Phoenix tames rival Panthers in early-season clash

Josh Brewer

Fourth Estate

Photo by Matt Becker/Fourth Estate

Senior forward Nicole Soulis scores 18 of her game-high 24 points in the first half of UWGB’s 85-70 win over UW-Milwaukee Jan. 13.

National television crews invaded the crowded confines of the Phoenix Sports Center Jan. 13, and they, along with the sellout crowd of 1,850, got a first-hand glimpse of UW-Green Bay’s 85-70 victory over in-state rival UW-Milwaukee. The victory elevated the Phoenix to 13-3 overall and 4-0 in Horizon League play. The win was Kevin Borseth’s 200th as head coach at UWGB.

The game featured a battle of two first-team all-conference players, as UWGB’s Nicole Soulis matched up with UWM’s Traci Edwards. The top two scorers in the Horizon League did not let their respective fans down, as Soulis led all scorers with 24 points while Edwards had a team-high 18 points.

Soulis was one of four Phoenix players in double-figures for the game. Natalie Berglin tallied 16 points, Amanda Popp scored 14 and Rachel Porath added 10.

Fans at the PSC had the arena rocking as soon as the home team hit the court five minutes before tip-off. The electricity continued to grow, contributing to a 16-5 game-opening run by the Phoenix.

Included in the PSC’s sellout crowd was a student section packed with rabid Phoenix fans. The students relentlessly supported the Phoenix all the way up to the final buzzer. Soulis knew a strong student section would be a decided advantage.

“With school starting next weekend, a lot of people were talking about how they were going to come back early just so they could be at this game,” Soulis said a day before the game. “With students (and) community, it’s going to be huge.”

Soulis credited the electric environment after the game as well. “If we didn’t get off to a solid start, we were going to dig ourselves a hole. That’s not what we wanted to do,” Soulis said. “I think (it was important) just getting momentum, getting the crowd into it, because we feed off their energy. If they’re high energy, we’re high energy — so that helped us right away.”

The Phoenix rode that momentum all the way up to halftime. UWGB led 47-28 at the break, paced by Soulis’ 18 first-half points. The team shot 64 percent from the field in the opening 20 minutes, while holding UWM to a 41.4 percent shooting clip. The Phoenix also shot 54.5 percent (six for 11) from behind the arc in the half.

For the most part, the second half was very similar to the first. After halftime, the Phoenix continued their hot shooting, extending their 19-point halftime lead over the visiting Panthers. A layup by Porath extended the lead to 27, which was the largest of the game for the Phoenix.

A late rally by UWM proved to only lessen the blow of a dominating defeat at the hands of their hated rivals. Thanks in part to UWGB’s 16-5 run to open the game, the Phoenix never trailed in the game.

After shooting 64 percent in the first half, the Phoenix had a relatively small drop-off in that category in the second half. UWGB shot 56 percent in the second stanza, finishing with a 60 percent shooting pace for the game.

Borseth was happy with the victory after the game.

“It’s a great win,” Borseth said. “Obviously, after last year (with) two times Milwaukee handling us, (to) be able to come out tonight and to get a win against them was important. It was a good night for us.”

One thing that Borseth made a point of after the victory was how his team took care of the ball, both for better and for worse.

“We had seven (turnovers) in the last two minutes … that’s the part that really has me fuming,” Borseth said. “Other than that, I thought we did a great job of taking care of it … that’s one of our strengths. We’re not overly big, we’re not overly athletic at times, so we need to make sure that we really take care of it and make the best use of it when we have it in our hands.”

The Phoenix looks to extend their winning streak to 11 as they play host to Cleveland State tonight at the PSC. The Phoenix and Panthers will butt heads for the second time this season Feb. 10 in Milwaukee.