GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay women's basketball team will head east for a two-game road trip this weekend against Maine on Friday and Marist on Sunday.
 
CATCH THE ACTION: Friday, December 13^th - 6 p.m. // Bangor, ME (Cross Insurance Center)  |  Sunday, December 15^th – 11 a.m. // Poughkeepsie, NY (McCann Arena)
 
Where to Watch: ESPN3 vs Maine | ESPN3 vs Marist
 
Where to listen: The Fan

Game Notes: Green Bay
 
Scouting the Black Bears: Amy Vachon enters her third full season with Maine and has seen instant success after being the named the interim head coach during the 2016-2017 season. She was named the America East Coach of the Year in the 2017-2018 season as well as the 2018-2019 season. Maine has appeared in the NCAA Tournament in the last two seasons and home court advantage has proved to be huge for the Black Bears as Vachon was 31-3 at Cross Insurance Center entering this season. This year, the Black Bears have gotten off to a little bit of a slow start at a 3-7 record, but have played some quality opponents. Maine is led in the scoring department by Blanca Millan who is a senior guard from Spain who averages a touch over 18 points per game. Maeve Carroll leads the team at 6.3 rebounds per game and Dor Saar averages the most assists per game for the Black Bears at 4.2 per contest. Green Bay leads the all-time series 4-1 with the only Maine victory coming back in December of 2003.
 
Scouting the Red Foxes: Marist started off the 2019-2020 campaign at a perfect 5-0 record but have dropped the last couple games to put them where they sit now at a 5-2 record. Just over a month ago, Brian Giorgis earned his 400^th career victory with the Red Foxes and he owns the program record for most wins. The seven-time Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Coach of the Year is currently in his 18^th season and is believed to be the only coach in NCAA Division 1 history to register 400 wins at the collegiate level (all in D1) as well as the high school level. Three Red Foxes average at least 10 points per game and Rebekah Hand leads Marist in scoring at 19.0 per game. Hand was the MAAC Rookie of the Year in her first season at Marist and has received First Team honors the past two seasons as well. Grace Vander Weide is a do-it-all player for Coach Giorgis as she leads the team in assists and rebounds. This will be the first ever meeting between these two programs.
 
WATCH OUT FOR WURTZ             
Redshirt senior Frankie Wurtz has been a consistent force for the Phoenix all season long, scoring over 20 points on three separate occasions with her most recent outing being against #16 DePaul, where the guard amassed a career-high 25 points on a 9-13 effort from the field. She has scored in double digits in seven of the nine matchups this season.
 
ROAD WARRIORS            
Green Bay has played five games away from the confines of the Kress Center this season and owns a record of 4-1 in those contests. Only two matchups thus far have been true road games for the Phoenix, with trips to Central Michigan and Chicago State both ending in favor of Green Bay.
 
TOURNAMENT TESTS    
Green Bay has been tested early and often this season, as its non-conference slate features nine 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, 47-60), Mississippi State (L, 58-83), Syracuse (W, 79-73), DePaul (L, 65-76), Maine (Dec. 13) and South Dakota State (Dec. 21) all punching their tickets in 2019.
 
RANKING VICTORIES      
Any win is a good win, but there's no feeling like taking down a top 25 team. Most recently, the Phoenix defeated #18 Syracuse in the Greater Victoria Invitational on Nov. 30, marking the 11th victory as a program over a ranked opponent and the fourth in three years.
 
HAPPENING IN THREES 
Green Bay faced three-consecutive ranked opponents for the second time in program history this season, facing #10 Mississippi State (L, 83-58) and #18 Syracuse (W, 79-73) in the Victoria Invitational followed by a matchup with #16 DePaul (L, 76-65) at home last weekend. The last time Green Bay took the hardwood against three-straight ranked programs, the Phoenix emerged with a 2-1 mark, picking up victories over #24 Arizona State (W, 61-48) and #23 Marquette (W, 63-55), while falling to #7 Mississippi State (L, 46-67) in 2017-18.
 
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. The Phoenix still has matchups with #13 Marist, #12 South Dakota State and #20 Wright State.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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%).
 
ACCOLADES APLENTY    
Five weeks into the season and Green Bay has earned three Horizon League Player of the Week awards, with Karly Murphy opening the season with the honor followed by Caitlin Hibner twice in the next three weeks.
 
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 718 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. Borseth is only seven victories from 500 all-time DI wins.
 
BASKETBALL ABROAD    
Green Bay has fared pretty well in tournaments outside of the contiguous United States, posting an all-time record of 14-6. In matchups outside the reach of the United States, Green Bay's all-time record is 9-3. Most recently, Green Bay participated in the Greater Victoria Invitational and claimed third place while posting a record of 2-1 with wins over Bowling Green and #18 Syracuse.
 
SISTER, SISTER  
Redshirt seniors Madison and Mackenzie Wolf make Green Bay one of only 22 teams in DI women's basketball that has a pair of sisters on its roster and one of only 13 with a set of twins.
 
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