By Murray Gleffe
Correspondent
GREEN BAY — Sydney Levy came into Thursday’s game averaging a shade more than six points per game.
Levy pumped in 21 points to lead the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s basketball team to a 75-46 Horizon League victory over University Illinois-Chicago (UIC) Feb. 17 at the Kress Events Center.
The Phoenix have won nine straight games and kept pace with Youngstown State and IUPUI in the loss column.
“For the most part, our defense was good,” Green Bay Head Coach Kevin Borseth said. “We got some good looks today. It’s not easy to win that many games in a row.”
Jaida McCloud led the Flames with 16 points.
Green Bay (15-5 overall, 11-3 Horizon) had 20 assists on 29 made field goals and outscored UIC 44-16 in bench points.
“It’s a stat you want to have,” Borseth said about the assists. “There wasn’t lots of one-on-one stuff. I like how we shared the ball tonight. Cassie (Schiltz) and Sydney (Levy) passed the ball back and forth three times on one possession, and I didn’t know who was going to shoot. It was a team effort.”
Before a crowd of 1,681, UIC’s Kristian Young hit a couple of field goals early to even the game at 9-9.
Levy, who connected on a triple when she entered the contest, hit a runner high off the window a bit later to give Green Bay a five-point lead.
At the end of the first quarter, Jasmine Kondrakiewicz scored on a conventional three-point play to give the Phoenix a 19-11 lead.
Levy continued to scorch the nets to start the second quarter.
Her elbow jumper and two field goals from behind the 3-point arc bumped the lead to 29-23 five minutes before halftime.
“I’m in a good offensive rhythm right now,” Levy said. “I took my open shots, and they were dropping today. As a team, we try not to underestimate anyone.”
UIC (2-21, 1-17) wouldn’t go away behind the shooting of McCloud and rebounding of Leah Yarbrough.
“We get everybody’s best shot,” Borseth said. “(UIC) shot and moved the ball well in the first half. We focused on the McCloud kid in the scouting report. She’s a nice player.”
Fortunately, for the Phoenix, they hit 8-of-11 shots (73%) in the second quarter to close the half on a 13-2 spurt, taking a 39-25 lead at intermission.
Maddy Schreiber provided a spark for Green Bay in the third quarter hitting a couple of jump shots to increase the margin to 19 points after three quarters.
The Phoenix put the game away by scoring 11 of the first 13 points in the final quarter to go up 66-38 with six minutes remaining.
With a few minutes left, reserves Caelan Givens and Kendall Renard (Green Bay Preble High School) entered the game and combined to score seven points down the stretch.
“There’s not enough playing time for everybody,” Borseth said. “It’s hard on everybody. Lots of times, (Givens and Renard) don’t get in at all. When they do come in, they’re ready. It’s a testament to their work ethic to translate what they learned in practice to the game. They both have bright futures.”
Green Bay will play league-leading IUPUI Saturday, Feb. 19, before hitting the road for a three-game road trip to end the regular season.
“(IUPUI) is the best team in the league,” Borseth said. “They had the two forfeit losses in conference. Macee Williams is the best player in the conference, without question. Nobody has stopped her yet. They also have some transfer kids who make them solid. We’ll have to be on our best behavior Saturday.”