DES MOINES, Iowa – The regular season finally tipped off Monday night for the Green Bay women’s basketball team, with the Phoenix falling to the Drake Bulldogs 80-67.
Green Bay (0-1, 0-0) had solid performances from Tatum Koenig and Cassie Schiltz.
Koenig, one of three transfers to join Green Bay during the offseason, tallied a team-high 13 points.
Schiltz scored 12 points, and Jenna Guyer added 10 for the Phoenix.
Green Bay and Drake (1-0, 0-0) were tied at 17 entering the second quarter after both teams came out hot.
The Phoenix worked inside early, scoring 10 of their 17 first-quarter points in the paint.
Bailey Butler had the hot hand, tallying five points in the first 10 minutes after recording a three-pointer, steal, and jumper inside the lane.
The Bulldogs took control in the second period, outscoring Green Bay 15-10.
Drake got hot on the offensive end, making six of 10 field goals in the second.
The Phoenix simultaneously went cold, making just four of 19 shots overall and two of 11 from three-point range.
Both offenses would pour in the points coming out of intermission, combining for 46 points in the third quarter.
Despite four points from Guyer, Green Bay’s deficit would grow slightly, and they trailed 58-47 at the end of the third.
GB started the fourth quarter with the ball and ripped off an 8-0 run to pull the Phoenix within three at 58-55.
Sydney Levy was the driving force in that run, contributing two three-pointers for Green Bay.
Basketball is a game of runs, and from there, the Bulldogs went on a 16-4 run and would eventually take their largest lead of the night at 76-59 with 3:42 left.
Drake scored 20 second-chance points throughout the game and scored 11 fast break points.
Green Bay, by comparison, scored only four second-chance points and did not capitalize on any fast breaks in the game.
The Phoenix will play their first home game of the season against Marist at 1 p.m. on Saturday in a non conference matchup.