GREEN BAY, Wis. - The Green Bay women's basketball team jumped out of the gates Saturday afternoon and grabbed a 21-3 lead over Robert Morris by the end of the first quarter and never looked back. A balanced offensive attack and the best defensive performance of the season paved the way for the Phoenix to grab its fifth straight win.
Hailey Oskey led the Phoenix (12-5, 8-3) with 10 points, while Cassie Schiltz tacked on nine of her own. The Green Bay bench was stellar, led by Callie Genke's nine points, while Bailey Butler chipped in with seven. Genke was unstoppable from deep, taking five of her six shot attempts from beyond the arc, making three of them. Meghan Pingel tallied seven points on 3-of-4 shooting from the field to go with a team-leading six assists.
The Phoenix defense was locked in for the majority of the game, holding the Colonials to just eight points in the first half. RMU shot well in the second half, going 11-of-27 (40.7-percent), scoring 14 in the third quarter and 19 in the final period.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Robert Morris scored the first bucket of the game thanks to a three from Nina Augustin. However, that would be the only bucket for RMU in the period, as Green Bay went on a 21-0 run to close out the first quarter. The Phoenix shot just over 50-percent in the quarter, including 5-of-9 from downtown.
The Colonials wouldn't score until nearly halfway through the second frame when Rebecca Dwomoh knocked down a triple to make it 25-6 with 5:14 to go before halftime. RMU made one more shot the rest of the half, but the Green Bay offense went stale as well, scoring seven points in the final 5:14 to take a 32-8 lead into intermission. Butler led the way for GB in the half, scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds.
Oskey opened up the second half by scoring the first four points, making two layups that put Green Bay up by 28. RMU responded with back-to-back Augustin triples, cutting the deficit to 22. The Colonials would end the period strong, thanks to another pair of threes, this time from Mackenzie Amalia. Green Bay led 45-22 entering the final frame.
The Colonials would not go away, erupting for an 11-2 run to begin the period, cutting their deficit to 13 after Ashya Klopfenstein knocked down a pair of free throws to make it 45-32 with 6:26 left in the quarter. Green Bay responded, thanks to a pair of Callie Genke threes with 4:32 to go, which extended the GB lead back to 19 at 53-34. RMU fought down the stretch, but it was too little, too late as Green Bay closed out the colonials to win their fifth straight.
GAME NOTES
» Green Bay surrendered a season-low 41 points. The previous low was 44, also against RMU, back on Dec. 2.
» The Phoenix held the Colonials to just 25.0-percent shooting from the field, which is also a season-low.
» GB never trailed after taking a 6-3 first quarter lead.
» Green Bay recorded 16 total assists in the game, tied for third-highest this season.
» The Phoenix bench had a solid day, scoring 27 points compared to 14 from RMU.
» Green Bay had a 44-33 edge on the boards in the win.
» The Phoenix cleaned up on the offensive glass, collecting 12 offensive boards in the game.
» Green Bay's defense forced 20 turnovers for the fourth time in their last eight games.
» Green Bay got six rebounds each from Maddy Schreiber and Callie Genke.
» Cassie Schiltz was the only GB player to record 30 or more minutes (30).
» GB's 32-8 lead at halftime was the largest lead at the half of the season.
» The Phoenix kept a double-digit lead for all but 3:52 of the game.
COMING UP
Green Bay will wrap up the homestand on Monday night against Milwaukee, with tip-off set for 7 p.m. The game was rescheduled from late January because of COVID-19 complications in the Milwaukee program. The Phoenix will embark on a two-game road trip that begins next Thursday at Oakland and finishes with Detroit Mercy on Saturday.
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