INDIANAPOLIS – Purdue Fort Wayne women’s basketball saw the 2022-23 season end in the Barbasol Horizon League Championship semifinal on Monday (March 6) afternoon with a 69-65 loss to top-seeded Green Bay.
The sixth-seeded Mastodons had as good of a start as you could in the contest. The ‘Dons forced Green Bay to start the game 3-of-21 from the floor over the first 14 minutes of the game. The ‘Dons took a 25-14 lead during that time. Then the switch flipped for Green Bay. The Phoenix made 13 of their next 18 shots over the next 10 minutes of game action and grabbed a 43-37 lead midway through the third quarter.
That could have been the end of the game, but the same resilient Mastodon team that showed up all postseason showed up again. The ‘Dons scored six points in a row to tie the game at 45 with less than two minutes left in the third. But Green Bay added the final five points of the quarter, including their second buzzer-beater of the game, to lead 52-47 at the end of the third quarter.
Green Bay built their lead to as many as 11 in the fourth quarter but at the 2:14 mark the ‘Dons were down just four at 64-60 following a layup by Audra Emmerson. A defensive stop earned the ‘Dons a chance to cut it to one possession with 1:39 remaining. The ‘Dons had a pair of 3-point looks, but both rimmed out. Green Bay closed it out from there.
Shayla Sellers finished with a game-high 21 points on 7-of-15 shooting and 3-of-8 from 3-point range. Amellia Bromenschenkel had 10 points, eight rebounds and four steals.
Purdue Fort Wayne finished 24-of-60 from the floor (40 percent) and a perfect 9-for-9 from the free throw line, including 4-for-4 from Sellers. The Mastodons led in points off turnovers 14-9 and second chance points 13-6. The two squads were even with 28 points in the paint each.
Purdue Fort Wayne led for 18:04. Green Bay led for 17:50.
The Mastodons finish the 2022-23 season at 14-19, their best record in nearly 10 years. Green Bay (27-4)moves on to play for the Horizon League Championship on Tuesday (March 7).
