GREEN BAY, Wis. – It's here. March has arrived, and so has the month's first edition of Phoenix Weekly, presented by
Capital Credit Union! Green Bay men's and women's basketball will participate in a Horizon League Quarterfinals double-header with the women starting at 5:30 pm and the men starting at approximately 8:00 pm on Thursday.
WEEK IN REVIEW
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Green Bay men's basketball split its final two games of the Horizon League regular season, defeating Cleveland State and losing to Milwaukee.
On Wednesday, Green Bay defeated Cleveland State 69-61, clinching a quarterfinal at the Kress Center with the win. The Phoenix led 33-26 at halftime and maintained its lead the rest of the way to win by eight. Will Eames was clutch from the free throw line converting on all nine of his attempts for the game. There were four Green Bay players in double-figure points: Marcus Hall (12), Foster Wonders (11), Eames (11), and Elijah Jones (10). Jones also brought down 15 rebounds connecting on his fifth double-double this season.
Saturday evening presented a tough challenge as the Phoenix dropped its Horizon League regular-season finale at Milwaukee, 90-69. Green Bay had a strong offensive first half outscoring Milwaukee 48-46. The Phoenix trailed 60-58 with 11:13 left before the Panthers went on a 17-0 run to give Milwaukee a 77-58 lead. Milwaukee outscored GB by two points in the last seven minutes to win by 21 points. Preston Ruedinger and David Douglas Jr. each scored 15 points for the Phoenix. Milwaukee's BJ Freeman had a game-high 22 points, 11 rebounds, and six assists.
SOFTBALL
The Green Bay softball team dropped four of its five games in the Lindenwood Invitational this past weekend.
On Friday, the Phoenix defeated Bellarmine 2-0 and lost to Lindenwood 5-0. Against Bellarmine, Samantha Saloun drove in Bella Herman on an RBI groundout to give GB the 1-0 lead in the third inning. Karissa Laabs hit into a fielder's choice, scoring Lauren Porter in the final run of the game. Ava Schill pitched a complete game shutout allowing five hits and recording five strikeouts. Lauren Porter and Sidney LaMotte eached tallied a double in the win.
Saturday afternoon, Green Bay fell to Lindenwood 4-1 and Western Illinois 5-4. Bella Herman scored Marissa Destache on an RBI triple for GB's lone run of the game against Lindenwood. Green Bay scored three runs in the top of the second inning vs WIU. Aidyn Messman hit a single which resulted in an error by the right fielder scoring Samantha Saloun. Viviana Guzman hit a sac fly scoring Madison Baker. Bella Herman reached first base on an error by the third baseman, allowing Aidyn Messman to score. The Leathernecks scored five runs over the next two innings, which was enough to give WIU the 5-4 win.
On Sunday, the Phoenix were shutout losing 1-0 to Western Illinois. Bella Herman, Lauren Porter, and Kaylin Fahy each had two hits on the day. Paeton Kringel pitched six innings giving up one run on four hits.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
The Green Bay women's basketball team defeated Purdue Fort Wayne but fell to Milwaukee this past week to finish Horizon League play.
Green Bay defeated the Mastodons 70-61 for their 17
th Horizon League win this season. The Phoenix got off to a fast start leading 24-7 after the first quarter. Green Bay led 37-19 at halftime, outscoring Purdue Fort Wayne 13-12 in the second quarter. PFW made two threes to cut the deficit to 10 points going into the fourth quarter. PFW's Shayla Sellers hit a three-pointer to cut the Phoenix lead to four with six minutes to go. However, this was as close as the Mastodons got, as Green Bay connected on three out of four free throws to seal up the win. Jasmine Kondrakiewicz had a double-double scoring 14 points while hauling in 12 rebounds. Kondrakiewicz also had five blocks. Natalie McNeal and Callie Genke each added 14 points a piece in the win.
GB fell to Milwaukee 65-61 at the Kress Center. The Phoenix led 11-0 right out of the gate giving Green Bay a 20-12 lead after the first quarter. Milwaukee outscored GB 14-1 in the last five minutes of the second quarter to tighten the gap as the Phoenix led 34-33 going into the third quarter. The Panthers outscored Green Bay 16-9 in the third quarter to give Milwaukee a six-point lead after the third quarter. Green Bay went on a 12-0 run to give themselves a 55-49 lead going into the under five-minute media timeout. Callie Genke hit a three to give GB a 58-55 lead with 2:50 left before, Jada Donaldson and Angie Cera each hit three-pointers to give Milwaukee the win.
Several Green Bay players were recognized in the Horizon League's awards announced earlier this week.
Natalie McNeal was named to the All-League First Team,
Maddy Schreiber named to the All-Second Team, and
Bailey Butler being tapped for both the All-Third and All-Defensive Teams. Additionally, Junior
Callie Genke was the winner of the Sixth Player of the Year Award, and fellow Junior
Jasmine Kondrakiewicz was named a Finalist for the Sportsmanship Award.
A LOOK AHEAD
MEN'S BASKETBALL
Green Bay will host Milwaukee tomorrow night in the Horizon League tournament. The six-seeded Panthers finished with a 12-8 record in the HL and are 17-14 overall. Milwaukee entered the tournament as the sixth seed. Milwaukee outlasted No. 11 Detroit Mercy team at home on Tuesday in the HL First Round by a score of 83-79. Green Bay is 42-32 all-time against the Panthers. The Phoenix owns a 23-15 home record against their I-43 rivals. GB is 3-2 all-time in postseason competition against the Panthers. GB won the last matchup between the two teams on March 6, 2016, by a score of 70-61 in the Horizon League Quarterfinals. Carrington Love led the way for the Phoenix in that one, racking up 16 points, six assists, and three steals.
Green Bay is getting their All-Horizon League First Team player back ahead of tomorrow's matchup,
Noah Reynolds, who missed the last four games due to a lower leg injury. Reynolds was deemed the league's Newcomer of the Year on Monday and is one of four players in the HL to receive the Horizon League Player of the Week honor multiple times this season.
SOFTBALL
Green Bay will participate in the Coach B Classic at Southern Illinois this weekend. The Phoenix will have a double-header vs Loyola Chicago and Southern Illinois on Saturday and Sunday.
Through the first 15 games of the season, Bella Herman leads the Phoenix with a .293 batting average. Samantha Saloun is first on the team in RBIs with six. Ava Schill is fifth in the Horizon League with an ERA of 2.93.
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL
It will be the third meeting between GB and YSU this season and the second time the Penguins visit Titletown. Interim Head Coach John Nicolais has his team playing well at the right time, guiding his team to a 73-50 victory over IUPUI in first round action on Tuesday night. Green Bay is a strong 13-1 at the Kress Center this season.
Jenna Guyer had game to remember against Milwaukee, shooting 5-of-6 from the field, 2-of-2 from beyond the arc, and 2-of-4 from the charity stripe. She had a season-high14 points, which led the way for the Phoenix.
OTHER HAPPENINGS
Hey, Phoenix youth! Students in kindergarten through 8th grade are encouraged to sign up for
Phlash's Phriends, the Official Kid's Club of the Green Bay Phoenix. At just $25 per child, each member receives numerous benefits, including a free ticket to all home volleyball and basketball games, postgame court access, Phoenix apparel, and personalized Kid's Club Day activities.
Fly With the Phoenix was named the official NIL collective of the Green Bay Phoenix last week Tuesday. Started in 2022, 'Fly with the Phoenix' was established by dedicated former student-athletes, alumni, and local business professionals to provide Green Bay student-athletes with name, image, and likeness (NIL) opportunities. This partnership will bring a collaboration between the Green Bay Athletic Department and 'Fly with the Phoenix'. Fans attending home athletic events will notice additional marketing efforts to help promote the relationship and how fans can get involved. View the different tiers of
membership opportunities here and learn more about the
Fly with the Phoenix collective here.
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