UW-Green Bay Comes up Short in Overtime in WNIT

March 17, 2006

Box Score

Story courtesy of UW-Green Bay Sports Information.

The UW-Green Bay women's basketball team (23-7) overcame an 11-point second half deficit but could not hold on to a four-point lead with less than 30 seconds left in regulation as the Phoenix fell to Iowa State in the first round of the Women's National Invitation Tournament Thursday evening, 79-71. The Cyclones were led by Brittany Wilkins' career-high 30 points, including 23 points after intermission. Four players scored in double figures for UW-Green Bay, led by an 18-point effort by junior Natalie Berglin.


"We had the game won," said UW-Green Bay head coach Kevin Borseth. "Iowa State made shots they needed to make to get back in it."


Despite solid defense that held the Cyclones to 40.3 percent shooting and 19 turnovers, the Phoenix was hindered by 31.1 percent shooting (23-74), including a 13-for-40 effort from long range. Iowa State's size advantage parlayed to a 55-37 rebounding advantage.


Trailing nine, 55-46 with 7:34 to play, the Phoenix mounted a 13-0 rally, bolstered by four three-pointers, to take a 59-55 lead with 4:08 to go. UW-Green Bay continued to hold a slim margin, with Iowa State cut to two on a Wilkins jumper with 1:02 to play.


With fouls to give and just over a minute to go, ISU fouled four times before sending Kati Harty to the free throw line to put the Phoenix up four, 65-61. Following a Cyclones turnover, Berglin had a chance to increase the Phoenix lead, but her front end free throw with 27 seconds to go rimmed out. It was the first of two missed free throws by UW-Green Bay in the final seconds.


Iowa State (18-12) cut the Phoenix lead to 65-64 on a three-pointer by Wilkins with 14.5 seconds left. Harty split a pair from the charity stripe before Heather Ezell tied the game at 66 apiece by making two from the line with 2.5 seconds remaining. Berglin had a half-court attempt at the buzzer that sailed just high to bring the overtime period.


In the extra session, the Phoenix missed its first 11 field goal attempts, including seven three-point tries as Iowa State outscored UW-Green Bay 13-5, as the lone Phoenix field goal came on a Trisha Legios baseline three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining.


Kayla Groh (16), Nicole Soulis (12) and Amanda Popp (10) rounded out UW-Green Bay's double-figure scorers. Soulis was able to shake off a slow start in the first half, as the junior forward missed her first seven attempts before finishing 5-of-18 from the field.


"We sold the farm," Borseth said. "We played hard and left everything on the floor."


The first half was a three-point fiesta for both teams, as Iowa State took an 11-2 lead early on. UW-Green Bay missed 10 straight field goals before three pointers by Popp, Berglin and Groh tied the game at 11 with 12:14 to go in the first. ISU again tried to pull away, leading by eight with just over eight minutes to go before a 10-0 Phoenix run, capped by a Berglin jumper gave UW-Green Bay its first lead, 23-21.


Along with Wilkins' 30 points, Iowa State got 20 points from Megan Ronhovde while Ezell and Nicky Wieben rounded out the team's double figure scorers with 11 and 10 points, respectively.