GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The Green Bay women's basketball team faced Milwaukee for the first time since December 20, 2020, and the game did not disappoint. Neither team held a lead bigger than four until the Phoenix pulled away in the last minute, taking it 65-56.
The Phoenix (13-5, 9-3) had three players score in double figures, led by Bailey Butler and Hailey Oskey, who each scored 14 points. Butler, named Freshman of the Week earlier today, added two steals, two assists, and four rebounds. Oskey was efficient from the field, knocking down five shots in nine attempts, and also contributed with two assists and two rebounds. Meghan Pingel tacked on 11 points after scoring Green Bay's first eight points of the game.
Jasmine Kondrakiewicz and Julia Hartwig were the pieces that completed the puzzle against the Panthers, combining for 15 points in 28 minutes. Kondrakiewicz also grabbed four boards and two assists.
Emma Wittmershaus led Milwaukee with 16 points, but fouled out with :48 to go.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Milwaukee and Green Bay opened the game in a back-and-forth battle, with the Panthers grabbing a 15-11 lead with 2:13 to go in the first frame. The Phoenix ended the period strong thanks to a Butler jumper and a free throw from Kondrakiewicz. Pingel flourished, picking apart the Milwaukee defense with eight points on 2-for-2 shooting from deep and a pair of free throws.
Green Bay would begin the second quarter with a deep ball from Butler, capping off a 6-0 run to make it 17-15 in favor of the Phoenix. It would be the first of three consecutive treys that would account for the only scoring for GB until Kondrakiewicz drilled a long two from just inside the arc with 4:52 to go in the half. The tug-of-war battle continued, and Milwaukee went up by four once again, making it a 29-25 score after Miquela Santoro dropped in a layup. Green Bay had another answer, however, tying the game at 31 before intermission.
Coming out of the break, neither team could pull away. It was knotted up at 37 apiece when Milwaukee, for a third time, went up by four after an Emma Wittmershaus layup made it 41-37 with 3:25 to go in the period. Like the previous two times, Green Bay had a response, breaking out for a 9-3 run to end the quarter, taking a 46-44 lead into the final frame.
Butler opened the scoring with a driving layup to make it 48-44, but the Panthers responded once again with Wittmershaus working in the paint and hitting another layup to make it 52-51 Green Bay with 5:40 left. The two biggest plays of the game happened just minutes later when Oskey lofted up a shot from the right side of the paint, putting the Phoenix up 58-54 with 2:01 to go. After forcing Milwaukee's 13th turnover, Butler delivered the dagger with an ice-water hoop-and-harm. She converted the three-point play, putting GB up 61-54 with just 48 seconds to play. The Phoenix would knock down four more free throws to cap the 65-56 win.
GAME NOTES
» The Phoenix bench was solid, totaling 32 points led by Butler's 14.
» Green Bay had a 32-28 edge on the boards in the win.
» Green Bay's defense forced 14 turnovers.
» The Phoenix collected 11 offensive boards in the game.
» Green Bay got a team-high six rebounds from Maddy Schreiber.
» Pingel scored in double-figures, the tenth time in her career she's done so.
» Oskey scored in double-figures for the tenth time this season.
» Green Bay is 10-0 when scoring 60 or more points in a game.
» The Phoenix has held an opponent to less than 60 points for the 11th time in their 17 games played.
COMING UP
The Phoenix will head to Oakland to begin a two-game road trip on Thursday, followed by Detroit Mercy on Saturday.
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