By: Jill Wunrow
GreenBayPhoenix.com
GREEN BAY, Wis.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - The No. 12/12 Green Bay (23-1, 13-1 HL) women's basketball team will tip
off its final homestand of the regular season, Thursday, Feb. 23 as it hosts
Valpo (8-17, 4-10 HL) at 7 p.m. at the Kress Events Center. With a win, Green
Bay would clinch at least a share of its 14th consecutive regular season
Horizon League championship, the nation's longest active streak.
Green Bay enters Thursday's contest on a three-game winning
streak, which includes a thrilling come-from-behind 77-72 overtime win at
Youngstown State Feb. 18 in which junior Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) poured
in a career and game-high 26 points.
The Crusaders come to Green Bay having won three of their
last four games with its lone loss coming Feb. 16 against UIC (54-43). Valpo is
being led in scoring by sophomore Tabitha Gerardot who is averaging 12.9 points
per game and poured in 20 points in its win Feb. 18 against Loyola.
LAST MEETING (Jan. 28,
2012 at Valparaiso, Ind.)... Green Bay held Valparaiso scoreless until the 15:40 mark in the opening
half. With 12:09 to play in the first half, the Phoenix switched to its Buzz
defense, sparking an 18-2 run, holding the Crusaders scoreless for
four-and-a-half minutes. Julie Wojta (Francis Creek, Wis.) posted her 10th
double double of the season, grabbing her 700th career rebound as the Phoenix
cruised to a 65-37 win.
ABOUT THE SERIES... Thursday's contest will be the 28th
meeting between these two teams with Green Bay owning an overall record of 23-4
and 13-2 in Green Bay. The Phoenix has won the last eight meetings against
Valpo and last eight games in Green Bay.
LEAGUE LEADERS...
Green Bay leads the Horizon League in scoring defense, allowing opponents an
average 55.3 points per game while Valpo is second, allowing 57.3 points per
contest. Individually, Green Bay's Wojta is grabbing a league-best 3.7 steals
per contest while Valpo's Laura Richards is one of three players averaging 2.7
steals per game.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST... Through games played Feb. 19, Green Bay
ranks second in the nation in turnover margin, forcing an average of 9.6 more
turnovers per game than its opponents. The Phoenix is seventh in the nation and
first in the Horizon League with an average of 17.7 assists per game. To date,
Green Bay has dished out 424 assists on 635 field goals this season. Four
Phoenix players, including Wojta, Hannah Quilling (Eau Claire, Wis.), Ritchie,
and Megan Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) rank in the top 10 in assists per game in the
Horizon League.
CLIMBING CAREER LADDER... Wojta is just three free throw attempts shy
from passing assistant coach Amanda Leonhard-Perry who is ninth on Green Bay's
individual career record list. The senior forward is also 23 points away from
moving into fifth on the individual career points list having scored 1,455.
Wojta ranks in the top 10 in seven career statistical categories in Green Bay's
record book and is one of three players in program history to be in the top six
in both scoring and rebounding.
Ritchie has also written her name
in the record books this season. With 116 three-point field goals made, the
junior guard is two threes away from moving into eighth on Green Bay's
individual career record list. With Ritchie's combined 10 three point field
goal attempts in the past two games, she moved up from ninth to seventh with
317 attempts on the individual career record list.
20-WIN SEASONS... With its 23-1 record, Green Bay has secured its
13th consecutive 20-win season. The Phoenix has had 35 straight winning season
in the history of the 39-year-old program.
FOLLOW IT LIVE... Fans can follow a live video stream of Thursday's
game here. To
track live stats, click here.
###
Single-game tickets for Thursday's game are currently on sale
with the Green Bay ticket office. For more information, please visit GreenBayPhoenix.com/tickets.
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---
