DES MOINES, Iowa – After two exhibition games, the Green Bay women's basketball team is ready to kick off the regular season with a clash against the Drake Bulldogs tomorrow. It will be the second time in the last three seasons GB has opened the season against Drake.
Monday, November 7 – Des Moines, Ia. – KNAPP CENTER
Green Bay (0-0, 0-0 HL) vs. Drake (0-0, 0-0 MVC)
6:00 PM
Follow the action: Watch (ESPN3) | Listen (WDUZ The Fan) | Live Stats
The Phoenix is 6-2 against Drake, hosting three of the past four games after Drake hosted three of the first four. GB's average margin of victory in the previous eight contests is +12.63. Green Bay is 2-2 at the Knapp Center, including a win in their last visit to Iowa, a 86-61 drumming of the Bulldogs on December 6, 2015.
ABOUT THE BULLDOGS
Allison Pohlman enters her second season at the helm of the Drake program. Pohlman has been part of the Drake staff since 2007 when she was an assistant before being promoted to Associate Head Coach in 2014 under Jennie Baranczyk. Baranczyk took a job with Oklahoma, and Pohlman took over as the head coach prior to the 2021-22 season.
Last season, the Bulldogs went 20-14 overall and finished the 2021-22 campaign with a 9-9 Mid Valley Conference (MVC) record. The top two scorers from last year's team are seniors Megan Meyer and Maggie Bair, who averaged 12.1 points per game. Bair was also the team's leading rebounder last season, pulling down 6.3 rebounds per contest while averaging less than 20 minutes per game.
OFFSEASON RECAP
A lot happened during the 2022 offseason. Let's get you caught up:
April 4 - Tatum Koenig is added to the roster from Bradley.
April 22 - Natalie McNeal joins Green Bay from St. Louis.
June 21 - Supporters of green bay women's basketball enjoy a successful Prevea Fore Hoops Golf Classic with the team.
June 24 - Seven players make the Horizon League Spring Academic Honor Roll.
July 20 - GB lands in the top five of the WBCA Academic Top 25 Team Honor Roll.
August 17 - The 2022-23 #HLWBB schedule is released.
September 22 - Brehna Evans is added to the roster from St. Cloud State.
October 21 - Joey Dotterweich is named the women's basketball play-by-play announcer.
LAST TIME OUT
Green Bay ended exhibition action against Michigan Tech. GB's game against Drake will be the first that counts since the Phoenix dropped their WNIT game against Minnesota on March 17.
A TOAST TO TWENTY
The 2022-23 season marks head coach Kevin Borseth's 36th season as a head coach and 20th with Green Bay. Borseth is an impressive 455-134 in his previous 19 years with the Phoenix and has a 767-303 overall record. Borseth coached for five years at Michigan from 2007-2012 but returned to Green Bay and has posted seven 20-win seasons since. The Phoenix has punched a ticket to 13 NCAA appearances under Borseth.
HOMEGROWN
Head coach Kevin Borseth has garnered a plethora of talent from the state of Wisconsin. This season, 13 of the 15 players are from Wisconsin. Jenna Guyer (Circle Pines, Minn.) and Tatum Koenig (West Branch, Iowa) are the only players not originally from the dairyland.
HOME IS WHERE THE HEART IS
Natalie McNeal and Brehna Evans, who both transferred to Green Bay during the offseason, are local products. McNeal played high school basketball at Germantown, where she was a two-time All-State First Team member, and Evans played at West De Pere High School, just minutes from the Kress Center. Evans scored over 1,000 career points with the Phantoms and averaged 14.5 points per contest over her high school career.
FREE IS FOR ME
Last season, Green Bay had incredible success at the charity stripe. Four Phoenix players (Min. 13 attempts) had a free-throw percentage of 84.6-percent or higher. That success helped GB finish ninth in the nation in free-throw percentage last year (78.6-percent).
DEMOLITION DEFENSE
GB had a suffocating defense in 2021-22, allowing the fewest points per game in the Horizon League and 23rd in the nation (55.8 points per game). It was the fourth time in the last five years GB finished in the top 25 in scoring defense. The Phoenix was the no. 1 defense in 2017-18 (47.4 ppg) And no. 4 in 2018-19 (51.9 ppg).
NEW PHOENIX FACES
Green Bay welcomes three new members for the 2022-23 Season.
TRANSFERS
Tatum Koenig (5-7, G | Bradley)
Natalie McNeal (5-8, G | St. Louis)
Brehna Evans (5-8, G | St. Cloud State)
PRESEASON #HLWBB POLL
Pl. Team (1st-place votes) – Pts.
1. Youngstown State (8) - 118
2. Green Bay (2) - 106
3. Cleveland State (1) - 102
4. Northern Kentucky - 88
5. Milwaukee - 75
6. IUPUI - 67
7. Oakland - 47
8. Purdue Fort Wayne - 44
9. Robert Morris - 42
10. Wright State - 26
11. Detroit Mercy – 11
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