Green Bay Opens Five-Game Road Trip with Youngstown State, Cleveland State

1/22/2020 12:44:00 PM

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- Green Bay opens a stretch of five-consecutive games on the road this weekend, traveling to Ohio for matchups with Youngstown State and Cleveland State.

CATCH THE ACTION: Friday, January 24 at Youngstown State - 6 p.m. (CT) // Youngstown, Ohio (Beeghly Center) | Sunday, January 26 at Cleveland State- 1 p.m. (CT) // Cleveland, Ohio (Wolstein Center)

Where to Watch: ESPN3 vs Youngstown State | ESPN3 vs Cleveland State

Where to listen: T he Fan

Game Notes: Green Bay | YSU | CSU

Scouting the Penguins: Youngstown State (11-7, 4-3) will take the court Friday night for its first home game of the new year and looks to continue its impressive play within the confines of the Beeghly Center. YSU is 23-2 at Beeghly Center since the start of the 2018-19 season. The one loss last season was by two points, and the loss this season was in overtime. Chelsea Olson and Jen Wendler are the reigning Horizon League Player and Freshman of the Week. Olson averaged 14.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, three assists and two blocks last week, while Wendler had 11 points in both games, averaged 7.5 rebounds and shot an impressive 54.5 percent from the field.

Scouting the Vikings: Last time out, CSU (14-4, 4-3) split its road swing in the state of Michigan, falling at Detroit Mercy before picking up a 79-58 victory at Oakland. Mariah Miller averaged 20.0 points and 11.5 rebounds per game in the two-game swing, including a 24-point effort at Oakland.

GREEN BAY NOTES
GLOWING ON THE GLASS
Green Bay dominated the battle of the boards in its most recent matchup with UIC, as the Phoenix outrebounded the Flames 50-19 for its largest positive margin of the season, more than doubling its previous best of 14 set against Detroit Mercy on Jan. 11, 2020. It was also the first time since the 2015-16 season where GB secured at least 50 rebounds, with the last occasion happening against Youngstown State on Feb. 11, 2016, when Green Bay corralled 56 boards.

SMOTHERING THE FLAMES
Green Bay allowed UIC to score only 36 points in its last matchup, the lowest total from any Horizon League team in conference play this season. It was also the fewest allowed by the Phoenix this season, 10 fewer than the 46 allowed at Chicago State.

PROTECTING HOME COURT
In the past five seasons, Green Bay has been nearly perfect at home when taking the court against Horizon League opponents. The Phoenix owns a 44-5 record dating back to the 2014-15 season when facing teams from the HL within the friendly confines of the Kress Center. The Phoenix also posted perfect 9-0 seasons at home in league play in 2015-16 and 2016-17.

BALL CONTROL
Green Bay is excellent at taking care of the basketball on gameday and currently ranks 6th in the country in turnovers per game, surrendering only 11.5 per game. Green Bay has matched its season low of seven turnovers five times this season, most recently versus IUPUI. The current program record for turnovers allowed in a single season by the Phoenix is 375 in 30 games, which comes to a 12.5 per game average.

KEYS TO SUCCESS
When Green Bay has reached 70 points or more this season, the Phoenix owns a 6-1 record. GB is also an impressive 7-2 on the year when outrebounding its opponent. The team also owns a 9-2 record when posting a better percentage from the floor than its opposition.

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 721 career wins ranks 19th all-time among DI women's basketball coaches. Borseth is also only three victories from 500 all-time DI wins. 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.

WURTZ WORKING
Redshirt senior Frankie Wurtz has notched two double-doubles this season and scored in double figures 15 times, marks which lead both categories. She has also served as the single-game leading scorer 11 times and single-game steals leader 11 times, the highest of any player on the roster. Wurtz ranks fourth in the Horizon League in PPG with a 14.8 average.

A GLIMPSE OF THE PAST
The last time a Borseth Phoenix team compiled a losing nonconference record was in his first season, when he started 3-8 and still managed to finish 19-10 on the year after a 13-1 mark in the Midwestern Collegiate Conference. The streak of 20-straight conference championships began in the same season.

TOURNAMENT TESTS
Green Bay has been tested early and often this season, as its non-conference featured 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 (L,60-61) and South Dakota State (L, 55-60) 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.

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.

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.

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.

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
Six 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.

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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