TEMPE, Ariz. – Taking the floor at the Wells Fargo Arena for the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Tempe, Ariz., No. 10 Green Bay battled No. 7 Tennessee in its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Volunteers used a timely run in the fourth quarter to defeat Green Bay (28-5, 16-2), advancing through the First Round with a 59-53 victory.
At the end of the first quarter, the game was separated by only a single point, as Tennessee (20-13, 8-8) led things 14-13. Jessica Lindstrom contributed five points and two rebounds to lead things in the first 10 minutes of play for the Phoenix.
After back-and-forth action in the first three quarters of play, the Phoenix held a one-point lead over the larger Volunteers’ team, 45-44. The game worked its way to a 49-48 lead in favor of the Phoenix, but the Green Bay advantage would end there as Tennessee went on a 10-0 run to lead things 58-49 with 21 seconds left.
“They had a couple pull-up jumpshots in the lane,” head coach Kevin Borseth said. “We made one defensive mistake on a baseline out-of-bounds play. We got a rebound through the length of the floor and missed it.”
“Other than that, we had some really good looks. They went to that zone, we knew what we were doing, and one of the possessions we had wasn’t good shot.”
Tennessee’s timely run allowed them to advance through the First Round of the NCAA Tournament with a 59-53 victory over the Phoenix.
“I think our kids showed a lot of heart,” Borseth said. “I thought we did a good job, I thought ball security was a big part of this game. I thought our kids did a pretty good job of taking care of it. Rebounding was a big part of the game and we outrebounded them by a couple. I think a lot of the things we did in the game plan were really good.”
Sophomore Allie LeClaire led the way for the Phoenix with 14 points on a 6-of-13 shooting performance. Senior Kaili Lukan finished her final game in a Phoenix uniform with 12 points on 3-of-5 shooting. The guard also pulled down five rebounds and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line.
Sophomore Jessica Lindstrom finished the game with 11 points and eight rebounds, just a couple boards shy of her team-high ninth double-double.
Green Bay’s 2015-16 season ends having secured its 18th consecutive Horizon League Championship and having made its 16th NCAA Tournament appearance. The Phoenix finished with an identical record to last season at 28-5.
Tags: Green Bay - Women's Basketball · Horizon League - Women's Basketball
