By Justin Grones (@JustinGrones)
GreenBayPhoenix.com
CHICAGO, Ill.
(GreenBayPhoenix.com) - Following a clutch 71-63 win at Detroit on Thursday night to claim
outright possession of the 2012-13 Horizon League regular season title, the
Green Bay women's basketball team (23-2, 13-0 HL) will wrap up the weekend with
a road battle at UIC on Saturday Night. Tipoff against the Flames, who enter
the game at 9-17 and 5-8 in conference play, will be at 7 p.m. with the game
streamed live on the Horizon League Network.
The Phoenix completed the season sweep of Detroit in a three-point
shootout on Thursday, connecting on 15 of 36 attempts from behind the arc.
The team's 15 makes and 36 attempts tie for second and third, respectively, in
program history. Redshirt sophomore Megan
Lukan (Barrie, Ontario) led the way with 20 points, her second straight
20-point game.
Lukan hit six of 13
attempts from long range, including an incredible 6-8 effort in the second half
alone. Her 13 attempts are the most ever attempted in a single game by a Green Bay
women's basketball player, while her six made three-point field goals tie for
third all-time. Senior Sarah Eichler (Grafton,
Wis.) also had a hot hand from downtown, hitting all four of her attempts for
12 points.
SCOUTING UIC: UIC enters the contest coming off a
79-66 loss at Youngstown State on Thursday. The Flames are 2-3 in their last five,
but picked up a key 76-74 home win against Detroit last Saturday. UIC is 8-5 at
home this season, but sports a 1-12 record in road contests.
NOT AFRAID TO PLAY WITH
FIRE: Green Bay had
a record-smashing day against UIC in the first meeting this season with a 99-53
home victory on Feb. 2. In the contest, Green Bay tied the program's
sixth-highest mark for points in a game while breaking the 27-year-old record
for assists in a game with 34 on 36 field goal attempts. Redshirt junior Breannah Ranger (Skokie, Ill.) had a
career-high 16 points, while redshirt senior Jenny Gilbertson (Wabasha, Minn.) had her first career
double-double with career highs in points (14) and rebounds (13). Eichler set
her career high with eight assists, while senior Adrian Ritchie (De Pere, Wis.) tied hers with the same mark.
Redshirt freshman Ellen Edison (Maple
Grove, Minn.) also finished with a career-high five points.
LUKAN GOES DOWNTOWN: Before last Saturday's game against
Valparaiso in which she scored a career-high 22 points on 4-8 three-point
shooting, Megan Lukan had hit just six of 34 attempts from long range this
season. After that game and Thursday's win at Detroit, Lukan has hit and
incredible 10-21 from behind the arc in the last two games alone.
UNDER THE CENTURY MARK:
Senior Lydia Bauer (Lake Zurich, Ill.) enters
Saturday's contest needing 99 points to become the 32nd member of the Green Bay
women's basketball 1,000-point club. Should Bauer accomplish this feat before the
end of the 2012-13 campaign, it would be the first time in program history
three players joined the historic group. Both Ritchie and Eichler have joined
the club this season.
CHECK YOUR POCKETS: Adrian Ritchie needs just seven
steals to move into 10th all-time on the Green Bay women's basketball career
steals list. Ritchie has 221 steals for her standout career, including a
career-high seven against Detroit on Jan. 8. Currently in second place in the
Horizon League, she averages 2.8 takeaways per game.
FOLLOW IT LIVE: Fans can follow the action in a
number of ways on Saturday. The game will be streamed live on the Horizon League Network, and live
stats will also be available. The game can also be heard on WDUZ The Fan
107.5 FM, 1400 AM and TheFan1075.com
with Bruce VandenPlas on the call. Be sure to follow @GBPhoenixWBB and @JustinGrones on Twitter and like Green Bay Women's
Basketball for updates throughout the game.
NEXT ON THE SCHEDULE: Green Bay will return home for the
regular season home finale on Thursday, March 7 against red-hot Loyola. Green
Bay defeated the Ramblers, who have moved into third place in the Horizon
League standings, 65-62 exactly one month prior in Chicago on Feb. 7.
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