by ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In a nail-biting game that came down to the final seconds, the Green Bay women’s basketball team defeated the Saint Louis Billikens 73-70 on the road Friday night.
St. Louis (1-4, 0-0 Atlantic 10) got a great performance from Kyla McMakin, who ran the offense for the Billikens, dropping 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting. The Phoenix (2-1, 0-0 HL) had all five starters score in double figures, led by Cassie Schiltz’s 14 points. Bailey Butler tacked on 13 points, and Hailey Oskey (Oneida) filled the stat sheet with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Both teams began the game slowly, but Maddy Schreiber got things going, tacking on five points, one rebound, and one assist in the opening frame. Green Bay extended the lead to seven at 11-4 after Butler made a layup with 5:52 left. However, St. Louis pulled to within two after McMakin scored a layup to make it 14-12 with 2:56 remaining. Triples from Schreiber and Sydney Levy would give the Phoenix a 20-14 advantage heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, the Phoenix started pulling away and eventually took their first double-digit lead when Callie Genke drilled a three, making it 39-28 with 3:18 left before intermission. The Billikens closed the half with an 8-4 run capped by Briana Johns’ three-pointer at the buzzer.
GB got off to a strong start with a balanced offensive attack. The first four baskets made by the Phoenix were all by different players (Butler, Schreiber, Blackburn, and Schiltz), but GB was held scoreless for 2:57, allowing St. Louis to climb back into the game, cutting the deficit to four at 58-54 entering the fourth quarter.
The matchup lived up to the hype, with Green Bay averaging 70.5 points per contest and St. Louis 69.0 PPG. St. Louis outscored GB 16-15 in the final frame, but the Phoenix, who finished last season seventh in the nation in free throw percentage, went 6-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch thanks to Schiltz, Butler, and Oskey. McMakin tossed up a long three to make it interesting, but Green Bay held on for a 73-70 victory.
