By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY—The Green Bay women’s basketball team broke out of its scoring slump in defeating UIC 73-36 at the Kress Events Center Jan. 19.
“If you get everybody involved, you are playing well,” said Kevin Borseth, Green Bay head coach. “Offensively, we shared the ball – we had good opportunities in the first half, and then in the second half, Caitlyn (Hibner) hit three consecutive shots to get us going in the right direction.”
Hibner led the Phoenix with 14 points and eight rebounds, while Patricia Gallasova added 10 points and three dimes.
Gallasova came into the contest averaging a little more than a point a game.
In addition, Madison Wolf came up one point short of a double-double, registering nine points and 12 rebounds in 27 minutes of action.
Everybody who stepped on the court for Green Bay scored.
UIC was paced by Tiana Jackson, who had 12 points.
The Flames scored the first two field goals of the game, and it was all Phoenix the final 38 minutes.
Madison Wolf hit a pair of free throws in the first quarter, then followed it up with a beautiful finish around the rim from a high-low set from Hibner to give Green Bay a one-point lead.
Frankie Wurtz connected on a triple near the end of the first 10 minutes to give the Phoenix a 19-10 lead after one.
Just as effective as the offense was, the Green Bay defense was equally up to the task.
The Phoenix held the Flames without a field goal for almost nine minutes, holding leading scorers Tylah Lampley and Jada Nneji to six points combined at intermission.
Both came into the contest averaging in double figures.
Green Bay took a 34-17 lead into the third quarter and extended their lead to 25 points after Hibner went on a barrage — hitting from 17, 22 and 23 feet to give the Phoenix a comfortable margin, necessitating a timeout from Flames head coach Tasha Pointer.
Gallasova, who played a season-high 21 minutes, hit three field goals in the second half and directed the Green Bay offense at the lead-guard spot.
Green Bay kept building its lead, as the Flames’ shots kept clanking off the iron.
With 7:09 left in the final quarter, the Phoenix took their biggest lead of the night at 66-26.
“Coach always says one game doesn’t make a season,” said Hibner. “But this was good for us today, to not only get the win but to bury a team. I don’t think we’ve done it quite this season. To get up and stay up is nice.”
Box score
UIC: 10, 7, 9, 10—36
Green Bay: 19, 15, 27, 12—73
Flames: Jackson 12, Nneji 6, Burks 5, Thompson 5, Coles 5, Lake 2, Presswood 1
Phoenix: Hibner 14, Oskey 10, Gallasova 10, Madison Wolf 9, Pingel 9, Murphy 8, Wurtz 5, Mack Wolf 3, Brecht 3, Robson 2