No. 22 Green Bay women win 4th straight HL tourney title

Mar 6, 2018, 08:33 pm

DETROIT -- Allie Leclaire scored 24 points and tied a career high with eight rebounds, Jessica Lindstrom had her 41st career double-double and No. 22 Green Bay beat Wright State 62-44 on Tuesday for its fourth straight Horizon League Tournament championship and automatic NCAA berth.

The Phoenix, winners of 11 straight HL tournament games, has claimed seven of the last eight titles and 16 of 21. Green Bay is 16-4 all-time in the championship game for 18 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Lindstrom added 12 points and 14 rebounds, her 18th double-double this season, for top-seed Green Bay (29-3), which reached 29 wins for the sixth time in program history. Leclaire, named the tournament's MVP, averaged 20.3 points per game in three tournament games and made four 3-pointers against Wright State.

Green Bay held the league's player of the year Chelsea Welch to just 13 points on 2-of-15 shooting. The Raiders were 1 of 13 from long range and shot 28 percent overall.

The Phoenix closed the first quarter on a 7-0 run for a 10-point lead and Wright State didn't make a second-quarter field goal for the final seven minutes of the half to trail 38-21. Green Bay cruised in the second half, leading for over 38 minutes, for its seventh straight win and 62nd in 66 series meetings.

Lexi Smith scored 14 points for No. 3 seed Wright State (23-10). Welch scored 22 and 24 points in the two single-digit, regular-season losses to Green Bay.