'It's a very winnable game for us': March Madness, Tennessee won't be too big for UWGB women

GREEN BAY – The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay women’s basketball team believes it can pull off an upset Saturday when it plays Tennessee in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The No. 11 seed Phoenix has good reason to be confident, even if others have doubts it can beat a No. 6 Volunteers squad that has won eight national championships and made the Big Dance all 42 years it has been played.

While Tennessee is No. 30 in the NET rankings, UWGB has beaten Creighton (No. 24) and Washington State (No. 29) this season and lost by nine points to Maryland (No. 31).

UWGB's nonconference schedule has prepared it for this exact moment.

“They are another team to us,” junior forward Jasmine Kondrakiewicz said. “I mean, the name, everyone sees the history behind their program. But there are going to be five girls out there just like us. It doesn’t really matter what they play for going into this game. We know nothing about them, they know nothing about us. So, it’s going to be a good game.”

Tennessee has a star in Rickea Jackson

UWGB coach Kevin Borseth and his players often point out that they are more concerned with themselves than the other team. If they play the way they are capable, they trust wins will follow.

But perhaps the Phoenix should at least be a little worried about finding a way to limit Tennessee senior forward Rickea Jackson, who was named an honorable mention all-American by The Associated Press on Wednesday after earning the same accolade from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.

UWGB has faced plenty of good players this season, but Jackson arguably is the best.

South Carolina coach Dawn Staley said last month that Jackson is the “top pick in the WNBA draft, without a doubt,” after a game against Tennessee, although Iowa’s Caitlin Clark likely is a lock for that spot.

She also said Jackson reminds her a little of legendary player Sheryl Swoopes on offense.

“I think this year really helped her, on both sides of the basketball,” said Staley, whose team is one of the favorites to win the national championship. “She is defending a lot more, she is rebounding. I mean, she can score at will. However you want it, she can score. She did that to us. We had to run somebody at her. We had to make sure we put an extra body on her just to get her to put hands on it and maybe pass it out.’”

Jackson is second in the SEC in scoring at 19.4 points and leads her team with 8 rebounds per game while shooting 47.1%.

She has scored 20 or more points 11 times this season and has scored 2,202 career points in three seasons at Mississippi State and the last two seasons at Tennessee.

Borseth and his staff at least have a working knowledge of Jackson.

UWGB played Mississippi State during her freshman season in 2019-20 as part of a Thanksgiving tournament in Victoria, British Columbia.

Jackson scored 18 points and shot 7-for-9 in 26 minutes, helping lead her team to an 83-58 win over the Phoenix.

“She is a very good player,” Borseth said. “We don’t have any control over that. There is only so much you can do. We just have to do what we do. Potentially try to limit the touches, but she is going to have her hands on it quite a bit. She rebounds and brings it up the court like a point guard.

“She can post it. She can point guard it. She can shoot it. She can pull up pretty much at all levels. She is another level player. But they have been beaten before. Teams have beaten them. So, it’s not like they are undefeated.”

UWGB seeks first NCAA win since 2012

UWGB is in the NCAAs for the first time since 2018, but it’s not just satisfied getting to this point. It was reminded about that recently when two of the best players in program history spoke to the team.

Former forward Mehryn Kraker played in the NCAA Tournament each of her final three seasons at UWGB and former Green Bay Notre Dame star guard Allie LeClaire made it all four years of her career with the Phoenix.

But neither won a game on the big stage.

UWGB is seeking its first win in the tournament since making it to the second round in 2012. It was the third straight season it had advanced to at least the second round, which included the program’s only trip to the Sweet 16 in 2011.

Yes, the players are thrilled to be at this point. But they aren’t completely satisfied.

“They said some of their biggest regrets were not being able to advance farther in the tournament when they had the talent to,” Kondrakiewicz said about the message from Kraker and LeClaire. “I think just keeping that in the back of our minds and going in with that mindset, that we are a good team and we have been battle-tested in our nonconference schedule.

“We beat top 25 teams, and it’s a very winnable game for us.”

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: UWGB women's basketball not scared of Tennessee, March Madness moment