league in multiple categories. The statistics that the Phoenix ranks first in are listed below:
Scoring Defense: 50.7 PPG (ranks 21st nationally at 55.5 PPG)
Scoring Margin: +19.1 (ranks 22nd nationally at +13.5)
Field Goal %: .441
Field Goal % Defense: .322 (ranks 37th nationally at .364)
Rebounding Defense: 34.6 RPG
Assists: 18.1 APG (ranks 23rd nationally with 16.3 APG)
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 1.3 (ranks 22nd nationally at 1.2)
Home Attendance AVG: 2,418
RPI UPDATE
As of February 25, Green Bay ranks No. 26 in the NCAA RPI standings. Using those same standings, the Phoenix has eight wins against teams ranked inside the RPI top 100, going 8-3 in those games. GB currently ranks 63rd in strength of schedule, with its opponents holding a 269-219 (.555) overall combined record. Three of the four defeats suffered by the Phoenix have come against teams ranked inside the RPI Top 50.
LUKAN'S LEADERSHIP
The fifth-year senior Megan Lukan has been the backbone of Green Bay basketball this season and continues to lead her team in both rebounding (5.0 RPG) and assists (4.9 APG). Lukan needs three more points to reach 200 points for the fourth time in her career and needs two more assists to tally 500 career assists. She ranks 17th in the NCAA in active career assists with 498 and is Green Bay's all-time Division I leader in that category.
BUCK & KRAKER
During the team's active five-game winning streak, Mehryn Kraker (14.2 PPG) and Tesha Buck (13.6 PPG) are the two players averaging in double figures for the Phoenix. During this stretch, Buck leads the team in rebounding (7.6 RPG) and ranks second in assists (18) and second in steals (6). The two have combined to knock down 23 three-pointers, more than the rest of the team combined, while Kraker is shooting 54.9 percent from the field.
BALANCE BACKLASH
Because the Phoenix continues to be so balanced in its offensive attack, the team has not received one Horizon League Player of the Week or Freshman of the Week Award since the start of the conference season. Green Bay has six players averaging 7.4 PPG or more, the most balanced effort in the league. Because of the “Green Bay Way” and the balanced offense, the program has not been able to win weekly honors, but has gone 12-1 during that span and will take the wins over individual accolades any day.
vs OAKLAND
The 70-67 setback to the Golden Grizzlies in their first meeting on Feb. 4 was the first time Green Bay has ever lost a game in the short series (4-1). That loss was also the first and only loss for GB at home this season and its only lost in HL play. Before its loss this season, Green Bay had won the last three games by an average of 17.7 PPG.
MID-MAJOR POLL
Green Bay was ranked No. 5 in Graham Hays' most recent mid-major poll on espn.com. The Phoenix has been as high as No. 1 in the rankings, and will probably move up to No. 4 because of its recent play and a loss by current No. 4 James Madison.
BRACKETOLOGY
In ESPN's Bracketology, composed by Charlie Creme, Green Bay is slotted in as a No. 8 seed in the Oklahoma City region against No. 9 seed Florida Gulf Coast. Creme has that game being played in Knoxville, Tenn., hosted by the University of Tennessee who Creme has as a No. 1 seed. NOTE: This is only a projection by ESPN and Creme, which holds no bearing on the actual selection process by the NCAA.
RECEIVING VOTES
Green Bay is now receiving 16 votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll, released on Monday (Feb. 23). The Phoenix has appeared as high as No. 24 in the land and is currently ranked an unofficial 32nd. GB is not receiving votes in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
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