UWGB tops Virginia while Wisconsin falls to Vermont in women's tourney

• UW-Green Bay Phoenix

UW-Green Bay Phoenix

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The UW-Green Bay women upset fifth-seeded Virginia 69-67 last night in the first round of their NCAA Tournament in Ames Iowa. The 12th-seeded Phoenix had a 16-point lead in the second half, and then withstood an aggressive comeback attempt by the Cavaliers. Virginia got to within two when Julia Wojta made two free throws with 10 seconds to make it 69-65. Monica Wright scored on a drive with one second left, and Virginia then fouled immediately. Sarah Eichler missed both her free throws, and then the buzzer sounded. Virginia was awarded the ball with two-tenths-of-a-second left, but could do nothing with it. Wright had 34 points for the Cavaliers, who ended their season at 21-and-10. Celeste Hoewisch had 23 points for Green Bay, who won only their third NCAA contest in 12 attempts. They’re now 28-and-4, and will play Iowa State tomorrow night in Ames in the second round of the Dayton Region.

The Wisconsin women ended their season yesterday with a 64-55 loss to Vermont in their NCAA Tournament opener at South Bend Indiana. The Badgers led by three with 12-and-a-half minutes left, when Vermont took the lead for good with a 7-0 run. The Badgers later got within two, but Vermont answered with a 6-0 run and led by nine with 1:53 left. Wisconsin got within four with less than a minute to go, but the Catamounts made seven-of-their-last-eight free throws to seal their victory. Courtnay Pilypaitis had 25 points and eight rebounds for Vermont, which improved to 27-and-6 and will play Notre Dame or Cleveland State in the next round of the Kansas City Region. Alyssa Karel had 13 points and Lin Zastrow scored 11 for Wisconsin, which was out-shot 40-to-36 percent. The Badger women ended their season at 21-11, with their second-most victories in school history and their first NCAA appearance in eight years.

Tags: wi sports, proam, basketball