First place showdown on tap as first half of women's basketball conference season comes to an end

INDIANAPOLIS –Horizon League women’s basketball concludes the first half of conference play with four games tonight followed by five more on Saturday.

In tonight’s feature game, No. 22/16 Green Bay travels to Butler to battle for first place.  Tipoff is scheduled for 7pm ET.  Both schools are currently undefeated at 7-0 in the conference.

The Phoenix are on a nine-game winning streak with an impressive 17-1 overall record, while the Bulldogs’ winning streak began at the start of conference play. They are 13-6 on the season.

The past two seasons Green Bay and Butler have finished No. 1 and No. 2 respectively in the Horizon League final standings and have also played in the post-season.

The Phoenix became the first Horizon League team to gain an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament last year and the Bulldogs finished their season with a visit to the WNIT.

Green Bay has won 28 consecutive games against the Bulldogs which is the most for the Phoenix against any conference opponent.

Butler will then host Milwaukee on Saturday in a 2pm ET contest, while Green Bay will travel to Valparaiso for an 8pm tip.

Also at 7pm tonight, Loyola will travel to Detroit and Wright State will host UIC.

The Titans (9-9, 3-4) are coming off of a 66-57 victory over Youngstown State, breaking a three-game slide, while the Ramblers (8-10, 2-5) look to end a four-game losing streak after falling to Butler (64-60) and Valpo (65-58) last week.

Detroit has won seven in a row and eight of the last nine against its Jesuit rival and is 43-19 all-time versus Loyola.

Loyola will then travel to Wright State, while Detroit hosts UIC on Saturday.  Both contests are slated for 2pm ET.

The Flames (8-10, 3-4) look to pick up their first conference road win of the season, after splitting a pair at home last week, defeating Valpo (63-42) and falling to Butler (66-61).

The Raiders (12-6 overall), who currently sit third in the standings at 5-2, look to extend their season-high four-game winning streak which includes wins at both Youngstown State (64-61) and Cleveland State last week (58-42).

Tonight marks the 44th all-time meeting between UIC and WSU.  The Flames lead 25-18, including a 2-0 sweep last season.

Milwaukee (6-12, 3-4) and Valparaiso (4-15, 1-6) will also battle tonight at 8:05pm as the Crusaders begin their longest homestand of the season.  Valpo is looking to keep the momentum going after picking up its first conference victory at Loyola last week, while also looking for its first win at home this season.

The Panthers look to recover from a loss to Green Bay (87-39), which snapped a three-game winning streak, in their only contest last week.

This marks the 16th meeting between the schools with the Panthers leading the overall series 10-5. The Crusaders have won three of the last five contests, but they split the regular season last year with each defending its own home floor.   

On Saturday, Cleveland State (11-8, 4-4) will return to the road at Youngstown State (3-16, 1-7) for its only contest this week, after splitting a pair at home last week.  CSU defeated Detroit (61-51) before falling to Wright State (58-42), while Youngstown State lost to both the Titans (66-57) and Raiders (64-61) last week.

The Vikings currently sit fourth in the standings, while the Penguins fell to the bottom after last week.