GREEN BAY, Wis. -- In their first home game since November 20, the Green Bay women's basketball held off a second half surge from Central Michigan to take the contest 71-67.
The Phoenix (6-4) had four players score in double figures against the Chippewas (2-7), led by Hailey Oskey, who had 19 points. Cassie Schiltz tacked on a career-high 18 points and Maddy Schreiber chipped in as well with 10 points.
Green Bay's defense forced 20 CMU turnovers while committing 16 of their own. Those takeaways turned into 19 points on the offensive end of the floor for the Phoenix. Meghan Pingel's three steals led the way for the Phoenix.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After playing to an 11-11 tie early in the game, Green Bay went on an 8-0 run with 1:52 left in the first quarter. The run culminated in a buzzer-beating three from Oskey to take a 19-11 lead. Green Bay relied on its three-point shooting in the period, knocking down four shots from beyond the arc to account for 12 of its 19 points.
Green Bay kept its first-quarter lead intact before going on another 8-0 run starting at 9:04 in the second period, which was highlighted by a three from Bailey Butler to increase the lead to 29-13. The Chippewas slowly cut into that lead, but the Phoenix still sat comfortably with a 41-31 advantage heading into halftime. Green Bay was strong from deep in the period once again, knocking down three treys to account for nine of its 22 points.
Green Bay continued to preserve its halftime lead before going on their third 8-0 run, punctuated by a basket from Schreiber, to expand its lead to 57-42 with 2:47 to go in the third. The Chippewas continued to fight back however, and ended the third period on a 9-0 run of their own. The Central Michigan run culminated in a buzzer-beating half-court shot by Molly Davis to cut the Green Bay lead to just four, 57-53.
Central Michigan proceeded to tie things up at 61-61, but Green Bay went on a 5-0 run to seize a 66-61 lead with 1:57 to go in the contest. CMU narrowed the margin to 70-67 after another Davis three, but the Phoenix held on for the 71-67 win.
GAME NOTES
» Green Bay shot well from three-point range, knocking down 8-of-18 long-range attempts (44.4-percent).
» The Phoenix held the Chippewas to 39.7 percent shooting from the field.
» Green Bay never trailed after taking a 14-11 first-quarter lead.
» The Phoenix shared the ball well, recording an assist on 70-percent of their made baskets.
» Hailey Oskey led the Phoenix with 19 points, shooting 9-12 from the charity stripe.
» Green Bay got a team-high six rebounds from Meghan Pingel, to go along with 10 points and three assists.
» Bailey Butler played a career-high 29 minutes, scoring nine points and knocking down four of six free throws.
» Maddy Schreiber made her first career start and scored 10 points. She was the only Phoenix player with over 30 minutes played.
» Cassie Schiltz scored a career-high 18 points and was a perfect 6-6 at the free-throw line.
» Both teams gathered 36 rebounds.
» The Phoenix got to the line 30 times in the contest, knocking down 23 of them (76.7-percent).
UP NEXT
GB will continue their homestand on Thursday, Dec. 30 at the Kress Center, against Detroit Mercy. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. The Phoenix will start the new year at home with a New Year's Day game versus Oakland at 1 p.m.
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