Dec. 22, 2006
Box Score
GREEN BAY, Wis. - Wisconsin Green Bay sophomore guard Rachel Porath recorded a near perfect shooting effort with 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting from the field (4-of-5 three-point field goals) to lead the Phoenix to a wire-to-wire 92-64 victory over Illinois State in front of 1,182 fans at the Phoenix Sports Center Friday night. The 28-point margin marks the Redbirds' largest margin of defeat this season.
The loss is Illinois State's second straight, and drops their season record to 7-4 heading into a week-long Christmas break. Wisconsin-Green Bay improves to 9-1 overall.
Porath led a group of six Phoenix players in double figures. The Redbirds were led by Kristi Cirone's 10 points, all in the second half. Tiffany Hudson and Wisconsin native Nicolle Lewis each chipped in with eight points.
UW-Green Bay recorded two unanswered 10-point runs in the first half to build as large as an 18-point cushion. After the `Birds cut the Phoenix' 14-point halftime lead to 11 early in the second half, UW-Green Bay went on a 13-5 spurt to claim a 19-point advantage, and never looked back, leading by as many as 25 points in the game's late stages.
Head coach Robin Pingeton was disappointed with her team's performance after a solid effort at Iowa State Wednesday night, but acknowledged that the Redbirds can't dwell on the loss as they head into Missouri Valley Conference play next week.
"Tonight was a very disappointing loss," said Pingeton. "You can't spot a team like Green Bay 10 points and give them extra energy, because you will get embarrassed. They have a great tradition, and have some great wins this season. We weren't where we needed to be from a mental standpoint, and it showed in the beginning. They beat us in all facets of the game, especially early on.
"We've got to go back to the drawing board, and focus on our conference season. We've got a match up against a good Creighton team next week, and that needs to be our focus."
After both teams were held scoreless for the first two and a half minutes, UW-Green Bay forced the Redbirds into an early timeout by going on a 10-0 run. Porath started the spurt with a three-pointer, and Nicole Soulis contributed two field goals in the paint, while Illinois State turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions.
After the `Birds went on a 7-6 run to pull within nine (16-7), UW-Green Bay answered with another 10-0 spurt to claim a commanding 26-9 advantage. Porath added eight points in the spurt. ISU surged back with back-to-back field goals by Kenyatta Shelton and Sara Stevenson, and trailed by a 26-14 margin at the half's third media timeout (7:07).
The Phoenix would lead by as many as 18 points in the next three minutes before Illinois State strung together a 7-2 spurt to pull with 13, 37-24, with 1:49 remaining in the first half. Stevenson and Megan McCracken each hit three-pointers in the stretch. ISU cut the lead to 11 points (the closest the margin had been since the 11:40 mark) after back-to-back post points by Nicolle Lewis and Tamara Butler, but the Phoenix' Natalie Berglin hit a three-pointer as time expired to push the lead to 42-28 at halftime. Porath and Soulis combined for 23 first-half points for UW-Green Bay, while Tamara Butler and Stevenson each chipped in six points for the Redbirds. ISU shot 38 percent and had 11 turnovers in the stanza.
The Redbirds scored on two of their first three possessions of the second half, as Hudson connected on two three-point field goals. But the Phoenix answered each time with an ensuing bucket, including Porath's fourth trey of the game. At the half's first media timeout (15:57), UW-Green Bay owned a 50-35 lead. The Phoenix claimed their largest lead of the game (58-39) three minutes later after completing an 8-4 spurt. Lavesa Glover had two driving field goals in the paint to lead the charge.
Wisconsin-Green Bay kept the pressure on, and clinched its largest lead of 30 points with 42 seconds left in the game.
The Redbirds will open Valley play next Friday (Dec. 29) against Creighton as part of a doubleheader with the ISU men's basketball team at Redbird Arena. The women's tip is set for 8:35 p.m.
