BY GREEN BAY ATHLETICS
GREEN BAY – The Green Bay women’s basketball team outscored the Niagara Purple Eagles 25-5 in the second quarter on the way to the first WNIT win in program history, 84-52, on Thursday night at the Kress Center.
The Phoenix (28-5) had two players score in double figures, led by Cassie Schiltz, who had a career-high 22 points. Sydney Levy tacked on 18 points on 8 of 11 shooting and Jasmine Kondrakiewicz added nine points, six rebounds and two steals.
The Purple Eagles (18-13) were led by Angel Parker, who scored 17 points, tallied four rebounds and four steals.
The Green Bay defense held Niagara to just 29.7% from the field, including just 5.9% from 3-point range.
Green Bay started the game with a 7-0 run starting at 7:32 left in the first quarter, culminating in a 3 from Schiltz, to take a 9-2 lead. The offensive onslaught continued, and four late points from Tatum Koenig helped the Phoenix take a 24-13 lead into the break. Eleven of Schiltz’s 22 points came in the first quarter, with the guard often open after Green Bay broke the Niagara press.
The Phoenix dismantled the Purple Eagles in the second quarter, scoring 25 points and only allowing five. Bailey Butler set the tone early for Green Bay, converting on an and-1 only 30 seconds into the quarter. Levy scored 10 points on the strength of a pair of 3s, and Green Bay did not allow a basket in the final four minutes of the quarter. The Phoenix took a resounding 49-18 lead to halftime.
Green Bay played strong in the paint during the third quarter, with both Kondrakiewicz and Jenna Guyer making multiple baskets. Niagara went on a 6-0 run and came to within 25 with a minute to go, and the Phoenix called a quick timeout. It came out determined to put the game out of reach for good, and scored seven points in the final 38 seconds of the quarter courtesy of Guyer, Schiltz and Butler. GB led 70-38 at the end of the quarter.
The game slowed down in the fourth quarter, with the Phoenix tallying its lowest point total of any quarter. Callie Genke had the hot hand, scoring four points and tallying two assists in the stanza. The Phoenix opened up as much as a 34-point lead in the quarter, but a late run by Niagara brought the gap down to 30. A Brooklyn Blackburn layup with six seconds to go brought the final score to 84-52.
The Phoenix will host the Bowling Green Falcons in the second round of the WNIT on Monday, March 20 at 7 p.m. in the Kress Center. Bowling Green defeated Liberty 87-80 on Thursday to advance to the second round.