Green Bay Crowned 2018 #MotorCityMadness Women's Champions
Joey Yashinsky
No. 1 Green Bay 62, No. 3 Wright State 44
In the Motor City Madness women’s championship game, it was the No. 1 seed Green Bay Phoenix capturing a fourth straight conference tournament title with a 62-44 victory over the No. 3 seed Wright State Raiders. The Phoenix have cut down the Horizon League nets in seven of the last eight years
Having trailed at the half in two previous tournament games, Kevin Borseth’s squad was determined not to let it happen a third time.
They reversed that trend in a major way, racing out to a 17-point advantage at intermission.
“Slow start game one, finish strong -- slow start game two, finish strong,” said Borseth. “Fast start game three, I’m thinking, ‘Okay, now what?’ Do we have a let down in the second half or just go? We knew we had to come out in a hurry and luckily we were able to sustain it for a whole game.”
It was All-Horizon League Second Team senior Allie LeClaire that broke the game open for Green Bay. LeClaire ended the first quarter with a circus basket, tossing in a shot while crashing to the ground and drawing a foul in the process. It put the Phoenix up 18-8 after one quarter.
LeClaire stayed hot in the second, drilling a 3 to put Green Bay up 13. Then she cashed in again from downtown. And one more time for good measure. For the half, LeClaire racked up 16 points and six rebounds, and the Phoenix led 38-21.
The suffocating Green Bay defense held Wright State without a basket over the last seven minutes of the second quarter, the Raiders misfiring on nine consecutive shots during the stretch.
“That’s the best defensive team in the country,” said Wright State head coach Katrina Merriweather. “It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact.”
Chelsea Welch, the Horizon League Player of the Year, managed to score 11 points in the half, but shot just 2-of-10 from the floor. She’d finish the game 2-of-15 for 13 points.
The Raiders’ flame-throwing junior Mackenzie Taylor could not carry over her momentum from the previous rounds. After making nine 3-pointers coming into the game, Taylor was quiet in the title game, scoring five points.
Wright State made a slight push late in the third, cutting the Green Bay edge to 47-36. Frontcourt stalwarts Lexi Smith and Nia Sumpter found their way inside for the Raiders to fuel the run.
But Caitlyn Hibner and All-Horizon League First Team member Jessica Lindstrom swished back-to-back 3s for the Phoenix, extending the lead out to 19 and shutting the door on a possible Wright State comeback.
Lindstrom finished with a double-double, collecting 12 points and 14 rebounds.
Horizon League Defensive Player of the Year Jen Wellnitz dished out eight assists, grabbed four steals and helped mute the production of Welch and Taylor.
LeClaire, selected as the Little Caesars Horizon League Women’s Championship Most Valuable Player, led all scorers with 24 points. She averaged over 20 PPG at Motor City Madness, the only player to do so. She was joined on the All-Tournament team by Lindstrom and Wellnitz.
Welch and Taylor also earned All-Tournament honors for the Raiders.
With the loss, Wright State’s record drops to 23-10.
With the victory, Green Bay (29-3) earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. They will await their opponent, with brackets set to be released Monday, March 12 at 7:00 p.m. on ESPN.
All-Tournament Team
Allie LeClaire (MVP), Green Bay
Jessica Lindstrom, Green Bay
Jen Wellnitz, Green Bay
Mackenzie Taylor, Wright State
Chelsea Welch, Wright State