by GREEN BAY, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)–Sophomore forward Jessica Lindstrom scored 13 points and collected a career-high 17 rebounds as Green Bay held Youngstown State to just 20.4 percent (10-of-49) from the field to collect its 20th win of the season over the Penguins, 69-35, on Thursday night at the Kress Center. With the victory, Green Bay has now won at least 20 games in 17-straight seasons dating back to 1999-2000.
Youngstown State hit four 3-pointers in the opening quarter to jump out to a five-point lead, 14-9, with 3:22 to play. However, Green Bay promptly answered by scoring the final nine points of the period, then added the first 11 in the second quarter to take a 29-14 advantage.
Throughout the Phoenix’s 20-0 scoring run, it held the Penguins scoreless for 10 minutes and 10 seconds, including 0-of-12 shooting with four turnovers. Over that very same stretch, Green Bay connected on 7-of-15 of its shots (46.7 percent) to take a commanding 17-point lead into the half, 36-19, a lead it would not surrender for the remainder of the evening.
As has been the case all season, head coach Kevin Borseth received balanced scoring, as four players reached double-figures, led by Lindstrom’s 13. Junior Mehryn Kraker filled the stat sheet with 12 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals, while Lexi Weitzer added a season-high 10 points and Tesha Buck (Mdewakanton Sioux) also 10 points and 4 assists.
Lindstrom’s 17-rebound effort eclipsed Weitzer’s 16 for the most by a Phoenix player this season, and marks the highest total by a Green Bay woman since Julie Wotja posted 20, exactly four years ago, Feb. 11, 2012, against Wright State.
As a team, the Phoenix nearly doubled YSU’s output on the glass (56-29), while outscoring the Penguins 40-5 in the paint and 22-2 in second-chance points.
Green Bay concludes its five-game home stand on Saturday afternoon when it welcomes in second-place Wright State (18-6 overall, 8-3 HL) for the annual PinkZone game. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.
As part of its PinkZone promotion, the first 500-youth fans in the door will receive a pink replica jersey courtesy of Prevea, while the first 700 fans will receive pink texting gloves courtesy of Cellcom.
