Wright State Captures 2019 #HLWBB Title at #MotorCityMadness
Rachel White
Stars of the Day
No.1 Wright State 55, No. 2 Green Bay 52
DETROIT - In the Motor City Madness women’s championship game, the No. 1 seed Wright State Raiders captured the conference tournament title with a 55-52 victory over the No. 2 seed Green Bay Phoenix. The Raiders last cut down the Horizon League nets in 2014, also with a defeat of Green Bay.
Senior Emily Vogelpohl drilled a clutch jumper with just over a minute remaining to give Wright State a two-point advantage that it would not relinquish.
“My teammates definitely give me that confidence and Trina (head coach Katrina Merriweather) does too,” Vogelpohl said. “We know Green Bay is a good team and well-coached, so we knew they’d make a run. We just weathered the storm and I had the ball in my hands at the time, so I just made the shot.”
Vogelpohl followed with two pressure-packed free throws to put the Raiders up four, but Green Bay senior Laken James sank a triple to slice the deficit to one.
The regular season champion Raiders buckled down for one final defensive stop, forcing a 3-point miss from Carly Mohns. The rebound was pulled down by Vogelpohl and the celebration was on for Katrina Merriweather’s relentless group of Raiders.
The first quarter saw airtight defense from both squads.
Green Bay hounded the Raiders into nine consecutive misses. Wright State forced the Phoenix to misfire on 10 of their first 11 shots.
After one quarter of play, the Phoenix held a narrow 11-9 advantage. Green Bay got a clutch 3 off the bench from freshman Hailey Oskey. Junior Michal Miller had seven of the nine Wright State points.
Horizon League Coach of the Year Merriweather’s regular season champion Raiders began to impose their will in the second quarter.
Senior Symone Simmons drilled a 3 to give Wright State the lead. Freshman of the Year Angel Baker connected with Emily Vogelpohl for a layup, then Baker scored in transition and the Raiders boisterous fans were screaming in delight.
It was a game-turning 11-0 run, combined with eight consecutive missed shots from the Phoenix.
The dry spell for Kevin Borseth’s club finally came to an end when sophomore Lyndsey Robson knocked home a 3 to cut Wright State’s lead to 20-14. Things looked to be settling down for Green Bay as they whittled the lead to five, but the Raiders finished the half with a flourish.
An Angel Baker floater and four perfect Tyler Frierson free throws gave the energized Raiders a commanding 27-16 lead heading to the locker room.
Redshirt sophomore Meghan Pingel had a blistering start to the third quarter, tossing in a short jumper and a triple from the left wing to get a little momentum back on the side of the defending champions. Consecutive baskets from Mackenzie Wolf and a long Hailey Oskey 3 had the Phoenix nudge back in front, 36-35.
Vogelpohl converted a short jumper to give Wright State back a razor-thin one-point edge entering the championship-deciding quarter.
Simmons drilled her second 3-pointer of the game to put Wright State up 42-38. Tournament MVP Miller angled in a glasser for a six-point lead. Vogelpohl beat the shot clock with a long 3 and suddenly Wright State was up nine with less than seven minutes to play.
But Borseth’s Green Bay Phoenix never stopped battling.
Frankie Wurtz hit a pair of free throws and Madison Wolf scored inside. Mohns and James connected to draw Green Bay to just two, 49-47.
But then Wright State did what they do best: grab offensive rebounds. Taylor missed a 3 and Simmons suctioned in the board. Then Baker misfired and Frierson pulled it down. It was a defining sequence for this big, physical Wright State team that has been outmuscling opponents all season long.
For the game, the Raiders grabbed 14 offensive rebounds while the Phoenix mustered just three.
The multiple comebacks from Green Bay was representative of the longstanding excellence of Borseth’s program.
“I think it describes our whole season,” said Laken James. “We never gave up no matter what was thrown at us. That fourth quarter goes to show. Obviously we wish it could go the other way, but I’m proud of the girls for how they fought.”
Borseth echoed his senior’s sentiments.
“We literally played an entire year without our starting five from last year,” Borseth said. “To get back into this championship game is absolutely remarkable. It’s a testament to our staff and our players. I’m very proud of that.”
Mackenzie Wolf topped Green Bay’s scoring efforts with 10 points. James had a solid all-around game with eight points, eight assists and five rebounds. It was a difficult afternoon for All-League First Team member Jen Wellnitz, who was scoreless in 21 minutes while battling a balky knee.
Merriweather noticed a key difference from this year’s champion squad.
“That’s what’s different about this group; they were always in attack mode,” Merriweather said. “When Green Bay made plays, made shots, we had confidence that we could turn around and make them too. Whereas, I would argue that in the past we’d go, ‘Oh my goodness, what are we gonna do’? That’s just where this team is different.”
Vogelpohl led the Raiders with 14 points. Miller added 13. Simmons and Frierson combined to rip down 27 rebounds.
The all-tournament team consisted of MVP Michal Miller, Mackenzie Taylor and Emily Vogelpohl from Wright State, Mackenzie Wolf from Green Bay and Alison Smolinski from Youngstown State.
With the loss, Green Bay’s record drops to 22-9.
With the victory, Wright State (27-6) earns an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament.