GREEN BAY, Wis. – Julie Wojta scored 17 points and No. 10 Wisconsin-Green Bay pulled away in the second half to beat Valparaiso 77-53 Wednesday night and advance to the semifinals of the Horizon League tournament.
Wojta, the Horizon player of the year who also won the league's top defensive honor, also notched six steals to break the school's single-season record with 105.
Valparaiso (10-21), which was outscored 137-73 in two regular-season meetings with the Phoenix, trailed 44-35 roughly 7 minutes into the second half before Green Bay (28-1) went on a 15-0 run to put the game away.
The Crusaders kept it close early on, holding Green Bay to just seven points in the first 8 minutes for a 10-7. The Phoenix then went on a 13-0 run to take a 20-10 lead. Valpo closes the gap to three at one point but Green Bay never trailed again.
Wojta scored 15 points, including her team's last seven of the first half, to help the Phoenix take a 38-25 lead at the break.
Sarah Eichler scored 14 points and Adrian Ritchie added 12 for the Phoenix, which will host No. 4 seed Illinois-Chicago in the semifinals on Friday.
Green Bay shot 29 of 56 (51.8 percent) from the field.
Tabitha Gerardot had 19 points and eight rebounds for Valpo. Ashley Varner added 14 points and Gina Lange had 11.
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