by GREEN BAY — The Green Bay women’s basketball team closed out its loaded nonconference slate on Saturday afternoon, one which consisted of nine NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago and three opponents ranked inside the nation’s top 25. The Phoenix battled South Dakota State in the finale, falling to the Jackrabbits 60-55.
Sophomore Hailey Oskey (Oneida) made her season debut in the matchup, earning the start and knocking down her first two attempts from the floor. She finished with seven points and made some strong defensive contributions in 35 minutes.
At the half, Green Bay’s advantage was only three points, 24-21, but the statistics seemed to tell a different story. The Phoenix forced 14 turnovers and pulled down 10 offensive rebounds while attempting 15 more shots than the Jacks.
Green Bay’s advantage increased to seven with 6 minutes, 26 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but that’s when SDSU began to take control. The Jackrabbits scored 14-straight points the next four minutes while the Phoenix missed 12-straight shots and suffered through a scoring drought for more than five minutes.
South Dakota State led by seven entering the fourth quarter, but an 11-0 run that featured three triples from the Phoenix lowered the deficit to only a single point with 6:06 left. Green Bay was never able to regain the lead, and the Jackrabbits made four free throws in the final 13 seconds to hang on for a 60-55 victory.
Green Bay now enters Horizon League play with a losing record, a program first since the 1998-99 when Kevin Borseth was in his inaugural season with the Phoenix. Green Bay began its stretch of 20-consecutive regular season championships in the same season.
GB opens the league season at home next Saturday with Northern Kentucky at 1 p.m., followed by a pairing with Wright State on Monday night
