Green Bay women roll past Iowa St.

Associated Press

AMES, Iowa

The Green Bay Phoenix thought they should have been seeded much better than seventh. Drawing host Iowa State only seemed to make things worse.

Instead of complaining about a lack of respect, Green Bay went out and earned some.

Lydia Bauer and Sarah Eichler each scored 16 points and seventh-seeded Green Bay rolled over the Cyclones 71-57 in the NCAA tournament Saturday.

Adrian Ritchie added 15 for the Phoenix (31-1), who will take on second-seeded Kentucky in the second round Monday night.

The Horizon League champions blitzed through the Cyclones in their own gym, running out to a 42-23 halftime lead and barely looking back. Iowa State got within 10 with 3:01 left, but the Phoenix held on to reach the round of 32 for the third year in a row.

“We talk a lot about playing as hard as anybody in the country and in the first half, wow, did we do that,” Green Bay coach Matt Bollant said. “They played really loose; they played really confident.”

Hallie Christofferson led five players in double figures with 12 points for Iowa State (18-13), which committed 30 turnovers and lost its NCAA tournament opener for the second straight year.

Bollant hasn’t been shy about acknowledging his displeasure with being a No. 7 seed. That’s despite winning 30 games, sweeping matchups against high majors and earning a No. 10 ranking in the last AP Top 25.

The Phoenix shot 9 of 18 from 3-point range in the first half and forced the Cyclones into a staggering 19 turnovers.

Still, Iowa State was within four with 5:29 left in the half. But Green Bay closed it out on a decisive 20-4 run.

“I think we definitely had a little chip on our shoulder,” Ritchie said. “We responded really well to being that seven seed. We just ran with it.”