Green Bay women beat Purdue Fort Wayne 76-63 for back-to-back Horizon League Tournament titles
Green Bay (29-5) extended its winning streak to 22 games, the longest since rattling off 24 in the 2012-23 season. Green Bay also secured its 20th NCAA Tournament appearance in coach Kayla Karius' first season at the helm.
Purdue Fort Wayne (25-8) was seeking its first Division I NCAA Tournament berth.
Green Bay trailed 51-50 with 2:56 left in the third quarter before Jenna Guyer made two 3-pointers and scored eight points during a 10-2 run to take a 60-53 lead into the fourth.
Bailey Butler scored the opening four points of the fourth to give Green Bay the first double-digit lead of the game. The Phoenix scored 12 of the opening 14 points of the fourth before Purdue Fort Wayne made its first field goal with 4:08 left on Sydney Freeman shot in the lane.
Green Bay improved to 14-1 in the series with Purdue Fort Wayne, with a one-point loss coming earlier this season.
Jasmine Kondrakiewicz and Callie Genke each scored 10 points for Green Bay. Guyer scored all eight of her points in the second half. McNeal was 11 of 20 from the field and 4 of 4 at the free-throw line.
Freeman led Purdue Fort Wayne with 18 points. Jordan Reid added 12 and Jazzlyn Linbo 11.
McNeal made 6 of 9 shots in the first half for a game-high 14 points as Green Bay and Purdue Fort Wayne played to a 40-40 tie after both teams shot above 51% from the field.
Purdue Fort Wayne made seven 3-pointers in the first half before finishing 9 of 23.
___
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
30 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Short-handed Fever suffer another blow as Sophie Cunningham sustains season-ending injury
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The injury-riddled Indiana Fever suffered another blow Tuesday when they announced guard Sophie Cunningham would miss the rest of this season with a knee injury. She was hurt during Sunday's victory at Connecticut. Team officials did not provide details about the injury, the third season-ending one Indiana has experienced in August. Guard Sydney Colson tore the ACL in her left knee on Aug. 7 in a game at Phoenix. Guard Aari McDonald broke a bone in her right foot in the same game. And two-time All-Star guard Caitlin Clark still has not played since injuring her right groin in mid-July. Coach Stephanie White has not provided a timetable for Clark's return other than to say the Fever hope that Clark returns before the regular-season finale Sept. 9 against Minnesota. With so many key players out, the outspoken Cunningham played a key role in helping Indiana stay in the playoff mix. She was averaging 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.0 steals. Indiana also announced it has signed Shey Peddy to a seven-day hardship contract. The six-year veteran was averaging 5.0 points and 2.7 assists in six games with the Los Angeles Sparks. She also has played with Phoenix and Washington during her career. The Fever also released guard Kyra Lambert. ___ AP WNBA:


San Francisco Chronicle
42 minutes ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Cubs slugger Kyle Tucker gets some rest as he tries to break out of a prolonged slump
CHICAGO (AP) — Kyle Tucker is trying to break out of a prolonged slump, and the Chicago Cubs are doing whatever they can to help the All-Star outfielder. Nothing is working at the moment. Tucker was out of the starting lineup for the opener of a split doubleheader against Milwaukee on Tuesday. He is batting .148 (8 for 54) in August, and he has just two extra-base hits — both doubles — in his last 24 games. A day after manager Craig Counsell said they were 'going to have to take a little step back' with Tucker and give him some days off to reset, the plan for the slugger seemed unclear. Tucker said he might get into the doubleheader opener at some point, and Counsell left open the possibility of him playing on Tuesday. 'We talked Sunday night a little bit and, you know, we put a lot on the table and then we'll see where that goes,' Counsell said. Tucker has some company. Going into Tuesday's action, the Cubs were averaging 3.6 runs per game since the All-Star break, compared with 5.3 in the first part of the season. The slumping offense has played a role in Chicago falling nine games behind surging Milwaukee in the NL Central. The 28-year-old Tucker jammed his right ring finger during an awkward slide in a victory over Cincinnati on June 1. He missed one game and then made a pinch-hitting appearance before returning to the starting lineup on June 5. 'I'm fine,' Tucker said Tuesday. 'I mean, I've played, you know, for the most part every game this year. So I'm fine going out there.' Tucker was acquired in a trade with Houston in December. He is eligible for free agency after this season, but he said that isn't a factor in his trouble at the plate. He got off to a terrific start in his first season with Chicago, batting .290 with 17 homers, 52 RBIs and a .923 OPS in his first 85 games. He made the All-Star Game for the fourth time. But he hasn't been the same player since the break, hitting .182 (16 for 88) with one homer, six RBIs and a .572 OPS in his last 26 games. Asked if he could recall a similar slump at the plate, Tucker responded: 'Probably not this long.' 'But, I mean I think everyone's had stretches where they have, you know, not done that great or whatever,' he continued. 'I don't know. I'm just trying to figure it out.' While Tucker is known for his reserved, steady demeanor, there are signs that the slump is taking a toll on him. He was slow getting out of the box on a grounder that was momentarily bobbled by Milwaukee first baseman Andrew Vaughn in the fourth inning of Monday's 7-0 loss to the Brewers. He had a similar moment in the sixth inning of Sunday's 4-3 victory over Pittsburgh, leading to some boos from the crowd at Wrigley Field. 'I mean it's kind of exhausting. I don't know how many times I've rolled over to first or second,' Tucker said. 'Regardless you still got to run down the line whether you're out by 50 feet or not. But I mean it's just a little tough right now.' While explaining what Tucker is working on at the plate, Counsell pointed to his first at-bat of Sunday's game against Pittsburgh, when the slugger bounced to first on a 3-1 fastball right over the plate. 'There's separation from what he wants and what's happening, what he thinks he feels and what's happening,' Counsell said. 'And you just, you try to just keep working on that and it's a little thing that puts it back in place. It's probably a simple thing that puts it back in place. It's a swing, doesn't have to be like a successful swing even. Could be a foul ball that puts it back in place.' ___


USA Today
42 minutes ago
- USA Today
NCAA Softball Tournament reportedly to seed 32 teams beginning with 2026 tournament
Following another exciting college softball season, the NCAA is doubling the number of teams it will seed in the 2025 NCAA Tournament. According to Softball America, softball will follow the format of college volleyball and women's soccer with the seeding of 32 teams. Only the top 16 seeds, which hosted the regional, were previously seeded. In theory, the committee is seeking to reward the top seeds with "easier" matchups. REQUIRED READING: Texas Longhorns power couple pushes each other in football, softball However, to protect teams from having to travel too much for regionals, the 1-32 seedings will not be straight up to protect 400-mile geographic proximity parameters and avoid same-conference matchups in the regionals. The No. 1-4 national seeds will play seeds Nos. 29-32; however, an adjustment will be made if it pairs two conference opponents who are scheduled to meet one another. There will not be a seeding for the rest of the 64-team field. National seed buckets Here's a look at how the national seed matchups will be determined, based on the No. 1-32 seed rankings: How the 2025 NCAA Softball Tournament would be impacted If the 2025 NCAA Tournament followed the seeding based on the 1-32 ranking, this is how the field would have looked: Future NCAA Softball Tournament changes According to Softball America, the NCAA Committee will continue to examine other issues when it meets in November. Here's a look at other changes currently under consideration: