The Detroit women’s basketball team had a chance to get a firm grasp on the No. 2 seed in the upcoming Horizon League Tournament with a win Thursday night, but Wright State defended its home court, knocking off the Titans, 91-82, to put both teams at 10-4 in the Horizon League. UIC was also victorious to improve on Thursday night, improving to 9-5 in the League to stay right on the heels of Detroit and Wright State.
Green Bay took another step towards its 14th consecutive regular season League title with a 90-59 victory over Cleveland State. The Phoenix are now 12-1 in conference play.
Other winners Thursday night were Butler and Milwaukee. Butler’s victory moved them over .500 in conference play to 7-6, while Milwaukee’s victory put the Panthers in contention to possibly host a first round conference tournament game.
Butler 72, Loyola 46
Senior Devin Brierly scored 21 points, sophomore Sarah Hamm scored 20 and sophomoreJenna Cobb set a Horizon League steals record in the Butler women's basketball team's 72-46 win over Loyola Thursday night. The Bulldogs led by as many as 37 on the night.
Cobb's defensive prowess was the night's main story. The sophomore guard finished with 12 steals, tying the Horizon League record set early this season by Green Bay's Julie Wojta. The 12 steals is a single-game Butler record, as three different players in the 1980s previously owned that mark with 11 thefts. No Butler player had at least 11 steals since Melissa Kilgore in 1987.
Cobb, who became one of three players in the nation to record 12 steals in a game this season, had seven steals of her steals in the first half. She also finished with 11 points for the rare points-steals double-double.
Brierly finished with 7-for-16 shooting and made four 3-pointers. She also had six rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Brierly and the Bulldogs threw the knockout punch early. A Cobb steal led to a Brierly lay-up to put the Dawgs ahead 13-4 and the game was never close after that. The Bulldogs by as many as 23 points in the first half and led 40-19 at the half.
With Butler taking the ball away and Loyola missing shots when they didn't commit a turnover, the Bulldogs extended their big lead. A 10-1 run after halftime made it 50-20 and five quick points by Hamm moments later made it 57-22. Butler's largest lead came at the 9:56 mark when the Dawgs led 63-26.
Hamm's 20 points came efficiently, on 9-for-15 shooting in 21 minutes of action. She also grabbed eight rebounds and blocked three shots.
All of Butler's players played as Couture subbed everyone in the game with 6:30 left in the game. Manager-turned playerMolly Craig played five minutes in her first collegiate action.
Loyola, which finished with 27 turnovers and 12 made field goals, was led by Patrice King with 11 points. The Ramblers were 0-for-11 from 3-point range, and only 22 made free throws allowed them to get past 40 points. The Bulldogs also pulled down 28 offensive rebounds, leading to 22 second-chance points.
Butler (11-13, 7-6) looks to stay over .500 in League play when it hosts UIC Saturday. Loyola will look to rebound on Saturday when it visits Valparaiso.
Green Bay 90, Cleveland State 59
For the second consecutive game, Julie Wojta had a double double performance, pouring in a game-high 23 points while grabbing 14 rebounds as No. 11/12 Green Bay (22-1, 12-1) picked up a 90-59 win on the road at Cleveland State (9-16, 4-10) Thursday at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio.
The win was the 18th consecutive regular season road win against a Horizon League opponent for the Phoenix as it scored a season-high 90 points with four players scoring in double figures.
Wojta scored six of Green Bay’s first eight points as the Phoenix opened the game with a 13-2 run capped off with a three pointer from freshman Megan Lukan at the 14:59 mark. The Phoenix built its lead to as many as 15 (22-7) in the first half, following a fastbreak layup from Lukan with 12:08 to play in the first half.
Cleveland State hit double-figure scoring with a three from Honesty King with 11:18 to play in the first half, making it a 10-point game (22-12). The Vikings later cut the Phoenix lead to five (26-21) with a layup from Haley Schmitt, part of a 14-4 run.
Adrian Ritchie stopped the Cleveland State run with a jumper as the shot clock expired, boosting the Phoenix lead to seven (28-21) with 5:49 to play in the opening half, sparking a 10-2 run by the Phoenix. Green Bay’s run featured six points from Bauer who led all players in first half scoring with 13.
Green Bay’s defense allowed Cleveland State two field goals in the final 8:06 of the opening half, forcing the Vikings eight turnovers.
The Phoenix led 40-31 at the break with Wojta chipping in 12 points and leading the charge on the boards with seven rebounds. As a team, Green Bay shot 42 percent (15-of-35) from the field and 72 percent (8-of-11) from the free throw line.
Cleveland State opened the second half with a three from King in the left corner, cutting the Phoenix lead to six (40-34).
Bauer hit one of her three pointers at the 15:59 mark, boosting the Phoenix lead to 16. Bauer’s three was part of a 14-4 run by Green Bay. Wojta picked up her 12th double double of the season, grabbing her 10th rebound with 15:07 to play. After grabbing the board, Wojta dished to Bauer who found Ritchie for the layup and the 58-40 lead with 14:26 remaining.
The Vikings’ Shalonda Winton sank two of her 13 points with 14:16 remaining, pulling Cleveland State within 16, its closest margin the remainder of the contest. A three from Ritchie at the top of the key with just over 11 minutes to play gave Green Bay the 70-46 lead before the Phoenix boosted its lead to 29 (75-46), following a free throw from Quilling. Green Bay led by as many as 31 (86-55) following a three pointer from Jenny Gilbertson with 2:14 to play.
In addition to Wojta’s game-high 23, Bauer added 16 points for the Phoenix while Ritchie and Lukan added 14 and 12 respectively. Gilbertson finished the game with nine points, going 6-for-6 from the free throw line in 14 minutes of play while Stephanie Sension added six points and four rebounds.
Green Bay finished the contest shooting 47 percent from the field (31-of-66) and 80 percent (21-of-26) from the charity stripe while dishing out 20 assists on 31 field goals.
The Phoenix look for their 19th consecutive conference road win on Saturday at Youngstown State, while Cleveland State looks to rebound on Saturday when it hosts Milwaukee.
Milwaukee 76, Youngstown State 71
Junior Sami Tucker and sophomore Courtney Lindfors each scored 18 points to lead four players in double-figures as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team claimed a 76-71 comeback victory over Youngstown State University Thursday night at the Beeghly Center.
Freshman Kiki Wilson added a double-double of 11 points and 10 assists and classmate Ashley Green grabbed seven rebounds and scored 14 of her 17 points in the second half as the Panthers (7-17, 3-10) overcame a fast start by a Penguin squad (10-15, 4-10) that led by 11 points at halftime.
UWM shot 56 percent in the game (28-of-50) and has now won 15 in a row against Youngstown State, a streak that dates back to February of 2005.
Brandi Brown led the Penguins with 20 points and nine rebounds. Sophomore Angela Rodriguez added seven points, five rebounds and a season-high seven assists in the win. Lindfors played 25 minutes in her first action after missing the past two games.
Tied, 65-65, with less than four minutes to play, Green scored on a jumper to give UWM the lead it would not relinquish. Up three points with under a minute to play, Tucker put the victory away on a three-pointer from the wing - on a pass that gave Wilson her 10th assist - and made the score 75-69 with just 34 seconds to play.
It was freshmen duo that combined on the final push of the comeback, with Wilson assisting back-to-back baskets by Green that gave the Panthers their first lead since 7-5, making it 65-62 with just over five minutes to play and capping a 9-1 run by the Panthers.
The double-double was the first of Wilson's career and the first point-assist double-double for a Panther player in over a year (Rodriguez: 12 points/10 assists at UIC Feb. 12 last year).
Milwaukee was down, 45-34, at intermission but came out of the locker room on a mission. It scored the first six points of the second half and went on a 16-5 run that included a 10-0 spurt and tied the game at 50-50 on a pair of free throws by Lindfors at the 13:09 mark.
The Panthers came up with a couple of stops on defense but were unable to forge ahead at the time. Brown scored five in a row to stem the tide, but Tucker's three at the 10:28 mark tied it again at 55-55.
UWM forced 19 turnovers on the night and outrebounded YSU, 29-26. It also held a 38-16 advantage on points in the paint.
The Panthers shot 54.2 percent from the floor in the first half yet found themselves trailing, 45-34, at intermission. Lindfors (11) and Tucker (10) were both in double-figures by the half, but the Penguins continued to hit three-pointers at an impressive rate.
The league-leader in three's made per game coming in at 9.3 a game, YSU nailed seven in the first half alone and also held a substantial edge in points off turnovers. Despite the fact that UWM had nine compared to Youngstown's seven at halftime, the Penguins turned that into a 16-2 edge in points off the miscues.
A quick pace from the start, UWM quickly went ahead 7-2 before the tide was turned. YSU countered with a 16-2 run that included 13 points in a row at one point to build an 18-9 cushion. A jumper by Lindfors and a three from senior Alex Klawitter made it a game at 18-14 at the 12:06 mark, but YSU would build the lead back to over 10 on the strength of its three-point shooting and led by 11 at the half.
Up next, the Panthers wrap up the two-game road swing Saturday at Cleveland State. Youngstown State remains at home to host Green Bay.
UIC 54, Valparaiso 43
UIC kept its hopes of the No. 2 seed alive on Thursday night grinding out a 54-43 victory over Valpariso at the Athletics-Recreation Center.Senior Jasmine Bailey posted her 11th double-double of the season with 11 points and 13 rebounds, while fellow senior Shamiea Green led the Flames with a game-high 20 points.
With the win, UIC improves to 16-9 overall and 9-5 in the Horizon League. Sixteen victories are the most since the 2006-07 season when the Flames posted a program record of 19 wins. UIC tied its nine conference wins from last season with four league affairs remaining in the year.
Both teams struggled to find their rhythm offensively in the opening five minutes, combing for a mere eight points, giving UIC an early 6-2 edge. Valparaiso was plagued by 15 turnovers in the first half as the Flames capitalized on 17 points off of those miscues.
Valpo’s Laura Richards scored her team’s first seven points and kept the Crusaders within striking distance, 8-7, with 13:32 on the clock.
Sophomore Emily Kobel provided UIC with an electric charge off the bench scoring eight consecutive points in a span of 64 seconds, putting the Flames in front 30-16 with 6:24 left in the first stanza.
After Kobel’s run, UIC went on a four-minute scoring drought and after VU’s Tabitha Gerardot notched a layup at the 5:11 mark, the Crusaders experienced a scoreless four minutes of their own.
With the tally deadlocked at 30-18 for nearly three minutes, Bailey and Green netted four points in a matter of 14 seconds to give the Flames a 34-18 advantage with 2:03 on the ticker.
The Crusaders scored the final three points of the period, which brought UIC’s lead to 34-21 at the break.
The second half played the same tune as the first five minutes of the contest with poor shooting and turnovers. Valparaiso outscored UIC, 22-20, in the final 20 minutes as the Flames logged a meager 36 percent field goal shooting clip. The Crusaders hit 32 percent from the field in the second half after hitting the 50 percent mark in the first period.
UIC stays in the state of Indiana, traveling south to face Butler on Saturday. Valparaiso stays home to host Loyola on Saturday.
Wright State 91, Detroit 82
The Wright State women's basketball team saw a 14-point lead get trimmed to two with 3:07 left, but outscored Detroit 15-8 the rest of the way to defeat the Titans 91-82 Thursday night at WSU's Nutter Center.
Detroit scored the first six points of the contest on back-to-back Chanahl Putnam threes and the margin was still six at 11-5 until an 8-0 Raider burst, half coming from Molly Fox, gave WSU its first lead of the night at 13-11 at the 15:51 mark.
Another 8-0 Wright State run, including four more by Fox, put the Raiders up 23-16 and the lead gradually increased to 12 on a Kim Demmings three before a Senee Shearer in the closing seconds made it 42-32 at the break.
WSU shot 53 percent from the field and was eight of nine at the foul line in the first half compared to 40 percent shooting for the Titans, who were two for two at the stripe.
A Fox three-point play gave the Raiders their biggest lead of the night at 50-36 with 16:56 remaining, only to see Detroit storm back with a 16-5 run over the next five minutes.
A Courtney Boyd three stemmed the tide and the margin went back up to 63-54 on a three and jumper from Demmings, but the Titans would not go away quietly as two Jalesa Jones foul shots made it 76-74 with 3:07 left.
Demmings, though, answered with jumpers on back-to-back possessions and connected on two free throws at the 1:13 mark to make it 84-74. Detroit would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as the Raiders sealed the win by hitting all six foul shots over the final 34.9 seconds.
WSU shot 49 percent for the game and was 27 of 32 at the line while the Titans shot 44 percent and were 15 of 19 at the stripe.
Demmings led all scorers with 34 for the Raiders, 22 in the second half, while Fox added a career-high 31, eclipsing the 30 she had against Loyola on February 4. Shaunda Sandifer posted a double-double of 10 points and 13 rebounds.
Shareta Brown paced Detroit (14-12, 10-4) with 26 points, all but two coming after halftime, while Shearer had 19, Jones 13 and Putnam 12.
Wright State (17-9, 10-4) continues its three-game homestand with two more next week, taking on Youngstown State on Thursday and Cleveland State on Saturday. Detroit returns home next week, taking on Cleveland State on Thursday and hosting Youngstown State on Saturday.
Tags: Butler - Women's Basketball · Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Milwaukee - Women's Basketball · UIC - Women's Basketball · Wright State - Women's Basketball
