Women's Basketball Weekly Release #20 - NCAA Tournament Second Round Preview

March 19, 2007

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NCAA Tournament Second Round Notes

#1 Connecticut Huskies (30-3) vs. #9 UW-Green Bay Phoenix (29-3)

- UWGB is 2-7 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, picking up the second win on Sunday evening (59-52) over New Mexico. It marks the Horizon League's (formerly the Midwestern Collegiate Conference) second victory in the Big Dance.

- The Phoenix defense held New Mexico to just four points over the first 7:30 of the game on Sunday.

- UW-Green Bay trailed by three at halftime, 29-26, marking just the fifth time this season the Phoenix has trailed at the half. UWGB is 2-3 when trailing at the half.

- UWGB has never squared off against Connecticut. The Big East has accounted for two-thirds of the team's losses this year as the Phoenix was defeated by Marquette (67-63) and DePaul (71-70).

- UW-Green Bay is No. 22 in this week's Associated Press top 25 poll. The Phoenix is 39-4 all-time as a nationally-ranked team.

- The Phoenix beat Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin this season, becoming the only non-conference team to win three games against the Big Ten this season.

- UW-Green Bay's 29 victories this season is the most ever by a Horizon League team, surpassing its mark of 28 set in 2002-03. That was also the last time UWGB won a first-round NCAA Tournament game, a 78-65 victory over Washington.

- The team's 91-64 victory over Butler in the Horizon League Championship was the highest team scoring total and the largest margin of victory posted in any Division I title game.

- UW-Green Bay has captured at least a share of the last nine Horizon League regular-season crowns. With this year's title, the Phoenix has won eight of the last 10 Horizon League Championships.

- UW-Green Bay was one of only eight NCAA Division I teams that went undefeated in their respective conferences during 2006-07. Of those eight teams, only three took home postseason titles as Texas-Arlington (Southland), Middle Tennessee State (Sun Belt) and the Phoenix pulled off the feat.

- For the sixth time in nine seasons and the third straight year, the Horizon League Player of the Year hails from UW-Green Bay as senior forward Nicole Soulis became the first player in 17 seasons to earn back-to-back League Player of the Year honors. In her four-year career, Soulis has compiled 1,892 points, trailing only Chari Nordgaard for career points in program history. Head coach Kevin Borseth was named the League's Coach of the Year for the seventh time in nine seasons at the helm of the Phoenix. Senior guard Natalie Berglin earned First-Team All-League honors while junior guard Kayla Groh joined Soulis on the League's All-Defensive team.

- Senior Natalie Berglin boasts a League-best 2.90 assist/turnover ratio while ranking second on the Phoenix at 11.4 points per game. She is fifth in UW-Green Bay history with 420 career assists. Berglin became the 23rd player in school history to score 1,000 points on Jan. 9 against North Dakota State.

- UW-Green Bay is on the nation's second-longest winning streak at 26 games, setting a team record for consecutive victories. The Phoenix has not lost a game since Nov. 29 (71-70 vs. DePaul). The team's run is the eighth time in nine years the Phoenix has won at least 10 straight contests. The Phoenix winning streak is second to Middle Tennessee State, which has won 27 straight.

- Just 10 teams are in the top 50 in the nation in all three shooting categories, including just five in the top 30, but UW-Green Bay is the only one in the top 10 in field-goal, free-throw and three-point shooting percentages. The Phoenix is first in the country with its .804 free-throw clip, while it is sixth in field goal percentage (.480) and sixth in three-point percentage (.385).

- With his team's win over UW-Milwaukee Jan. 13, head coach Kevin Borseth reached the 200-win plateau at UW-Green Bay. Borseth is 216-61 all-time at UW-Green Bay for an impressive .780 winning percentage.

Horizon League NCAA Tournament History

1992- UCLA 93, Notre Dame 72


1993 - Clemson 70, Xavier 67


1994 - Minnesota 81, Notre Dame 76


1995 - Vanderbilt 90, Northern Illinois 44


1996 - Iowa 72, Butler 67


1997 - Kansas 81, Detroit 67


1998 - Illinois 82, UW-Green Bay 58


1999 - UCLA 76, UW-Green Bay 69


2000 - Old Dominion 94, UW-Green Bay 85


2001 - Duke 96, UW-Milwaukee 63


2002 - Texas 60, UW-Green Bay 55


2003 - UW-Green Bay 78, Washington 65; LSU 80, UW-Green Bay 69


2004 - Houston 62, UW-Green Bay 47


2005 - Maryland 65, UW-Green Bay 55


2006 - Michigan State 65, UW-Milwaukee 46


2007 - UW-Green Bay 59, New Mexico 52