VICTORIA, B.C. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay women's basketball is participating in the Greater Victoria Invitational over the holiday weekend, with the Phoenix taking the court in its first of three games in as many days on Thanksgiving against Bowling Green.
 
The tournament will feature four games daily over the three days, with a winners' and losers' bracket. First-round pairings for Thursday, Nov. 28 are as follows:

• Green Bay vs. Bowling Green – 1 p.m. CT
• Mississippi State vs. San Francisco – 3:30 p.m. CT
• Syracuse vs. Houston – 7 p.m. CT
• Stanford vs. California Baptist – 9:30 p.m. CT

LIVE VIDEO (FloSports)  |  LIVE STATS (Statbroadcast)
 
Game times for Friday and Saturday will be the same with semifinal games on Nov. 29 at 7:00/9:30 p.m. Saturday's championship game will tip at 9:30 p.m.

Game Notes: Green Bay
 
TOUGH TOURNAMENT COMPETITION
There are two unbeaten teams in the field, as Stanford, 4-0, leads the trio, with a No. 3-ranking behind No. 1 Oregon and No. 2 Baylor. The Cardinal just defeated No. 23 Gonzaga earlier this week. Mississippi State, which played in the last two NCAA Final Fours, is off to a 3-0 start and ranks #10 in the nation. Syracuse, 3-1, recently suffered its first loss of the season to top-ranked Oregon.
 
BASKETBALL ABROAD
Green Bay has fared pretty well in tournaments outside of the contiguous United States, posting an all-time record of 12-5. Most recently, the Phoenix took flight to Cancun in the 2017-18 season a picked up wins over Columbia and Arizona State before falling to Mississippi State. This trip marks Green Bay's first time visiting Canada. In matchups outside the reach of the United States, Green Bay's all-time record is 7-2.
 
ATTACKING FROM ALL ANGLES
Five games into the season and Green Bay has received 20-point scoring efforts from three different members of the team. Karly Murphy opened the season with a 30-point performance at Central Michigan, followed by a 24-point outburst from Frankie Wurtz against South Dakota. Followed by Caitlyn Hibner hitting the 20-point mark in a victory over Missouri and doing so again with 26 points at Chicago State. All four performance were career highs, with Hibner surpassing her career best on two separate occasions.
 
STAYING STRONG AGAINST THE SEC
Only two programs from the SEC have taken the floor on Carol's Court within the friendly confines of the Kress Center, and Green Bay has emerged victorious in both meetings. Most recently, the Phoenix took down Mizzou, 72-64, and moved to 4-1 all-time against the Tigers. Prior to that pairing, GB played host to Vanderbilt on Nov. 21, 2015 and defeated the Commodores 58-56.
 
HIBNER HEATING UP
Redshirt junior Caitlyn Hibner had a career day on Saturday, Nov. 16 as the Phoenix took down a tough SEC program in Mizzou, 72-64. The guard scored a then-career-high 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds, both of which were team highs. The Horizon League honored the Wisconsin native by naming her Player of the Week, marking back-to-back awards to start the season for Green Bay. Karly Murphy collected the same honor in the first week of play. Hibner bested her career mark a week later at Chicago State, scoring 26 points and pulling down 11 rebounds to notch new career highs and the second double-double of her career.
 
NEW YEAR, NEW LOOK?
Green Bay has made a name for itself as a perennial defensive powerhouse, causing headaches for opposing offenses on a regular basis. Last season, the Phoenix ranked fourth in the country in scoring defense and allowed only 51.9 points per game. The year prior to that, GB led the entire nation and surrendered a lowly 47.4 PPG. In Green Bay's first pairing, Central Michigan scored 105 points and became only the second team in history to surpass the century mark against the formidable Phoenix defense. GB still managed to escape with the win, pouring in 111 points of its own which marked the second-highest total in program history. The Phoenix surpassed the century mark once again in a win over Chicago State, marking the first time in program history GB has scored 100 points multiple times in the same season.
 
MIGHTY MID-MAJORS
Green Bay has taken the floor against two of the top-ranked mid-major programs in the country to start off 2019-20, defeating No. 12 Central Michigan 111-105 on the road in double overtime and falling at home to No. 1 South Dakota, 66-60.
 
PRESEASON PROMINENCE
The Green Bay women's basketball team is no stranger to high expectations, with this year being no exception. The Phoenix is favored in the Horizon League's preseason poll for the 12th-consecutive season, sharing the title with defending champion Wright State.
 
FABULOUS FRANKIE
Frankie Wurtz was the lone GB member recognized on the preseason all-league teams, receiving a first-team nod from conference. Wurtz returns to the roster after leading Green Bay in scoring in 2018-19, averaging 10.5 points per game. She is the first player to return to the roster after leading the team in scoring since Allie LeClaire accomplished the same feat in 2015-16. Despite missing games due to injury, Wurtz was still able to lead the Phoenix in three-pointers made with 41.
 
TOURNAMENT TESTS
Green Bay will be tested early and often this season, as its non-conference slate currently features seven opponents who advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season, with Central Michigan (W, 111-105), South Dakota (L, 60-66)), Missouri (W, 72-64), Marquette (L, 60-47), DePaul (Dec. 7), Maine (Dec. 13) and South Dakota State (Dec. 21) all punching their tickets in 2019. The Phoenix also has the potential to take the court against additional NCAA Tournament teams based on results in the Victoria Invitational.
 
KEY RETURNERS
Green Bay was plagued by injuries a season ago and returns a number of key players in 2019-20. Caitlyn Hibner is poised to make a strong comeback after sitting out all of 2018-19 with an injury. Karly Murphy will also be gracing the floor once again for the Phoenix after suffering an injury in the season opener last year, causing her to miss the remainder of the season. Murphy impressed as a redshirt freshman in 2017-18, averaging 7.4 PPG and 4.1 RPG in league play.
 
OPENING ON THE ROAD
Green Bay opened the regular season on the road for the first time since 2014-15, as the team traveled to Central Michigan for a pairing with the Chippewas. The Phoenix came away with a victory in the matchup and won its season opener for the 11th time in 12 years.
 
PHOENIX FRESH FACES
Green Bay welcomes three true-freshman to the 2019-20 roster, all from the state of Wisconsin. Cassie Schiltz resides from the local town of Luxemburg, where she was a three-time first team all-conference selection and the Northeastern Conference Offensive Player of the Year.  Julia Hartwig joins the Phoenix from Janesville where she was also a 2x first team all-conference selection and an all-state honoree in 2017-18.  Brooklyn Blackburn found her way to the squad from Milwaukee and also earned first team all-conference honors in high school.
 
WINNING TRADITION
Green Bay secured its 42nd-consecutive winning season last year and trails only Tennessee (45) for the longest active streak in the nation. During that span, GB also pieced together a stretch of 20-straight conference titles and made 18 NCAA Tournament appearances. The Phoenix also secured its 20th-consecutive 20-plus win season in 2018-19, a streak dating back to 1999-00.
 
WINNING....SINCE THE BEGINNING
The Green Bay women's basketball team is one of three Division I women's basketball programs that has had a winning record every year since the NCAA took over administration of women's college athletics in the fall of 1981. Essentially, the Phoenix has never had a losing record in the NCAA era. The only two other programs to accomplish the same feat are Tennessee and Georgia.
 
DEFENSIVE DOMINATION
Green Bay has received national acclaim year after year for its defensive prowess, with the most recent campaign being no exception. In 2018-19, the Phoenix ranked fourth in the country in scoring defense - allowing a lowly 51.9 points per game. GB also ranked sixth in the nation in field-goal percentage defense, holding opponents to 33.9% from the field.
 
RETURNING OFFENSE
Green Bay returns over 60% of its offense from last season, highlighted by leading scorer Frankie Wurtz who averaged 10.5 PPG. Not included in that number are Karly Murphy and Caitlyn Hibner, who both missed the majority of last year due to injury.
 
COURT AND CLASSROOM COMBO
The Green Bay women's basketball team was named to the WBCA Academic Top 25 for the fifth-straight season this summer, coming in at No. 8 with a 3.64 team GPA. The Phoenix was dubbed champions of the classroom in 2016-17 and 2017-18 after owning the highest GPA in the nation through those two seasons.
 
SUCCESS FROM LONG RANGE
Green Bay enjoyed success from long range on both ends of the floor last season, owning league-best marks in three-point field goal percentage (34.1%) and three-point field goal percentage defense (27.3%).
 
BORSETH BREAKING BARRIERS
Head coach Kevin Borseth has enjoyed numerous successes throughout his coaching career. Last season, Borseth surpassed 700 total wins and 400 wins with Green Bay. His 716 career wins ranks 19th all-time among DI women's basketball coaches. He also ranks inside the nation's top 10 in career wins among active DI coaches. Due in large part to Borseth's leadership, Green Bay is also featured in the nation's top 10 for winningest college basketball programs in the country. The Phoenix is one of only 12 teams to reach more than 1,000 wins, doing so in only 46 seasons.
 
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