By: Jill Wunrow
GreenBayPhoenix.com

GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The No. 12/9 Green Bay (17-0, 7-0 HL) women's basketball team is off to its best start in program history and looks to keep rolling on the road as it faces Butler (7-11, 3-4 HL) Thursday, Jan. 26 at 6 p.m. CT at the Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Ind.

Green Bay enters the contest with its highest ranking in program history in the AP Top 25 Poll at No. 12 while this week's No. 9 ranking in the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll is tied for the highest in program history. The Phoenix has won its last 33 regular season games against conference opponents and is currently on a 37 consecutive game regular season winning streak, the longest in the history of the 38-year-old program.

Entering Thursday's contest, Green Bay and No. 1/1 Baylor (19-0, 6-0 Big 12) are the only two remaining undefeated teams in the country. With its 17-0 start, the Phoenix has assured itself of its 35th consecutive winning season, the third longest streak all-time behind Louisiana Tech and Tennessee who each have 38 entering the 2011-12 season.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT... The Butler Bulldogs snapped a two game losing streak with a win on the road at Loyola Jan. 21. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 17 in the first half before pouring in 42 points in the second half to edge the Ramblers 60-57, capturing their first road win of the season. Its second half performance at Loyola is considered to be the Bulldogs best of the season.

Butler is 5-1 this season on its home court and 2-0 against Horizon League opponents at the Hinkle Fieldhouse with wins over Youngstown State (73-64) and Cleveland State (67-43).

Three players are averaging in double figure scoring for Butler with seniors Terra Burns and Devin Brierly leading the way with 11.2 and 10.6 points per game respectively. Sophomore Sarah Hamm is chipping in an average of 10.1 points per contest and is one of two Bulldogs leading the way on the glass grabbing 4.7 rebounds per game.

ABOUT THE SERIES... In its last meeting Mar. 13, 2011, Green Bay claimed its 10th Horizon League Championship title on head coach Matt Bollant's birthday with a 74-63 win over Butler, earning an automatic berth to its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance.

Green Bay has won the past 31 contests against Butler, its longest winning streak against any of its opponents.

WOJTA CLIMBING CAREER LADDER... Green Bay senior Julie Wojta (Francis Creek, Wis.) is just six points and 17 rebounds shy of becoming one of Green Bay's top ten scorers and rebounders in Phoenix history. Wojta has amassed 1318 career points and grabbed 682 rebounds in a Phoenix uniform.

The senior captain is also 16 field goals shy of topping the top 10 career record list for field goals made, 86 shy of top 10 in field goals attempted, 33 shy of free throws attempted and her current free throw percentage of 81.1 percent ranks fourth all time.

The 6'0" forward currently ranks ninth in free throws made (240) and 682 ranks 10th in both rebounds (682) and steals (227). The three-time Horizon League Player of the Week this season, Wojta has scored at least 12 points in every contest and had double-figure rebounding performances eight times.

Wojta leads the league with 3.9 steals per game, is second in both scoring and field goal percentage, averaging 19.1 points per game, shooting 53.6 percent and third in rebounding, grabbing an average 9.8 boards per contest.

RELIABLE RITCHIE... Junior Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) has scored at least 17 points in three of Green Bay's past four contests, including her first 20-point performance of the season at Detroit Jan. 14.

Ritchie has also been consistently reliable for the Phoenix from the free throw line, shooting 87.5 percent, which is second-best among league players. The 5'11" guard is among the nation's best in shooting from the charity stripe as Ritchie has ranked as high as No.1 Dec. 4. Ritchie currently ranks 20th among 300 players, shooting 1.000 percent in seven contests this season.

FOLLOW THE ACTION LIVE... For fans not able to make the trip to the Hinkle Fieldhouse Thursday, you can watch a live video stream of the contest on the Horizon League Network, here. You can also track live stats of the event, here.

###

Single-game tickets for both men's and women's basketball programs are currently on sale with the Green Bay ticket office. For more information, click here.

For the latest and most up-to-date information on Green Bay Athletics, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com.

Follow us on Twitter: @GBPhoenix and @gbphoenixwbb.

Like Green Bay Phoenix Women's Basketball and Green Bay Phoenix Athletics on Facebook.

---www.GreenBayPhoenix.com---