UWGB women make statement in Horizon League with big wins over Cleveland State and Purdue Fort Wayne

GREEN BAY – Is it too early in the college basketball season for a team to make a statement?

Maybe, but the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women showed why they were the preseason favorite in the Horizon League with wins at the Kress Center against Cleveland State on Saturday and Purdue Fort Wayne on Monday.

The Phoenix’s defense was on full display in the 72-46 victory over PFW, easily holding the Mastodons to their worst point total of the season after their previous low was 57 in a win at Bellarmine last month.

PFW shot just 35.7% overall and had 19 turnovers while UWGB’s offense shot 9-for-15 in both the third and fourth quarters to run away.

The Vikings and Mastodons are a combined 21-8 this season but a big 0-2 against UWGB, which handed both teams their first defeats in league play.

The Phoenix (10-3) improved to 3-0 in the Horizon and is tied with Detroit for the top spot. The teams meet for the first of two times this season Jan. 18 in Detroit.

“The defense did a really good job,” UWGB coach Kevin Borseth said after the win over PFW. “That’s a really good team. Tonight was our night defensively and I’m sure they will make some tweaks next time. But we enjoyed a night.

“Defensively, we did what we needed to do to keep them at bay and eventually the offense took off.”

UWGB entered the new year ranked 92nd out of 348 teams in Division I in scoring defense.

It is allowing 58.8 points per game after the performance against PFW, which is a little higher than the 54.4 it allowed last season and the 55.8 in 2021-22.

The Phoenix also is ranked second in the 11-team Horizon in defense, trailing only Youngstown State.

Perhaps most impressive is that it has faced top-80 scoring offenses in DePaul (44), CSU (51), PFW (66), Washington State (67), Creighton (71) and Illinois-Chicago (76) and is 5-1 in those games.

The scary part?

“I don’t think our defense is where we want it to be yet,” junior guard Cassie Schiltz said. “I think the (PFW) game helped us, and Cleveland helped us. But, yeah, I think we can be better.”

Cassie Schiltz enjoying a big year for the Phoenix

The 5-foot-11 Schiltz has played an integral part for the Phoenix the past few years, but the former Luxemburg-Casco standout is having her best season in 2023-24.

She did a little, and a lot, of everything against CSU and PFW, scoring a career-high 27 points and hitting six 3-pointers against the Vikings and dishing out a career-high 9 assists against the Mastodons while adding 10 points and 6 rebounds in 37 minutes.

Schiltz is about as veteran a player as they come in college basketball considering she’s in her fifth year in the program.

She redshirted as a true freshman in 2019-20 and mostly came off the bench her first season before becoming a full-time starter as a sophomore.

With student-athletes receiving an additional year of eligibility in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Schiltz expects to return next season for a sixth and final year at the school.

“I plan on taking all the years that I can,” she said. “I love it here. If we can go win two more championships with this team, why not?”

Schiltz enters a game at Northern Kentucky on Friday averaging career highs in points (12.2 ppg), assists (3.2 apg), shooting percentage (47.5%), 3-point percentage (47.5%) and free throw percentage (94.7%).

“The past years have definitely helped me,” Schiltz said. “I mean, experience, it helps you so much. You see more things every year and just become more comfortable.”

Schiltz is everything Borseth could have hoped for after she verbally committed to the Phoenix in May 2017, choosing the school over offers from UW-Milwaukee and Drake.

She’s one of just a handful of former Spartans to play for the Phoenix and the best since Rachel Porath, who scored 1,251 career points and was a two-time all-conference player from 2005 to 2009.

Schiltz has scored 836 career points.

“It takes experience,” Borseth said. “It’s a physical game, and Cassie is not necessarily one (that looks like) she just came out of a weight room. She learned to play with that bumping and banging and using things to her advantage. She has learned along the way, and she is still going to learn.

“She is going to get better at what she does because she is determined. If I don’t get it out of her, her mother will. That’s the good news. But she’s very driven and wants to do well every time she steps on the court. Is accountable. Responsible. A good leader. Does all the things we need her to do.”

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Home sweet home at the Kress Center

UWGB’s win over PFW completed a perfect five-game homestand in which it beat opponents by an average of 23.8 points.

The Phoenix is 6-0 at home this season, continuing its dominance in front of the friendly faces at the Kress.

UWGB is a combined 30-4 at home since fans were allowed to return to games at the start of the 2021-22 season.

There were no fans in 2020-21 because of the pandemic.

“Our fans are awesome,” Schiltz said. “Their support means so much to us. To have that many people out there cheering for you, it’s just awesome to have them. Playing at home is about as good as you can get. We have a great atmosphere here.”

UWGB ranks second in attendance in the Horizon with 1,888 per game, behind only Wright State and its 2,155.

“It’s fun, and we are appreciated,” Borseth said. “All you want in your job is to be appreciated, and our fans appreciate the team. That’s great. That’s a great feeling when you step on the court knowing they are there to root you on.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UWGB women's basketball appears to be the class of the Horizon League