Full Recap and Stats
Player Of The Game: Angela Rodriguez was everywhere for the Panthers Saturday. The steady senior scored a team-high 23 points and seemed to come up with the big shot or big pass (8 assists) when needed. Most importantly, she had just three turnovers on the day - NONE in the second half.
Rodriguez was the pick on the radio and joined Scott Warras following the contest as his "Star of the Game", hear that interview HERE.
Kyle Rechlicz also joined Warras on the postgame show. What did she have to say after Milwaukee finally broke that 17-game streak against the Phoenix? You'll have to listen HERE.
Play of the Game: Two things stand out dramatically for me. The first was the 11-0 run to start the second half. Here was a team that was down 9, playing in Green Bay and could have folded up shop. No chance. They blitzed back into the lead and did it in less then 3 minutes. You could sense right then and there that the game was UWM's.
The other was Emily Decorah. Green Bay's defensive plan really took her out of the contest. In fact, she did not even have a field goal attempt in the game until there were less than 7 minutes to play. But, with about 2:30 to go, just when Green Bay had cut the deficit back under 10, just when it was time to sink or swim, Decorah nailed a big 3 from the corner and the game was OVER.
Key Stats: The Panthers have now won 3 of their last 4 and have done it with defense that was not part of the game earlier this season. Today they held GB to 27 second-half points and 38.3 percent shooting. More importantly, the Phoenix went just 4-for-32 on three-pointers.
News and Notes: The win was the first for Milwaukee in the series since February of 2006, a span of 17 games. If you look at the most recent matchups, not many of them have even been that close on the final scores. Green Bay had won (in reverse order), by margins of victory for the Phoenix have been 24, 25, 46, 35, 18, 48, 24, 11, 21, 24, 10 and 11 before finally playing a close one in 2008 - a 66-65 loss. For perspective, the seniors on the UWM roster currently did not even have their drivers licenses the last time UWM beat Green Bay.
Up Next: It's off to Ohio to continue the hot streak, starting with Cleveland State Thursday.
