3 Of A Kind: Green Bay Earns Barbasol #HLWBB Championship Title

3 Of A Kind: Green Bay Earns Barbasol #HLWBB Championship Title

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Rachel White

INDIANAPOLIS (March 10, 2026) – For the third straight year, the Green Bay Phoenix will represent the Horizon League in the NCAA Tournament. Top seed Green Bay edged out No. 2 seed Youngstown State 57-49 Tuesday to win the Barbasol #HLWBB Championship game.
 
With Tuesday’s win, it’s now seven tournament titles over 12 years and 19 all-time for the Phoenix, long the torch bearer of women’s basketball success in the Horizon League.  
  • Jenna Guyer was the Key4Women Most Valuable Player of the Championship, scoring 21 points on 7-for-11 shooting.
  • The game was tight throughout, featuring 10 lead changes and seven ties. Green Bay didn’t lead by double digits until the final seconds of the game.
  • The winning stretch came over a 2:52 span in the fourth quarter. A 10-2 Green Bay run keyed by a 3-point play by Guyer and a pair of mid-range jumpshots gave the Phoenix its largest lead at 51-43.
  • Green Bay improved to 25-8 on the year and will await its assignment for the NCAAs. The Phoenix had a 16-9 edge in turnovers and made nine more free throws than the Penguins.
  • Youngstown State enjoyed one of its finest seasons, heading to the postseason with a 24-9 record. Tuesday was YSU’s first trip to the Barbasol #HLWBB Championship final in 24 seasons as a league member.
  • Sophia Gregory and Casey Santoro combined for 20 points and 16 rebounds. Paulina Hernandez had a team-high 11 points for the Penguins.
 2026 Barbasol #HLWBB Championship All-Tournament Team
  • Key4Women MVP Jenna Guyer, Green Bay
  • Maddy Skorupski, Green Bay
  • Casey Santoro, Youngstown State
  • Sophia Gregory, Youngstown State
  • Izabella Zingaro, Cleveland State
Quotable: “It was a really tough game today, give Youngstown State a ton of credit,” Green Bay head coach Kayla Karius said. “That’s a really physical team and they took us all the way to the end. It’s hard to put this into words, but when we put this team together in April and May, it was ‘How are we going to do this?’” But I loved watching this team do what they did and it was a beautiful thing seeing it all come together.”
 
“Congratulations to Green Bay - an unbelievable team and unbelievable program,” YSU head coach Melissa Jackson said. “We really wanted this one today, and it came down to the fourth quarter. It was very physical and aggressive and at the end of the day we didn’t get the outcome we wanted. We had an unbelievable year, and we’re looking forward to the postseason and excited for that opportunity.”