Wright State University
14-14, 11-6HL
Green Bay
24-4, 16-1HL
Women Drop 78-73 Overtime Decision at Green Bay
3/6/2008 12:00:00 PM | Women's Basketball
Wright State led by seven with 5:20 to go in regulation, but Green Bay rallied to force the game into overtime and then took control in the extra period as the Phoenix defeated the Raiders 78-73 in a battle between the top two teams in Horizon League women's basketball action at the Kress Center Thursday night.
The Raiders went in front 28-27 on an Erica Richardson jumper with 3:04 remaining in the first half, only to see Green Bay close the period with a 10-2 run, four each from Lavessa Glover and Kayla Groh, to take a 37-30 lead at the break.
Three straight three-pointers from Whitney Lewis tied the game at 39 three minutes into the second half and another triple from the senior forward put WSU up 48-44 at the 14:55 mark.
Wright State later extended its lead to 53-48 on two Shey Peddy foul shots with 13:01 remaining, but back came the Phoenix with a 9-3 burst over the next four minutes to regain the advantage at 57-56.
Peddy, though, followed with eight unanswered points of her own on a layup and a pair of threes to make it 64-57 with 5:20 left in regulation.
Green Bay again would rally to go up 67-66 with a Glover jumper with 1:59 remaining, but Richardson tied the game by hitting the first of two foul shots at the 51.3 mark.
Richardson, though, missed the second and the game headed into overtime as the Phoenix missed a three on its next possession and the Raiders could not convert on a one-and-one attempt or a jumper in the closing seconds.
The two teams exchanged scores in overtime until Glover put Green Bay up for good at 73-71 on a jumper with 2:23 left. A steal resulted in two Rachel Porath free throws and Wright State would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
The Raiders shot 54 percent for the contest overall and were 11 of 19 from three-point range, including eight of 10 in the second half. The 11 threes tie a school record as WSU also hit 11 at Loyola on February 28, 1996. Green Bay, meanwhile, hit for 59 percent overall, but was just one of six from behind the arc.
The Phoenix, though, made up the difference by hitting 15 of 18 from the foul line, eight of 10 after halftime, while the Raiders were only six of 12, with five of those misses coming after the 1:38 mark in the second half. Green Bay also led in points in the paint (38-24) and in points off of turnovers (35-28) as the Phoenix forced 31 WSU turnovers while committing 23.
Peddy led the Raiders with 24 points, 15 coming in the second half, while Lewis added 20, all but three in the second half. LaShawna Thomas chipped in 11 while Charne Dixon had eight points and six assists.
Glover paced all scorers with 34 points on 17 of 21 shooting for Green Bay (24-4, 16-1 Horizon) while Groh had 17 and Porath 14.
Wright State, now 14-14 overall and 11-6 in the Horizon League, closes out the regular season Saturday at 3:00 Eastern at Milwaukee. With Cleveland State and Youngstown State both losing Thursday, the Raiders have clinched the #2 seed for next week's Horizon League Tournament.
