Women's Basketball Scoreboard (Nov. 29)
Green Bay 90, William & Mary 44
UIC 76, Ohio 67
Wright State 99, North Carolina State 90
Florida International 65, Valparaiso 47
Lamar 75, Milwaukee 63
Rhode Island 70, Detroit 59
Green Bay 90, William & Mary 44
A commanding first half performance helped propel the Green Bay women’s basketball team not only to a 90-44 win over William and Mary, but also to head coach Kevin Borseth’s 250th win in his tenure at Green Bay.
Borseth earned his 250th win in his 316th game with the Phoenix, spanning 11 seasons and two different stints, to become the quickest Phoenix head coach to the milestone.
“Every win is a good win,” Borseth said. “We want to continue to keep the program where it is at and continue to climb, so we will just keep taking everything one game at a time.”
It was also a great team effort for the Phoenix, scoring 90 points in a game for the first time since February 2 of last season against UIC. The 46-point difference was the largest margin of victory for Green Bay this season, while its 44 opponent points tied a season low allowed. Ellen Edison (Maple Grove, Minn.) led the Phoenix with a career-high 23 points, fueled by 6-for-7 shooting from three. Lexi Weitzer (Waukesha, Wis.) also had a career day with 10 points and six rebounds.
It was all Green Bay in the first half as it went into intermission with a 45-13 lead. The 45 points were the highest halftime total for the Phoenix this season, while they were also able to hold the Tribe to an opponent low 13 points for a half.
Tesha Buck (Red Wing, Minn.) started the scoring for Green Bay with a three and the advantage eventually ballooned to 9-0 before William and Mary called its first timeout of the game with 17:22 remaining. The Phoenix forced the Tribe into turnovers on three of its first four possessions during the run, and also held them to just a single shot. Coming out of the timeout, Kaitlyn Mathieu gave the green and gold its first points of the game (9-2) but another Phoenix run, this time 8-0, gave the Phoenix a commanding 17-2 advantage.
A staunch Green Bay defense held the Tribe at bay the rest of the way, forcing 18 turnovers and turning them into 18 points. The squad also recorded nine steals and two blocks in the effort while limiting W&M to 26.3 percent (5-19) from the field and bucketless from behind the arc (0-7). The Phoenix also controlled the boards, outrebounding the Tribe by a margin of 26-13.
On the offensive end, 10 of the 11 Phoenix that took to the court scored as the bench provided almost half (24-45) of Green Bay’s points over the first 20 minutes.
Green Bay continued to control the game in the second half, with the team’s reserves seeing key playing time and pitching in 30 of the 45 points in the second stanza as it cruised to the final 90-44 margin.
“Anytime you score 90 points you’re going to have great success,” Borseth said. “We distributed the ball well, everyone got an opportunity to score. It was great for our reserves to get game experience, something they can’t get just in practice. That will really help us down the line.”
For the game, Green Bay was 47.8 percent (32-67) from the field and 50.0 percent (15-30) from three, while missing just one free throw opportunity (11-12) in the contest. In addition to Edison and Weitzer, Kaili Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) finished with double-digit scoring (10) while Breannah Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) had a game-high 10 rebounds. The strong defensive performance by the Phoenix finished the game forcing 27 Tribe turnovers (30 pts. off turnovers) in addition to recording 15 steals and three blocks.
W&M shot 34.8 percent (16-46) from the field and was just 26.3 percent (5-19) from three, making all five of their three’s in the second half. Marlena Tremba was the lone Tribe player in double digits with 11 points.
UIC 76, Ohio 67
The UIC women’s basketball team (4-2) won its fourth consecutive game with a 76-67 victory over Ohio (3-2) Friday (Nov. 29) at the San Juan Shootout. Redshirt sophomore Ruvanna Campbell had career highs of 24 points and 18 rebounds for her fifth consecutive double-double.
UIC’s last four-game win streak came from Jan. 14-28, 2012 when the Flames defeated Youngstown State, Butler, Valparaiso and Loyola Chicago. One more win will be UIC’s first five-game win streak since Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2008.
The Flames shot a season-high 53.1 percent from the field (26-of-49), the first time UIC has been above 50 percent from the floor since Jan. 12, 2013 at Loyola Chicago. UIC also drained 6-of-14 shots from beyond the arc and is hitting 46.9 percent of its three-point attempts over the last three contests (23-of-49).
UIC out-rebounded Ohio (47-33) and improved to 4-1 this season when out-rebounding its opponent. The Flames held the Bobcats to 33.9 percent shooting (20-of-59), their fourth consecutive contest holding the opponent to under 40 percent from the floor.
The Flames held a 13-point advantage at 30-17 with 6:32 remaining in the first half following Terri Bender’s second straight three-pointer. The Bobcats finished the half on a 14-6 run, capped by Mariah Byard’s three-pointer with 1:25 left. UIC hit 5-of-8 three-pointers in the first half and held a 36-31 lead at the break.
Byard made three straight three-pointers to begin the second half and the Bobcats tied the score at 40-40 following her triple with 18:31 remaining in the game. The Flames responded with a 15-7 run to take a 55-47 lead with 10:26 on the clock.
Ohio narrowed the lead to 55-53 on Yamonie Jenkins’ three-pointer with 9:23 left but Campbell proved too much to handle for the Bobcats as she scored 12 of the Flames’ final 21 points. UIC outscored Ohio by seven the rest of the way (21-14) and sealed its fourth straight win.
Campbell had 10 points and seven rebounds in the first half followed by 14 points and 11 rebounds in the second half. She also added four steals, three blocks and two assists against the Bobcats.
Campbell was 10-of-12 from the floor, the first UIC player to make 10 field goals since Katie Hannemann on Feb. 21, 2013. She owns two 20-point efforts this season and has been in double-figures in every game.
Senior Katie Hannemann was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and finished with 14 points. She also grabbed eight rebounds over 35 minutes.
Senior Rachel Story had seven points in each half to finish with 14 points. Story tied her career high with seven rebounds and was 2-of-7 from three-point land.
Senior Emily Kobel made two-three pointers and finished with eight points. She reached 100 career made three-pointers and needs eight more three-pointers to enter the program’s Top 10.
Wright State 99, North Carolina State 90
Despite trailing by 10 midway through the first half and having Kim Demmings foul out with 7:33 remaining, the Wright State women's basketball team knocked off previously unbeaten NC State 99-90 Friday in the opening round of the Gulf Coast Showcase at the Germain Arena in Estero, Florida.
The Wolf Pack controlled the first nine minutes of the game, building a 27-17 advantage following a Len'Nique Brown three at the 11:33 mark. WSU, however, answered by scoring the next nine points, the final five by Demmings, and took its first lead of the day at 31-30 on an Ivory James three from the right corner with 7:19 remaining in the half.
NC State came right back with five straight, only to see the Raiders responded with seven unanswered to go back in front 38-35. Threes by Tay'ler Mingo and Abby Jump extended the margin to seven and Wright State closed out a 32-15 run with two Demmings free throws to take a 49-42 halftime lead.
The Raiders shot 50 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, including six of 13 from three-point range, and made 15 of 19 foul shots while the Wolf Pack shot 46 percent, five of 10 threes, and hit 11 of 16 at the stripe.
Wright State's lead grew to as much as 78-63 on two Sarah Hunter free throws with 10:04 left, but the margin was just 81-74 as Demmings picked up her fifth foul with 7:33 to play.
Hunter, though, converted a three-point play on WSU's next possession and NC State would get no closer than seven the rest of the way as the Raiders pushed the advantage back out to 98-84 in the final minute.
The Wolf Pack shot 55 percent in the second half to finish at 51 percent compared to 47 percent the final 20 minutes for Wright State as it ended up at 48 percent for the game, but the Raiders made 11 of 25 threes and 28 of 35 foul shots while NC State had eight three-pointers and was 22 of 32 at the line. WSU led 21-13 in points off of turnovers and 21-11 in second-chance points.
Demmings reached the 30-point plateau for the seventh time in her career, finishing with an even 30 on 10 of 18 shooting in just 24 minutes. Mingo added a career-high 20 points, eclipsing the 18 she had against Akron on November 17, while James had 19 and Hunter a career-best 14 points off the bench, 10 in the second half.
Brown paced NC State (6-1) with 24 points while Markeisha Gatling had 15 and Kody Burke and Miah Spencer 13 each.
Wright State (6-1), which posted its first-ever win over a current Atlantic Coast Conference school in 10 tries, advances to the semifinals Saturday against Middle Tennessee, an 88-71 winner over Southeastern Louisiana in another first-round contest. Tip-off is at 6:00.
Florida International 65, Valparaiso 47
Sharon Karungi (Kampala, Uganda/[Northern Oklahoma College]) was a force inside Friday, but perimeter shooting betrayed the Crusaders as they connected just once on 15 attempts from beyond the arc in a 65-47 loss to Florida International in the first game of the 19th Annual FIU Thanksgiving Classic in Miami.
Panthers' guard Jerica Coley was as good as advertised as her 30 points led all scorers. The senior was 12-of-21 from the floor in addition to draining six free throws.
The Crusaders shot just 8-of-33 (24.2%) from the field in the first half, but strong free-throw shooting kept them within striking distance. Valpo was 11 for 14 from the line in the first twenty minutes as they trailed 29-27 at the break.
Karungi led the Brown and Gold with nine first-half points, while seniors Charae Richardson (Lafayette, Ind./Jefferson [Vincennes]) and Liz Horton (Cannelburg, Ind./Barr-Reeve) each contributed five.
Valpo's shooting increased modestly in the second frame, but a 14-4 Panther run extended the locals' lead to 53-38 midway through the period.
The Crusaders were able to muster just three points in the final six-and-a-half minutes of play as they fell to FIU by a 65-47 final.
Karungi finished the night with 17 points, and 14 rebounds. The double-double was the junior's third in the last five tilts. Sophomore Lexi Miller (Caldeonia, Mich./Caledonia) registered nine points, four boards, and four steals.
"Sharon responded well coming off the bench, and I thought Lexi Miller competed for 36 minutes. Aside from that, we really struggled tonight. We have to shoot the ball better. Period," head coach Tracey Dorow said.
Lamar 75, Milwaukee 63
Senior Angela Rodriguez scored 18 points and junior Ashley Green added a double-double of 18 points and 14 rebounds but Lamar University pulled away in the second half to hand the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team a 75-63 defeat Friday afternoon at the Pan American Center.
The Panthers (1-4) trailed by just a basket early in the second half against the Cardinals (4-3), but a quick 8-0 scoring run pushed the deficit to double-figures and UWM could not recover down the stretch.
Milwaukee was already playing shorthanded battling injuries but ended up dealing with foul trouble as well today in its first game at the Aggie Hotel Encanto Thanksgiving Classic.
"Having only nine players available gets us where we are tired towards the end of games," UWM head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "Also, just the higher elevation puts us in a position where we can't always rely on our three-point shooting to win a game out here. We have to be able to put the ball on the floor and create some points inside and that just wasn't there for us today."
The Panthers led by as many as seven points in the first half, but hit intermission with foul problems - three starters had two fouls and one was whistled for three by the end of the first half.
"It definitely changes the game when you have some of your starters sitting on the bench in foul trouble," Rechlicz said. "It puts us in a position right away where we have to play softer with our bench - the bench can't be as aggressive because if they get in foul trouble then we have nobody left. Lamar did a great job today taking advantage of that and putting us on our heels."
Green tied her career-high with those 14 rebounds, while Rodriguez added a team-high six assists. Senior Kimee Chandler came off the bench to tie her career-high with 10 points and sophomore Avyanna Young grabbed 11 rebounds. Chandler also set a career-high with five rebounds.
Dominique Edwards led the Cardinals with a game-high double-double of 24 points and 15 rebounds while JaMeisha Edwards added 17.
Down by four at halftime, Chandler hit a pair of free throws to make it 39-37 at the 19:14 mark. That was when Lamar grabbed momentum, scoring eight straight to push the lead to 10 at 47-37. Milwaukee would get as close as five points three minutes later, but again the deficit was pushed to double-digits to decide the outcome.
"I felt like we played the first 12 minutes okay, but I felt like our intensity wasn't there at the start of the game and I had to get on them," Rechlicz said. "We had a lot of opportunities that we missed today."
The Cardinals took a 39-35 lead into the locker room after a first half that featured five ties and 10 lead changes. Both teams held leads of at least seven points in the back-and-forth affair that saw both teams start slowly.
Freshman Bre'Zall Warren hit a pair of early three's, with her second make giving UWM the early 8-4 advantage. After Lamar had jumped in front, 9-8, a three by Green made it 11-9 at the 12:37 mark. It was Lamar's turn again, retaking the lead at 13-11 in front of nine straight points by the Panthers.
A three by Rodriguez, another triple from junior Macie Dorow, a free throw by Green and a putback on an offensive rebound by Young completed the run and made it 20-13 on the scoreboard. Young's basket that came at the 9:51 mark of the half was the first two-point field goal by UWM on the day.
The Cardinals also had a decisive scoring run in the first, scoring 12 of 15 points at one time to take a 25-23 lead at the 7:34 mark.
Milwaukee made 10 three-pointers on the day, but just two after halftime and finished the day at 32.3 percent (10-for-31) from long-range. It committed just 12 turnovers, but Lamar was able to turn that into a 10-1 advantage in points off turnovers. The Panthers also won the rebounding battle, 44-43.
It will be a quick turnaround for Milwaukee, playing less than 24 hours from the finish of today's contest. It's back to the Pan American Center tomorrow, taking on host New Mexico State with a 2:15 p.m. CST tip time. The Aggies defeated Northern Illinois, 77-73, in the first game of the tournament.
"We have to come together as a team, watch some film and get better from this by learning from our mistakes in a very short period of time," Rechlicz said. "Hopefully we will come ready to compete tomorrow.
Rhode Island 70, Detroit 59
Senior Senee Shearer nailed five 3-pointers and had 21 points and junior Ellisha Crosby finished with 18 points and 10 rebounds as the University of Detroit Mercy women's basketball team fell to Rhode Island, 70-59, in the first game of the FAU Thanksgiving Classic on Friday.
Detroit (1-6) raced out to an early 5-0 lead, but that disappeared with six-straight points from Rhode Island (1-5). The teams then traded baskets, but the Rams went up 12-7 at the 11:19 mark of the first.
Back-to-back 3-pointers by Shearer gave UDM a 13-12 advantage and later on, Shearer's third trey of the contest at 8:35 put the Titans back up by one, 18-17. The tight contest continued with the red, white and blue extending its lead to three at 23-20 as senior Megan Hatter hit a jumper, and again with 3:25 left in the stanza as Crosby knocked one in from behind the arc to make it a 28-25 game.
The Rams though took a slight lead at the break, 32-31, and ran it to six, 41-35, four minutes into the period. Another 3-pointer from Shearer got Detroit within two, 43-41, but URI would get back up by eight, 50-42, midway through the half.
The Titans had one last run in them as Crosby sank a shot and then went to the line for a pair of free throws to trim it to 50-46, but the Rams were able to recover and extend their advantage into double digits.
Shearer was 7-of-18 in the game and 5-of-10 from three, while grabbing two rebounds. Crosby was 6-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-6 from long range, as she added two assists and a steal.
Freshman Megan Galloway scored a season-high seven points, grabbed six rebounds and handed out two assists and Hatter ended with five points and five boards. Both sophomore DaVonna Bradford and freshman Reyna Montgomery tallied four points and four caroms with Montgomery collecting two helpers.
