You start to run out of superlatives for a team like Green Bay this season. On Saturday afternoon, the Phoenix went wire to wire against in state rival Milwaukee, by a score of 68-45, earning its 18th straight win and putting Green Bay in the drivers seat for another regular season Horizon League title.
The Phoenix grabbed the lead right out of the gate, starting with a Jasmine Kondrakiewicz layup. Natalie McNeal scored, followed by another Kondrakiewicz bucket to start the game on a 6-0 run for Green Bay. Anna Lutz got Milwaukee in the scoring column with a three-pointer, cutting the lead in half. Miah Meyer and Lutz exchanged baskets prior to the media break. Scoring was tough to come by for the remainder of the quarter, as each team would only make one more field goal in the period. After the opening 10 minutes of play, the Phoenix held an 11-8 lead.
While scoring may not have been as easy in the first quarter, Green Bay blew the game wide open in the second. Kondrakiewicz started the stanza with a layup, which Milwaukee answered immediately with a three from Jorey Buwalda. Maddy Schreiber went to the line on Green Bay’s next possession, hit both free throws, and then got a steal which lead to another Kondrakiewicz bucket. Kamy Peppler scored with 7:43 left in the second, marking Milwaukee’s last field goal of the period. The Phoenix would close the period on a 23-1, run over the remainder of the quarter, including a barrage of treys from both Schreiber and Cassie Schiltz. The Panthers lone point after the Peppler bucket was a Buwalda free throw with 6:14 left. Green Bay outscored Milwaukee 29-6 for the period, taking a 40-14 lead into halftime.
Out of the locker room, Callie Genke got in on the three-point shooting parade, answering a triple from Milwaukee’s Payton Rechlicz. Jenna Guyer kept the three-point party going for the next Phoenix basket as well. Schreiber tacked on another layup and later a deep ball as Green Bay kept the throttle down in the third. The Phoenix outpaced the Panthers once again, with a 16-13 advantage in the quarter, more than doubling up Milwaukee with just one period to play.
As the fourth quarter got underway, Coach Karius went deeper into the bench, giving extra rest to the starters and getting some key minutes for the reserves with the postseason approaching. Meghan Schultz and Ellie Buzzelle each were able to score multiple times in the fourth, as the Phoenix coasted victory over the Panthers.
Schreiber led all scorers in the game with 18 points. Also in double figures for the Phoenix was Kondrakiewicz, who finished with 12 points. Lutz was the only Panther to reach double digits, as she finished with 10 points to lead Milwaukee.
Green Bay had several players reach milestones throughout the game. Schreiber scored her 1,000th career points after hitting a pair of free throws in the second period. Bailey Butler moved into third all time in assists in program history, and is on the brink of the Phoenix’s most career assists as a Division 1 program. Finally, Schiltz now is tied with the Natalie Bergen for the third most made threes in a career.
Green Bay is off until next Saturday, where they will host Purdue Fort Wayne in what could be a battle for the regular season conference title. The game will be the regular season finale for the Phoenix, and tips off from the Kress Center at 1pm.
