by By: Stephen Wagner
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (GreenBayPhoenix.com)– The Green Bay women’s basketball team opened the New Year at Milwaukee this afternoon, taking on the Panthers at the Klotsche Center for the commencement of its Horizon League schedule. The Phoenix (11-2) proved to be too much for the Panthers (5-6) and worked its way to a 63-42 victory, highlighted by a career-high 16 rebounds from Lexi Weitzer and a game-high 17 points from Kaili Lukan.
Green Bay held the Panthers to just 8 points on 3-of-11 shooting in the first quarter to own a six-point advantage (14-8) heading into the second. Senior Kaili Lukan and sophomore Allie LeClaire were the first to get things going offensively, scoring six and eight points in the first ten minutes, respectively. Lukan was a perfect 3-for-3, while LeClaire was 3-for-4 from the field.
Green Bay would go on the pick up the offensive intensity in the second quarter, as the Phoenix poured in 20 points and headed into the locker room with a 34-22 advantage.
Green Bay seemed to seal the victory early in the fourth quarter, piecing together a 13-0 run and leading the Panthers 58-34. Junior Tesha Buck (Mdewakanton Sioux) buried a pair of three-pointers during the run to contribute six points. Milwaukee was unable to make any headway on the deficit the remainder of the game, as Green Bay worked its way to a 63-42 victory.
Weitzer scored four points to pair with her career-high 16 rebounds in 21 minutes. The 16-rebound total is the highest individual effort on the season for the Phoenix, outmatching Jessica Lindstrom’s 15-rebound performance against Dayton.
Lukan scored a game-high 17 points on 8-of-12 shooting, pulled down eight rebounds and doled out four assists in 32 minutes. LeClaire finished with 15 points on a 5-of-11 performance and dished out four assist of her own in 34 minutes.
Green Bay increased its winning streak to eight games and improved to 62-18 all-time against the Milwaukee-based in-state rival. In addition, the 42 points allowed by the Phoenix set a new season best for lowest points allowed.
Green Bay will now ready itself for a trip to Ohio, when it takes on Cleveland State Thursday, Jan. 7 at 4:30 p.m. and Youngstown State Saturday, Jan. 9 at 3:30 p.m. to continue league play.
