| Phoenix Eliminate Penguins From Tournament, 63-53 |
| Friday, March 3 2006 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Green Bay, Wis. – Youngstown State shot just 20.8 percent from the floor in the first half and UW-Green Bay connected on 53.2 percent from the field for the game en route to a 63-53 victory over the Penguins on Thursday evening at the Phoenix Sports Center. Youngstown State finishes the season with an 8-20 record while UW-Green Bay improves to 23-5 and advances to the semifinals against Illinois-Chicago on Sunday in Milwaukee, Wis. Freshman Monique Godfrey led the Penguins with 13 points and four steals while sophomore Jessica Schloemp just missed a double-double with 12 points and nine rebounds. The Penguins fell behind quickly, 9-2, at the 16:31 mark but slice their deficit down to three, 11-8, with 13:35 remaining after a jumper by Schloemp. UWGB, however, used a 15-4 run over the next nine minutes to extend its lead to 14, 26-12, with 4:54 remaining. Two free throws by Schloemp, a jumper by freshman Megan Snorf and a 3-pointer by freshman Toni Roscoe cut the Phoenix lead down to seven, 26-19, with 54 seconds remaining, but two charity tosses by UWGB’s Kayla Groh gave the Phoenix a nine-point halftime advantage, 28-19. The Penguins scored the first five points of the second half to cut the lead to four points, 28-24, after a jumper by My’Kea Cohill and a 3-pointer by Godfrey at the 18:37 mark. The Phoenix extended their cushion to 10 points, 34-24, on a jumper by Amanda Popp at the 17:32 mark, but the Penguins trimmed the lead to six, 36-30, on a lay up by Schloemp with 15:57 remaining. UWGB’s Natalie Berglin, who scored a game-high 18 points, hit a 3-pointer and Nicole Soulis added a jumper to push the Phoenix lead back to 11 points, 41-30 with 14:21 left. The Phoenix led by as many as 15 points, 49-34, after another Berglin 3-pointer, but the Penguins chipped away to slice the lead back down to seven points, 52-45, with 7:17 left after jumper by Cohill, a 3-pointer by Godfrey, a lay up by Nikita LaFleur and a jumper by Snorf. Youngstown State would not get any closer. The Penguins, who shot 46.4 percent in the second half, out-rebounded the Phoenix, 37-25, and committed just five turnovers after the intermission. |