Phoenix women beat down dogs

The Phoenix women's basketball team got back to its winning ways Jan. 28 by defeating the Butler Bulldogs, 73-62 at the Kress Events Center. The Phoenix opened the game with vengeance as it took out the aggression it had built up during its two-game losing streak on the visiting Bulldogs. Six minutes into the game the Phoenix had a 13-4 lead, primarily fueled by its defense and 3-point shooting. "We are trying to get back to the Green Bay way, taking pride in the defensive end," said junior guard Celeste Hoewisch. The Phoenix made three 3-pointers in the games opening six minutes and went 6 of 7 from behind the 3-point arch in the first half. Its 3-point shooting was not the only offensive spark, as the Phoenix shot 75 percent from the field in the first half, the highest of any half for the Phoenix this season. "It was as good a half as we played in a while," said Phoenix Head Coach Matt Bollant. "We focused on our execution. We talk a lot about playing hard, playing smart and playing together. That's the way we played in the first half." The Phoenix was led by sophomores, forward Julie Wojta with 16 and guard Hannah Quilling with 9 of the Phoenix 43 first-half points. The Phoenix aggressive defense led to 17 points, off eight first-half Bulldogs' turnovers, giving the Phoenix a 43-23 halftime lead. Bollant directed his focus toward the defensive side of the ball when he awarded freshman guard Sarah Eichler the start over fellow teammate, junior guard Heather Golden. It was Eichler's first start since Quilling returned from her broken finger injury early in the season. "Defense is definitely our focus," Bollant said. "It's been our focus the whole time. We talk about putting our five best defenders on the floor, and Sarah is one of our five best defenders." Eichler said the coaches informed her Jan. 25 she would be starting, but Eichler's preparation was no different. "We all prepare the same way," Eichler said. "We all challenge each other. Whether you start or not, you're a big part of this team." Bollant said, "We take it one game at a time. We are going to need everybody. It doesn't matter who starts." With a 20-point lead at halftime, the Phoenix was in control of the game, but the Bulldogs answered in the second half. The Phoenix started the second half strengthening its lead to 23 points with 15 minutes left. Defensive intensity and consistent shooting carried over to the second half and helped the Phoenix hold a 20-point lead until the six-minute mark of the second half. With time running out on the Bulldogs, the team rallied to close the gap. The Phoenix defense struggled, and its electric shooting was irrelevant in the closing five minutes, as the Bulldogs found ways to make open shots and tighten up their defense. "We focused on the end result a little bit and lost our aggressiveness," Bollant said. "It's a hard balance when you have a lead." The Bulldogs closed the lead to eight with 49 seconds remaining in the game, but the rally ended there as the Phoenix made its free throws down the stretch to seal the victory, 73-62. The Phoenix shot less than 35 percent from the field in the second half and finished the game with a 55.3 shooting percentage, falling short of the Phoenix record of 56.4 percent for an entire game. Once again the Phoenix leading scorers came from its starting five, as Wojta led the team with 23 points, followed by Hoewisch with 14, Quilling with 10 and junior forward Kayla Tetschlag with 9. A problem this year's team may encounter is that the scoring does not go deep enough, because its typically led by the same three or four players. But this is not a concern of the team. "We have a saying, whoever is the open player is our best player," Hoewisch said. "If you are open, knock down shots." Bollant said the team's main focus after its two-game losing streak was to get the players' focus on why they are playing basketball. "We started playing not to lose a while back," Bollant said. "We talked about the love of the game. Enjoy the game and have passion for the game. Winning and losing will take care of itself." Bollant's mentality will have to stay consistent if the Phoenix plan to hold its No. 23 national ranking and first-place tie in the Horizon League, with nine games remaining. The Phoenix (18-2) (7-2 conference) will face possibly its most difficult challenge of the season Feb. 4, when it travels to Michigan to take on co-conference leader Detroit, for first place in the Horizon League.