Dec. 8, 2005
Box Score
NORMAL, Ill. -
Holly Hallstrom scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds for Illinois State, but Wisconsin Green-Bay's shooting was just too much for Illinois State as the Phoenix downed the Redbirds 76-60 in a non-conference women's basketball game Thursday at Redbird Arena.
The Redbirds 4-2, had four players score in double figures as Kristi Cirone had 14, Ashley Sandstead had 13 and Nicolle Lewis had a career-high 10 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent the Phoenix, 5-2, from ending a seven-game home-court ISU win streak.
Nicole Soulis led UWGB with 22 points and Natalie Berglin added 14. UWGB had seven three-pointers.
As the Redbirds have done all year, Illinois State fell behind in the first half. The Redbirds and Phoenix both came out hitting their shots as Green Bay held a 17-15 lead with 13:50 remaining. But Green Bay's pressure cooled ISU's offense.
At that point, UWGB went on an 11-0 run featuring four points by ErinTemplin as the Phoenix hit nine of its first 11 shots earning a 28-15 advantage. The Phoenix shot 58 percent from the field and Soulis had 12 points as UWGB took a 40-29 halftime lead. ISU cooled off after a hot start and shot just 39 percent for the half. UWGB hit 6 of 11 threes in the first half while the Redbirds hit three of 11.
The Green Bay lead grew to 60-40 in the first nine minutes of the second half. The `Birds scrambled back to within 10 heading into the final four minutes. Sandstead's two free throws cut the margin to 67-57 with 3:30 left, but UWGB never let the `Birds come closer
Green Bay head coach Kevin Borseth appreciated Soulis' efforts.
"She's our best player and our best scorer and really our go-to kid," said Borseth. "She needs to play well and she did. We haven't scored very well and tried to get some more scoring from other kids."
Sandstead thought the Redbird defense wasn't up to par.
"We have to pick up our defense and intensity," said Sandstead. "We haven't played a game in eight days and we needed to come out with more intensity."
Redbird coach Robin Pingeton was impressed with Green Bay.
""What impresses me about Green Bay is the mentality they take to the court," said Pingeton. "They came out with a lot of confidence and hit early (9 of 11) shots. The way they started the game built some confidence early on."
But she thinks her team can learn from the experience.
"We have a lot of youth and I believe we'll get better," said Pingeton. "But that's the kind of competition we're going to see for the rest of the year. I'm not happy with our approach right now, but we'll get it straightened out."
The Redbirds play Saturday at Oakland University in Michigan.
