Horizon League women's basketball teams continue to fight for top seeds

INDIANAPOLIS –No. 14/17 Green Bay continues to dominate Horizon League women’s basketball, sitting four games ahead of second-place Butler in the conference standings, but top seeds are still up for grabs as only three games separate second through sixth.   

After tying its highest ranking in program history at No. 14 in this week's ESPN/USA TODAY Coaches Poll released Feb. 15, the Phoenix (24-1, 13-0 HL) will look to extend a 15-game winning streak on Saturday, traveling to in-state rival Milwaukee (9-14, 6-6 HL)  for its lone contest of the week.

Green Bay is coming off of another 2-0 week, posting an 81-50 win over UIC on Thursday and a 69-43 victory over Loyola on Saturday.

Milwaukee, which sits sixth in the conference standings, fell to both teams last week, losing to the Ramblers (89-74) and Flames (77-65).  The Panthers also fell to the Phoenix in their first meeting this year (87-39).

Tonight, three teams will square off at 7pm ET, as Cleveland State travels to Wright State, UIC heads to Butler and Detroit hosts Youngstown State.

Cleveland State enters the week at 14-10 overall and fourth in the Horizon League at 7-6 after sweeping Valparaiso (57-51) and Butler (69-64) at home last week.

Wright State is 15-8 overall and one-and-a-half games ahead of the Vikings in third place in the league with an 8-4 mark, just one-half game behind second-place Butler (9-4).

The Raiders picked up a win in Cleveland (58-42) earlier this year, but the two teams have split each of the last 10 match-ups.

Cleveland State will then travel to Detroit for a 2pm ET contest, while Wright State will host Youngstown State on Saturday.

The WSU women will tip off approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men’s BracketBusters game with Hofstra at 11am, to be aired on ESPNU.   

UIC looks to avenge a 66-61 setback to Butler on Jan. 22 in their first meeting this year.

Butler split a pair of road games last week, picking up a win at Youngstown State (73-56), but falling at Cleveland State.

UIC will then travel to Valparaiso on Saturday for a 12:05pm ET contest, while Butler will host Loyola at 2pm.

Youngstown State (4-20, 2-11) is coming off of a 1-1 weekend, losing to the Bulldogs on Thursday before posting a 79-76 victory over Valpo on Saturday.  The win over the Crusaders broke a seven-game losing streak for the Penguins and marked their first season sweep of a league opponent since the 2007-08 season.

Detroit has lost four of its last five games since beating YSU (66-57) on Jan. 22. Its lone win, though, was at second-place Butler on Feb. 3.

Last week the Titans lost their only contest, falling at home to the Raiders.

Also tonight, Loyola (11-12, 5-7) will travel to Valparaiso (6-19, 3-10) for an 8:05pm ET tip.

The Crusaders return home looking for their third straight home win while trying to rebound from their 0-2 weekend on the road, falling to the Vikings and the Penguins.

Loyola went 1-1 at home last week, defeating the Panthers and falling to the Phoenix, and look to pick up its first win ever in Valparaiso.

The Crusaders are a perfect 8-0 all-time at home against the Ramblers, and are one game ahead on the season, defeating Loyola 65-58 in Chicago on Jan. 22.