GREEN BAY, Wis. – For the 13th time in school history, the Green Bay Phoenix captured the Horizon League Women’s Basketball Championship title with an overtime win against No. 2 seeded Wright State, 86-77. The Phoenix return to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013 and 15th time for the program after posting a 28-4 record this season.
In front of a lively Championship atmosphere, the game was neck-and-neck throughout the 45 minutes including 12 lead changes and the game being tied on 13 different occasions.
Tournament MVP Tesha Buck ignited the Phoenix offense posting 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting while also collecting 10 rebounds to tab the double-double.
League Player of the Year, Tay’ler Mingo, recorded a game-high of 27 points for Wright State.
The beginning of the contest belonged to Wright State, which took a 12-point lead with 8:58 minutes remaining in the first-half. However, Green Bay would counter the scoring run with one of its own to bring the game within one point and enter intermission down 35-34.
The Phoenix narrowly outshot the Raiders in the first 20 minutes shooting 43.8 percent from the field while Wright State tallied a 43.3 field goal percentage.
The second half continued to go back and forth as neither team’s lead grew more four points in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Freshman Allie LeClaire came on strong for the Phoenix scoring 13 points after going scoreless the entire first half.
With 1:26 remaining in regulation, Breanna Stucke nailed two of three free throws for Wright State to bring the game to 73-71. After a defensive stop, Mingo tied the contest at 73 after driving through the paint for a layup.
The Phoenix took the lead for good in overtime after a triple from LeClaire to put them up 77-74 before the Raiders would counter to bring the game within one after a layup by Mingo. Green Bay would then go on a 7-0 run to seal the victory and automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.
The Phoenix will learn its draw in the NCAA Tournament on Monday at 7:00 p.m. ET during the selection show on ESPN.
Tags: Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Horizon League - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball
