Wis.-Green Bay-New Mexico Preview

3/16/2007 12:35 PM

By JEFF MEZYDLO
STATS Writer

After failing to qualify for the NCAA tournament last season, Wisconsin-Green Bay will head into this year's event playing some of the best basketball of any team in the nation.

The Phoenix have won a school-record 25 games in a row, but only earned a No. 9 seed and will face eighth-seeded New Mexico on Sunday in a Fresno Regional first-round matchup at Hartford, Conn.

The seed, though, doesn't seem to matter to a Wisconsin-Milwaukee program which missed the tournament last season after losing in the Horizon League tournament semifinals to snap a run of four straight NCAA appearances.

"When you're out of the tournament, that's a lonesome feeling," Phoenix coach Kevin Borseth said. "The players really feel a sense of emptiness. I'm excited for them. They've worked hard for it and now they get a chance to play."

The Phoenix (28-3), who were ranked 21st in the most recent AP poll, went 16-0 in the Horizon during the regular season and also beat Iowa, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Wisconsin-Green Bay, which last lost Nov. 29 to DePaul, earned its ninth trip to the tournament with a 91-64 win over Butler in the league title game last Sunday.

Senior forward Nicole Soulis scored 21 points and Amanda Popp had 18 against Butler as the Phoenix shot 66.7 percent from the field in the first half and finished shooting 51.7 percent from 3-point range.

"They're going to need to do that again, and I think they can," Borseth said. "If you're going to go anywhere in this tournament, that's the way you've got to play because the competition is going to get extremely difficult."

Wisconsin-Green Bay is 1-8 in tournament play and last won 78-65 over Washington in 2003.

Soulis, who was the conference's player of the year for the second straight season after averaging 16.8 points and 5.8 rebounds, feels the team isn't content with just being in the field.

"It's nice to be in, but we didn't work hard just to get here," she said. "I think we'll make some noise. Hopefully we'll turn some heads."

A shot at national power and top-seeded Connecticut in the next round is also something for the Phoenix to strive for, though they won't look past New Mexico (24-8).

"If you have a chance and an opportunity to play against a No. 1 seed, that's just an amazing thing," Soulis said. "It's exciting, but we have to try to take care of New Mexico first."

New Mexico earned its sixth straight trip to the tournament with a 63-49 win over Brigham Young in the Mountain West Conference title game on March 10.

Led by senior Julie Briody, who averages 15.6 points per game, the Lobos have won four in a row and 12 of 13 after losing four straight from Dec. 30-Jan. 10.

"I'm impressed and really proud of this team," New Mexico coach Don Flanagan said. "I always said they were very hard workers. They practiced hard even when we were losing, but they made the decision they were going to win games. They had the will to win and that helped them overcome some of their weaknesses."

New Mexico has a 3-6 NCAA tournament record in six previous appearances. It lost to Baylor in the second round of last season's tournament.

Though his team is seeded higher, Flanagan is well aware of the challenge that awaits.

"They're a very difficult opponent," he said. "They've beaten a lot of good teams, they're very talented, they press a lot and (Borseth) gets them to play really hard."

Sunday will mark the first meeting between these teams.