GREEN BAY, Wis. - The madness begins Thursday evening at the Kress Center when No. 1 Green Bay hosts No. 9 Wright State in the 2023 Barbasol Horizon League Championship Quarterfinal. Green Bay captured the top seed after defeating Cleveland State last Thursday. GB won the regular season title outright on Saturday with the win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

Thursday, March 2 - Green Bay, Wis. - KRESS CENTER
No. 9 Wright State (8-23, 6-14 HL) vs. No. 1 Green Bay (25-4, 18-2 HL)
7:00 PM | Tickets
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The Phoenix is a dominant 70-7 against Wright State all-time, including 35-2 at home. In the last 10 matchups, Green Bay is 8-2, which includes a sweep of the Raiders during the 2022-23 regular season. Green Bay and Wright State have clashed 10 times in the MCC/Horizon League Tournament, with the Phoenix sporting an 8-2 record in those games. The Raiders have had some success recently, winning two of the last four. During the 2022-23 campaign, Green Bay defeated WSU in Dayton 72-51 (January 5, 2023) and 75-55 in Green Bay (February 12, 2023). Sydney Levy was outstanding in those games, averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists. 

ABOUT THE RAIDERS
Kari Hoffman is in her second season at the helm of Wright State's program. Hoffman is 12-42 in her time with the Raiders but is 118-80 in seven seasons as a head coach. Bryce Nixon and Emily Chapman, who are both seniors, make for WSU's 1-2 punch, with Nixon active on both ends of the floor. She leads the team in scoring (11.5 points per game) and steals (1.1 SPG). Chapman fills the box score with 9.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.9 assists per contest, all while pacing the Raiders with 30.0 minutes per game. In the two regular season contests, Chapman and Nixon were held to just 27 points combined. Nixon is right behind Sydney Levy in scoring, ranking 15th in the Horizon League at 11.5 points per game.

LAST MATCHUP
The Phoenix won the Horizon League regular season title outright with a 70-64 victory over Purdue Fort Wayne on February 25. Sydney Levy amassed 20 points to help pace Green Bay, while Jasmine Kondrakiewicz recorded her third career double-double, posting 12 points and 14 rebounds. GB came out on a tear to open the third quarter, going on a 10-0 run that spanned less than two minutes. The win marked the 21st time Green Bay became regular season champions.

250 AT THE KRESS
Thursday's contest marks the 250th women's basketball game at the Kress Center. Green Bay Athletics held its first athletic event at the Kress on November 2, 2007. Since beginning play inside the Kress, Green Bay is an impressive 218-31 (.876). GB has recorded 10 or more home wins in all but three seasons since the 2007-08 season.

AMAZING ACCOLADES
On February 27, the Horizon League announced its All-League award winners, and Green Bay had several individuals honored. Head coach Kevin Borseth was tabbed Coach of the Year, while Sydney Levy was named All-League First Team, and Bailey Butler was named All-League Second Team and All-Defense.

MID-MAJOR MADNESS
Green Bay has been in the Mid-Major top 25 all season long, and on February 28, they climbed into the top 10, coming in at No. 7. Horizon League foe Cleveland State is no. 10 and is the only other Horizon League school to be in the top 25 or receiving votes.

HOFFMAN RETURNS HOME
Wright State head coach Kari Hoffman returns to her home state for the second time this season. Hoffman was Green Bay's Director of Basketball Operations from 2008-2010 when the Phoenix won consecutive Horizon League Championships and won the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2009. Hoffman, a 2005 graduate of Cedarville University, is second all-time in scoring for the Yellow Jackets, racking up 2,275 points in her four years. She is in her second season with Wright State.

BORSETH IN THE BOOKS
Head coach Kevin Borseth is inching closer to 800 career wins. Borseth tallied career wins 790 and 791 with victories last weekend over Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne. He is 8th among active coaches in total career wins, recording 479 in 20 seasons with Green Bay. Borseth climbed to 20th all-time in career wins on February 3 after GB defeated Detroit Mercy 56-47.

TAKING CARE OF THE ROCK
The Phoenix has taken great care of the ball this season. GB ranks sixth in the country in turnovers per game (11.7). Horizon League foe Northern Kentucky isn't far behind with 12.4 TPG, ranking 13th in the nation.

LEAVE IT TO LEVY
Senior Sydney Levy has been lights out for the Phoenix this season. She has reached double figures 17 times this season, more than the past two years combined. The Appleton North High School graduate has also paced GB in scoring in 11 games while notching her first career double-double on December 29 versus Oakland. 

COUNT ON CASSIE
Cassie Schiltz has solidified herself as a leader for the Phoenix this season. The Luxemburg-Casco graduate has appeared in 28 of GB's 29 games, starting all of the games she's appeared in. She's fourth in scoring on the squad at 8.5 points per contest. Schiltz is also the team's leading rebounder, pulling in 5.3 per game. She has racked up a team-leading 124 defensive rebounds.

MONEY MCNEAL
Natalie McNeal has been a big part of Green Bay's success going into tournament action. Over her last six games, she reached double figures twice and averaged 9.0 points per game. In Green Bay's last matchup with Wright State, she scored a career-high 16 points and grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds.

BRING ON BAILEY
Reigning Horizon League Freshman of the Year Bailey Butler has been on top of her game recently. Since Green Bay's first game of 2023 at wright state, Butler has reached double figures in 11 of GB's 16 games, including four in a row from 1/5/23 to 1/14/23. She has been a mainstay on the hardwood, racking up 32 or more minutes in 12 of GB's last 16 games, including nine in a row from January 20 to February 17.

DYNAMITE DEFENSE
The Phoenix has historically prided itself on the defensive end of the ball, and that has continued during the 2022-23 campaign. Green Bay has held opponents to 52.9 points per game, by far the best in the Horizon League and eighth in the NCAA. GB is also number one in the Horizon in opponent field goal percentage (33.2 percent) and second in opponent three-point percentage (25.6 percent). Additionally, GB has dominated the boards, boasting the second-best rebound margin in the Horizon League (+5.0), only behind Cleveland State's +7.9.

WIN FROM WITHIN
13 of GB's 15 players come from inside the state border. Only Jenna Guyer (Circle Pines, Minn.) and Tatum Koenig (West Branch, Iowa) are not from Wisconsin.

NEW PHOENIX FACES
Green Bay welcomed three newcomers to the team last offseason.

Transfers
Tatum Koenig (5-7, G | Bradley)
Natalie McNeal (5-8, G | St. Louis)
Brehna Evans (5-8, G | St.Cloud State)

Other Quarterfinal matchups around the league on Thursday include:

• (No. 7) Milwaukee vs. (No. 2) Cleveland State - 4:30 p.m. CT
• (No. 6) Purdue Fort vs. (No. 3) IUPUI - 6 p.m. CT
• (No. 5) Northern Kentucky vs. (No. 4) Youngstown State - 4:30 p.m. CT

The winner of the HL Quarterfinals will advance to the Semifinals hosted at the Indiana Farmers Coliseum in Indianapolis, Ind. taking place on March 6-7.

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