The two teams that finished on top of the regular season standings in the Horizon League have proven their superiority so far in the conference tournament as top seeds Green Bay and Detroit will meet in Sunday’s conference championship game.
Detroit, a 78-70 winner over third-seed Wright State, and Green Bay, a 73-53 winner over four-seed UIC, met twice in the regular season with both teams winning on the others home floor. The Phoenix (29-1, 17-1) won at Detroit 68-59 on Jan. 14. The Titans (20-12, 14-4) handed the Phoenix their only loss of the season on Feb. 9, 70-58.
Sunday’s championship game at the Kress Center tips off at 1 p.m. ET and will be aired on ESPNU.
(2) Detroit 78, (3) Wright State 70
The second-seeded Detroit Titans rode a 30-point effort from Conference Co-Newcomer of the Year Shareta Brown to a 78-70 win over third-seed Wright State Friday night in the semifinals of the Horizon League Tournament.
Brown had 19 of her game-high 30 points after halftime as the Titans pounded it down low to her on nearly every possession as the Raiders were unable to stop her. The All-League First Team member was 10-of-15 from the field and 10-of-12 from the foul line as she finished one point shy of tying her career-high.
Detroit used two first half runs to take a seven point lead into the half. Wright State held a 16-15 lead with 11:15 remaining in the first half when Detroit went on 9-0 run to take a 24-16 lead with 7:07 left in the half. The Raiders battled back to get within one, 27-26, with 4:54 remaining, but the Titans ended the half on an 8-2 run to take a 35-28 lead after the opening period.
The Titans won the first four minutes of the second period, 10-4, to open a 45-32 lead and their lead would not get back to single digits until :45 seconds remained in the contest.
Brown’s 30 points led four Titans in double figures. Jalesa Jones had 13 points and a team-high five assists for Detroit, while Chanahl Putnam and Senee Shearer had 10 points each for UDM.
Kim Demmings, who shared Newcomer of the Year honors with Brown, led the Raiders with 20 points on 8-of-20 shooting from the field. Senior Molly Fox, an All-League Second Team selection, finished one rebound short of a double-double with 17 points and nine rebounds. Fellow senior Shaunda Sandifer also was one rebound shy of a double-double with 14 points and nine rebounds.
(1) Green Bay 73, (4) UIC 53
Top-seed and 10th-ranked Green Bay methodically pulled away from fourth-seeded UIC Friday night, eventually dispatching the Flames, 73-53, to advance to Sunday’s championship game.
The Phoenix led by as much as 17 points in the first half, but could never quite deal UIC a knockout blow as the Flames battled back to only trail by eight, 38-28, at halftime.
In the second half, Green Bay quickly upped its lead back to double digits, but UIC never let the game get out of hand, keeping the distance between 10 and 15 points for a majority of the final 20 minutes.
The Phoenix were led in scoring by Adrian Ritchie who had 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting from the field. Sarah Eichler had 19 points for the Phoenix after having a near perfect shooting night. Eichler was 7-of-8 from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Horizon League Player of the Year Julie Wojta was held to just 13 points, six below her season average, on 6-of-14 shooting, but her 11 rebounds on the night gave her the 32nd double-double of her career. The 32 career double-doubles are now the most in the history of the Green Bay women’s basketball program since it went to DI.
All-League First Team member Jasmine Bailey had a game-high 23 points, while also pulling down seven rebounds and passing out four assists in her final collegiate game. All-League Second Team player Shamiea Green was held to just four points after going 1-of-15 from the field.
