In a week dominated by Green Bay Phoenix news, after the departure of Sundance Wicks and nearly immediate hire of Doug Gottlieb on the men’s side, the Phoenix women’s team is ending the week with a splash of its own, announcing the hiring of the three assistant coaches the program will roll into the 2024 season with.
The first name released was initially reported by Kyle Malzhan on Wednesday before being confirmed by Green Bay on Thursday, and that was the return to Titletown of Allie Alexander (LeClaire). Alexander, then LeClaire, was a high school star at Notre Dame Academy in Green Bay, winning back to back state tournament titles in 2013 and 2014 before coming to UWGB. With the Phoenix, she was an immediate impact player, significantly contributing and later starring as Green Bay continued its run of dominance of the Horizon League, winning both the regular season and conference tournament titles each of her four years at the program. She would join the 1,000 point club and ranks among program leaders in three-point shots made and games played.
Alexander would go on to play in Ireland for a year, also coaching overseas before coming back to the US to join former Green Bay assistant Amanda Leonard Perry at Division III St. Norbert in De Pere, WI. Alexander quickly rose to the D1 level, joining former Green Bay head coach Matt Bollant at Eastern Illinois, where she served as an assistant coach and was promoted to Assistant Head Coach for the 2023-24 season.
The next move announced by the Phoenix, was retaining longtime assistant Sarah Bronk, who assisted both Bollant and Borseth over the past 17 seasons in Green Bay. Bronk’s tenure started when Karius was a freshman at Green Bay with new head coach Matt Bollant and has been a mainstay since then.
In the press release announcing the move, Coach K stated: “She has great knowledge of our program, great recruiting connections in the state, and a character and personality that really connects with our players. I’m so happy that Sarah has chosen to remain with the program because she will be invaluable to our success in the future!” Retaining Bronk appears to be a significant move to continuing the culture and legacy that Coach Borseth and AD Josh Moon both said would be key to the continuing success of the veteran roster.
The last move, announced Thursday evening was bringing in Kate Peterson Abiad. Peterson Abiad had most recently served as the Assistant Director on the Executive Staff of the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA). Prior to that though, Horizon League fans may recall her long tenure as the Head Coach at Cleveland State, leading the Vikings from 2003-2018, winning two conference tournaments and making four post-eason appearances over that period.
On Peterson Abiad, Coach K said: “I first met Kate as a player when, on the opposing bench, she knocked our teams out of the conference tournament twice in my career! She has 27 years of college coaching experience and knows our recruiting region and our league extremely well. It’s so exciting to welcome Kate and her family to Green Bay!”
Peterson Abiad grew up in River Falls, Wisconsin, before attending and playing for UW-Stevens Point, where she was an All-American Honorable Mention for the Pointers. She would enter the coaching ranks as a Graduate Assistant at Indiana, before making stops at Eastern Illinois and Wisconsin prior to taking the Cleveland State gig. She also coached the Wisconsin Glo professional basketball team, coaching Alexander and Julie Wojta, among many others with Green Bay ties.