GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) --- The Green Bay women's basketball team readies for its regular season finale on Saturday afternoon with Youngstown State and will honor its seniors following the game.
 
CATCH THE ACTION: Saturday, February 29 vs Youngstown State  – 2 p.m. // Green Bay, Wis. (Kress Center)
 
Where to Watch: ESPN3 vs Youngstown State

Game Promotions: Senior Day, Krash the Kress
 
Where to Listen: The Fan
 
Game Notes: Green Bay  |  Youngstown State

COMING DOWN TO THE WIRE
Following last weekend's two road victories over UIC and league-leading IUPUI, the Phoenix earned itself a top-four seed in the Horizon League Tournament.  However, Green Bay guarantees themselves a trip to the semifinals in Indianapolis as the two seed with wins over Cleveland State and Youngstown State in their final regular season games.  If the Phoenix lands as the three or four seed, they will host a first round matchup and a quarterfinal game with a first round win.  Since becoming a Division I program in 1987-88, Green Bay has never finished lower than fourth place in conference.
 
THANK YOU SENIORS          
The Phoenix will graduate four members of 2019-20 team: Anna Dier, Mackenzie Wolf, Madison Wolf and Frankie Wurtz.  These four helped Green Bay see major success in their time with the program.  The Wolf twins and Wurtz made up the Phoenix's 2015 recruiting class and have been a part of three NCAA Tournament teams, three Horizon League regular-season and tournament championship teams and a WNIT team.  Dier joined Green Bay in 2016 and has been a part of two NCAA tournament teams, two Horizon League regular-season and tournament championship teams and a WNIT team.
 
MURPHY FINDING HER GROOVE       
In the last three wins for the Phoenix, Karly Murphy has been quite efficient for the squad.  While playing a little over 13 minutes per game, the redshirt sophomore is averaging 9.0 PPG, 3.33 RPG.  Murphy is doing this while shooting 68.4% from the field, well above her season average of 40.6%.  The power forward is hitting her stride at just the right time for Green Bay with Horizon League tournament approaching.
 
1K FOR WURTZ 
With Saturday's 17-point performance against league-leading IUPUI, Frankie Wurtz became the 37th member in program history to surpass the 1,000 points barrier.
 
FINSIHING STRONG        
As we near the end of the Horizon League slate, it pays to have a history of being hot heading into the postseason. The Phoenix has fared well in the final contests of the season, finishing 21-4 through the last five games over the past five seasons. In the 2018-19 season, the Phoenix finished a perfect 5-0 through the last games of the campaign.
 
TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
Green Bay not only leads the Horizon league but is #10 in the country in turnovers committed per game.  The squad is only conceding 11.7 turnovers on average.  With only two crucial HL games left to play before the conference tournament, taking care of the ball will be critical in those crunch-time games.  In addition, the squad ranks 9th nationally in assist to turnover ratio at 1.35 (#1 in HL), which shows the extra possessions are translating to the offensive end of the court as well.
 
PINGEL RUNNIN' POINT       
Meghan Pingel has performed well as the lead guard for the Phoenix.  In games when Pingel plays this season, the squad is 14-6. When Green Bay is without its point guard, the team is only 2-6 on the year.  She is currently 4th in the Horizon League in assists per game (3.5) and second in the conference in assist/turnover ratio (1.8).
 
BONUS BASKETBALL      
Green Bay has played in three overtime games this season and secured victories in all pairings. THe Phoenix opened the season with a double-overtime victory at Central Michigan, 111-105. GB didn't slow down from there and later defeated #18/16 Syracuse in OT, 79-73. Most recently, Green Bay was taken to overtime at Youngstown State and defeated the Penguins, 70-63, in double overtime.
 
GLOWING ON THE GLASS            
Green Bay has been impressive on the boards this season, with the Phoenix posting its best outing against UIC and outrebounding 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. The Phoenix has won the battle on the boards in 15 matchups this season.
 
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 45-5 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.
 
BORSETH BREAKING BARRIERS  
Head coach Kevin Borseth tallied his 500th  Division 1 win on last week at Wright State. He has enjoyed numerous successes throughout his coaching career. Last season, Borseth surpassed 700 total wins and 400 wins with Green Bay. His 729 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.
 
NO TIME FOR TURNOVERS          
GB allows only 11.7 turnovers per game. The Phoenix registered a season-low five turnovers at Milwaukee and allowed only seven turnovers five times this season. 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 an 11-1 record. GB is also an impressive 13-3 on the year when outrebounding its opponent. The team also owns a 15-2 record when posting a better percentage from the floor than its opposition.
 
WURTZ WORKING          
Redshirt senior Frankie Wurtz has notched two double-doubles this season and scored in double figures 21 times, a mark which leads the team. She has also served as the single-game leading scorer 16 times and single-game steals leader 17 times, the highest of any player on the roster. Wurtz ranks third in the Horizon League in scoring in league contests, averaging 15.3 PPG.
 
TOURNAMENT TESTS    
Green Bay has been tested early and often this season, as its non-conference schedule 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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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