Horizon League Honors Ritchie, EichlerBy: Scott Venci, GreenBayPressGazette.comMarch 12, 2013The Green Bay women’s basketball teamhad two of its standout players recognizedwhen the Horizon League announced itspostseason awards.Senior guard Adrian Ritchie was namedto the league’s first team, while seniorforward Sarah Eichler was named to thesecond team. Both players were selectedto the all-defensive team.“It feels good,” said Ritchie, who also wasnamed the league’s player of the week.“Recognition is obviously a plus. Wealways see it as team awards, because wecan’t be the players we are individuallywithout our teammates pushing us everyday.“Even players you don’t always see.(Freshman guard) Ellen Edison, she isguarding me in practice every day. Shedoesn’t get that recognition, but I’mthe one that has my name in the paper.I thank her, and I thank all of my teammatesand coaches.”Ritchie is averaging a team-high 13.6points and 5.0 rebounds and is shooting44.7 percent. She also leads the team infree-throw percentage (84.3), steals (75)and blocks (17) and has made a team-best58 3-pointers.While the 5-foot-11 Ritchie was recognizedthroughout the league entering thisseason — she was voted as one of the topfive players in the league’s preseason poll— the 5-11 Eichler finally received someattention.She’s averaging 11.4 points and 3.9 reboundsand is shooting a team-high 39.3percent from long-range. She also rankssecond to Ritchie with 42 steals.“I think it has been a constant battlebetween me and the awards every yearI’ve been here,” Eichler said. “It’s cool tobe recognized, especially that defensiveteam. I feel like I’ve really been concentratingon that all four years I’ve beenhere.“But, obviously, it’s about bigger thingsfor our team. We want to take the time torecognize the fact that we did get recognition,and we did get some awards andthat is really good for our team, but weare focused on different things right now.”Sometimes it’s not about the players whodid get recognized, but the ones whodidn’t.Both Ritchie and Eichler felt some oftheir teammates had done enough toearn postseason honors, including juniorforward Breannah Ranger’s role as theteam’s sixth person.Green Bay coach Kevin Borseth did notearn coach of the year, with the awardgoing to Youngstown State coach BobBoldon. Boldon has helped transformthe Penguins from the worst team in theleague to one of its best.“There aren’t enough awards to award everybody,”Eichler said. “I think there weresome people who got short-changed. ButI think there are so many of us that it’sreally hard to touch on everything we do.Our scoring is so equal among all of us.There isn’t really one standout player onthis team.”
Green Bay Lock Up Share of 15th Horizon League TitleBy: Mike Vandermause, GreenBayPressGazette.comFebruary 25, 2013University of Wisconsin-Green Baywomen’s basketball coach Kevin Borsethbelieves the gap is closing betweenhis program and the rest of the HorizonLeague.But you’d have a hard time convincinganyone of that after Green Bay’s resounding80-38 victory over Valparaiso on Saturdayat the Kress Events Center.The <strong>Phoenix</strong> improved to 12-0 in theHorizon League and locked up at least ashare of its 15th consecutive conferencechampionship. Green Bay can claim theoutright title with one more victory in itsfinal four games.“To think you’ve put 15 together, I meanthat’s pretty remarkable, it really is,” saidBorseth, who has <strong>guide</strong>d the <strong>Phoenix</strong> to10 of those championships beginning inthe 1998-99 season.The other five titles came during the MattBollant regime from 2007 to 2012.“It’s just unheard of, it’s very monumental,”said senior Adrian Ritchie of theGreen Bay dynasty. “I think as much as itmeans to us right now, I think maybe wedon’t even know the scale of how greatit is until we step away and can see whatthat really means. To be in it right now,we don’t want to let the ball drop on ourhands, as a senior class especially. For usto at least clinch that share, it means a lotto us.”The <strong>Phoenix</strong> exploded to an 18-2 leadover the shellshocked Crusaders less than7 minutes into the game and never tookits foot off the gas.Megan Lukan scored a game-high 22points, including 16 in the first half whenshe outscored the entire Valparaiso teamas Green Bay ran up a 39-13 lead. Lukanreceived several open 3-point looks anddrained 4 of 8 shots from long range.“They didn’t guard her,” said Borseth.“They decided they weren’t going toguard her. Megan can shoot, and we useher in a combination of inside-outsideboth. She’s been working on her shot,obviously. It certainly shows on the statsheet. She stepped up and played.”Lukan, who converted 8 of 13 field goals,couldn’t believe how open she was.“I kind of take offense to that,” she said.“It was nice to knock ’em down when theyweren’t respecting me.”Sarah Eichler scored 13 points and BreannahRanger added 11 points and 10rebounds.The <strong>Phoenix</strong> was especially tenacious ondefense. Valparaiso was harassed intocommitting 18 turnovers and shot just21.2 percent from the floor. The Crusadersmade just 3 of 29 shots in the first half.Green Bay (22-2) extended its winningstreak to 17 games and posted its secondlargestmargin of victory this season.“We’re never satisfied,” said Ritchie. “Welook up at the score, we don’t see it aswe’re up 25 … we see it as we’re only up25, let’s get up more, let’s push, let’s getbetter.”Borseth said the key to Green Bay’sdominance over the past 15 years involvesmore than recruiting talented players.“It’s a matter of finding people that wantto be here,” said Borseth. “I really believethe players that came here over thecourse of that entire time wanted to behere.“We felt their character and their workethic and their abilities combined reallymade them a Green Bay player.”No one seems to be taking success forgranted in the Horizon League, eventhough Green Bay has a flashy 63-4 recordin the conference over the past four years.“We have to give a lot more teams respectfor the things they’re doing,” said Eichler.“We have to show up to play every night,obviously, it’s very important.”Borseth wholeheartedly agrees.“The good news for us is we’ve got playersthat are pretty determined, that will fightback, which is really good,” hesaid.
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