GREEN BAY – With less than one minute on the clock and trailing in a big in-state battle to rival Green Bay, the Wisconsin women's basketball team needed a big spark to wrap up the non-conference season on a high note.
 
That's exactly what the Badgers got.
 
Freshman Suzanne Gilreath sunk her fifth 3-pointer of the game to bring the team within one, then junior Malayna Johnson capped off the 54-53 victory with a perfect lay-in, giving UW its fifth win of the season and second road victory.
 
"It was just resiliency. I'm proud of our kids. They fought through," head coach Jonathan Tsipis said. "I think it was everything, they got the crowd back in the game at the end after we got the momentum swung. Suzanne Gilreath obviously hits a giant three for us and what can you say?
 
"For Malayna Johnson to bounce back and make a great move like that to get all the way to the rim, I'm just proud. We've talked a lot about how we've grown from Milwaukee to Marquette and now we were playing the best. To fend things off, I'm just really proud of the maturity throughout the game that our team competed with."

The Badgers (5-8) held the lead for the first three minutes of the final quarter until a layup by Lexi Weitzer tied it up 40-40 at 7:16. A bunny from freshman Courtney Fredrickson and a massive 3-point missile from Cayla McMorris took back the Badgers' lead (45-40) from the Phoenix (8-2) with just under six minutes left to play.
 
After a foul on Marsha Howard was debated by the officials, Green Bay's head coach Kevin Borseth was assessed a technical foul, allowing McMorris to make one of two free throws for a 46-41 UW advantage. However, LeClaire tied it up once again (46-46) with a triple at the 4:08 mark.

But, the Badgers had a 3-point shooting secret weapon of their own in Gilreath, who nailed a trey at 3:13 to put Wisconsin back on top again, 49-46.
 
Three straight makes at the courtesy stripe allowed Green Bay to tie the game one final time at 49-49 with less than three minutes to go before the Phoenix jumped ahead (51-49) of the Cardinal and White off of a layup from LeClaire at 1:53.

Jen Wellintz gave the Phoenix their final score of the game and a four-point lead, but that wasn't going to stop the Badgers who weren't going to give in yet. The final 5-0 run from Gilreath and Johnson clinched the big win for Wisconsin on the road.

It was the first time the Badgers have defeated the Phoenix since their 65-61 overtime victory in 2013, also halting a three-game series win streak for the Phoenix in Green Bay.
 
"We put a freshman in because we wanted to be a little bit bigger in those last couple of possessions," Tsipis added. "We don't get the first rebound, you can hang your head because it's the jump ball and you stay with it. I'm so proud Abby Laszewski held her ground there."

The Badgers kept it tight in the first quarter, trading the lead with Green Bay on four occasions and also tying the Phoenix four times. Sophomore Marsha Howard gave Wisconsin a 12-9 lead with under one minute to play but Green Bay's Allie LeClaire tied it up with a triple at the 39-second mark.
 
Green Bay outscored UW, 13-7, in the second quarter. The Badgers had a scoring drought for a little over four minutes until Laszewski tied the game up, 15-15, at the 5:16 mark in the second quarter. But the Phoenix would go on a 10-2 run in the final four minutes of the half to grab a 25-19 lead at the half, UW's largest deficit of the contest. McMorris had the last basket of the half for Wisconsin with a smooth putback and finish. 
 
The Badgers continued to battle back throughout the entire third quarter even when they were down by nine (32-23) with 5:19 left in the period. A 12-2 run over the last 2:53 of the third quarter gave Wisconsin the 37-36 lead headed into the fourth, highlighted by 3-point rockets from Roichelle Marble, McMorris and Gilreath. 
 
The loss was Green Bay's first at home and just second on the season after falling to second-ranked Notre Dame, 71-67, in South Bend, Indiana.
 
The victory is also Tsipis' first win over an in-state rival as the Badgers' head coach.
 
The Badgers were led by Gilreath with 17 points and McMorris with 15. Johnson pulled down a team-high eight rebounds.
 
UW shot 36.7 percent (18-49) from the field and 37.5 percent (9-24) from beyond the arc, while
UWGB shot 31.1 percent (19-61) from the field and 28 percent (7-25) from 3-point range.
 
The game was tied a total of eight times for a total of 8:40, while the lead changed nine different times.

Unsurprisingly, the Badger bench made major contributions, accounting for 29 points while Green Bay's bench just added 12.
 
Wisconsin takes a long break before returning to action as it opens the conference season on New Year's Day against Michigan. Tipoff is set for 2 p.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center.