ROCHESTER, Mich. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) – The Green Bay women's basketball team closed out the regular season this afternoon in Rochester, Mich., taking on Oakland at the O'rena. The Phoenix (26-4, 16-2) was never able to get full control of the game, as the Golden Grizzlies (15-14, 7-11) led wire-to-wire in the contest and claimed a 77-69 victory.
Oakland got off to a hot start following the ceremony to honor its seniors, jumping out to a lead large as seven points in the opening quarter, 21-14. Green Bay closed the gap a bit in the closing seconds, however, as Tesha Buck sent a triple through the net to beat the buzzer and pull Green Bay within four points (21-17).
The game went back and forth for its majority, but Green Bay was unable to pull even with Oakland as time winded down. The Phoenix managed to get within three points, 68-65, after Mehryn Kraker sunk a layup for two of her team-high 21 points, but the Golden Grizzlies used a three-pointer from Taylor Gleason to put an end to Green Bay's rally and increase its lead to six points with one minute, 47 seconds.
Green Bay made one final attempt to escape the O'rena with a victory, as Kraker drilled a triple with 47 seconds on the clock to cut Green Bay's deficit to five points, 74-69. The comeback would end there, however, as Oakland would go on to a 77-69 victory and hand the Phoenix its second loss in league play.
Green Bay did all it could to disrupt Oakland's offense, but the Golden Grizzlies shot 26-for-55 from the field to notch a 47.3 field-goal percentage, the best by any league opponent this season.
Kraker finished with a team-high 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting, securing her 10th-straight double-figure game. The junior also finished 3-of-7 from long range and pulled down eight rebounds in 31 minutes.
Senior Kaili Lukan became the 33rd member of the Green Bay women's basketball program to surpass the 1,000-points barrier, doing so on a layup at the 5:29 mark in the second quarter. The guard also posted her third double-double of the season, pairing 10 points with 10 rebounds.
Green Bay will now shift its focus to the upcoming Horizon League tournament on Thursday, March 10. The Phoenix will wait until Saturday to see its first action, though, taking on the winner of Friday's Game Five matchup.
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