Green Bay overpowers Southeast women

~ UWGB went on a 20-0 run during the first half and won 88-50

Southeast Missouri State coach John Ishee knew it would take a superlative performance to have a shot at a major upset.

The Redhawks failed to produce as Wisconsin-Green Bay showed why it ranks among the nation's most successful women's basketball programs.

UWGB scored the first nine points Sunday and was never headed during an 88-50 romp at the Show Me Center.

Southeast fell to 2-3 as it suffered a third straight loss, all by at least 26 points to strong opponents. The Redhawks also had their nine-game home winning streak snapped.

The Phoenix are 5-0 as they posted their 23rd straight regular-season victory.

"I knew how good they were coming in," Ishee said. "They're a really, really good team. They're going to beat a lot of people."

The Phoenix went 29-4 last year and 18-0 in the Horizon League on their way to an 11th straight regular-season conference title. The Phoenix advanced to the NCAA tournament for their 12th consecutive postseason berth.

UWGB, 134-25 over the previous five seasons, has won at least 20 games the past 10 years.

"They are one of the top programs in the country," Ishee said.

Despite the 38-point home loss, Ishee said he is not discouraged with the Redhawks, who have nine freshmen among 13 players.

"These last three games have not been a lot of fun, but I do see progress from our troops," Ishee said. "Playing with a lot of young people, new people, and playing some really top quality programs. ... I saw a lot of good things. Our fight and togetherness. We gave a good effort."

Freshman guard Jasmine Davis, who led Southeast with a game-high 18 points, said it's all a learning process for the Redhawks.

"We have to fight through it and work hard in practice," said Davis, whose previous top offensive output had been 17 points during a Nov. 16 upset win over Southern Mississippi.

Despite falling behind 9-0 and 15-5, Southeast hung around for a while thanks to some early hot shooting.

Southeast pulled within 15-14 and was down just 22-20 midway through the first half.

But UWGB scored 20 straight points in less than four minutes to go up 42-20 and the rout was on.

The Phoenix led 56-32 at halftime. Their margin never dipped below 24 points in the second half and they were ahead by at least 30 points over the final 10 minutes.

"I thought we played well for about 12 minutes," Ishee said.

Southeast trailed by 24 points at the break despite shooting 60 percent from the field. The Redhawks' problem was that they didn't attempt enough shots as they committed 19 first-half turnovers.

Southeast finished the game with 29 turnovers. Ishee said UWGB had plenty to do with that.

"Their length. ... when teams are as fast as you and as quick as you and they're five inches taller, it makes it tough," Ishee said.

The Redhawks attempted just 15 first-half shots compared to 35 for UWGB, which connected at a 54.3-percent clip and made 8 of 13 3-pointers (61.5 percent).

"They run motion [offense] as good as anyone in America," Ishee said.

Southeast took care of the ball better in the second half but shot just 18.2 percent to finish the game at 35.1 percent (13 of 37).

UWGB also cooled off in the final period, shooting 32.4 percent to finish at 43.5 percent (30 of 69). Thanks to having only 12 turnovers and holding a 20-8 edge in offensive rebounds, the Phoenix attempted 32 more field goals than Southeast.

The Phoenix outscored Southeast 42-11 in points off turnovers and 34-8 in points in the paint.

While Davis was Southeast's lone double-figure scorer, six UWGB players reached that level. Sophomore Julie Wojta paced the Phoenix with 14 points.

Southeast begins Ohio Valley Conference play Thursday at Austin Peay.

"We'll be ready to fight," Davis said.