The Phoenix did what the Phoenix do, which is lull you to a double-digit loss with arduous, disciplined basketball on both ends of the floor. The win streak is now at 21 games for University of Wisconsin Green Bay after their Barbasol Horizon League Championships semifinal dispatching of Robert Morris, 67-53.
The say it’s tough to beat an opponent 3 times, but that’s exactly what Green Bay did against Robert Morris this season, though today was by far the closest of the 3 contests between them. In fact, in what has now been 9 attempts, the Colonials still have yet to beat Green Bay.
That doesn’t mean it was all smooth sailing for the tournament’s #1 seed. Robert Morris, which shoots the 3 at only 25% on the season made their first 3 attempts in the game and jumped out to a 13-4 lead.
“This was not an easy game,” admitted Green Bay’s 1st-year coach, Kayla Karius, “and I didn’t really think it would be. It was pretty gritty, it was pretty physical. They kept it close and just never, never went away.”
If Green Bay expected a battle in spite of the previous blowouts against Robert Morris, that probably had something to do with the fact that the Colonials won 10 of their last 13 games after starting 1-7 in the conference.
Even the 2nd half was only a 3-point advantage for Green Bay, but the Phoenix used a decisive 2nd quarter, outscoring the Colonials 21-5, to turn the game around after their tough start.
Senior guard Natalie McNeal–who started her college career by playing 2 seasons at St. Louis and was last year’s Horizon League tournament MVP–was a big part of that run, scoring 10 straight points for her team to start the quarter. McNeal would finish with 20 points in the game, and by the end of those aforementioned 10 points in the 2nd quarter, her team had the lead, which they didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.
Karius also credited her team’s defense for the win: “(Robert Morris) got a lot of easy and open looks in the first quarter, and then we didn’t really give those up the rest of the way.”
To her point, Green Bay gives up an average of 55 points a game, which is 2 less than Robert Morris finished with. The Colonials finished the game 6-for-22 from the 3-point line after making those first 3. Robert Morris’s leading scorer on the season, Israel product Noa Givon, especially struggled, shooting 3 for 15 from the field.
Karius said her players would prioritize recovery for the afternoon while her coaching staff stays at Corteva Coliseum to watch the entirety of the other semifinal game between Purdue Fort Wayne and Cleveland State.
A matchup with #2 seed Purdue Fort Wayne would be especially interesting as the Mastodons were the Phoenix’s one conference loss this season back in December. That one was a 1-point game, and while the rematch in Green Bay went the Phoenix’s way, it took overtime to win it.
“At this time of the season, it is all about heart, and it’s all about guts, and you just have to put all on the line,” Karius said.
