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SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Green Bay got physical with top-ranked Notre Dame and gave the Fighting Irish about all they could take.The Phoenix (2-1) rallied from 17 points down midway through the third quarter and narrowed the lead to five points three times in the final 4 minutes before finally falling 71-67 in a Preseason WNIT semifinal Thursday night.The Irish (3-0) shot just 33 percent in the second half and 36 percent for the game. Arike Ogunbowale led the Irish with 18 points but didnt hit another basket after making a 15-foot jumper to extend Notre Dames lead to 17 points.Jessica Lindstrom led the Phoenix with 20 points and 16 rebounds, hitting a 3-pointer to cut Notre Dames lead to 69-64 with 19 seconds left. But Marina Mabrey, who finished with 13 points, hit two free throws to give the Irish a seven-point lead with 16 seconds left.Notre Dame coach Muffet McGraw was disappointed with the Irish, saying they were ragged on offense and struggled defensively against Green Bays screens.Theyre so experienced. Theyre poised. Theyre well coached. Theyre disciplined. Offensively they were really hard to guard and defensively they made it really difficult to get the ball in the post, she said.The Irish, who normally dominate inside, had only a 28-24 advantage inside against the Phoenix and Green Bays reserves outscored Notre Dames bench 22-8.The Phoenix shot 64 percent in the second half and 45 percent for the game.We changed a little bit of the schematic and tried to put it so we could drive it and spread them out a little more, which helped us, Green Bay coach Kevin Borseth said. But we hit some shots, some big shots.Players on both sides described the game as physical.But I feel like thats just part of the game nowadays, Lindstrom said.McGraw believes having such a tough challenge will help the Irish.Hopefully we learned a lot from it. I thought we made some big plays in the end when we had to. But overall, just really disappointing, she said. We looked like the younger team on the floor, and I think we were. But I think we can play a lot smarter.BIG PICTUREGreen Bay: The Phoenix, the favorites to win the Horizon League, played their first game ever against a No. 1 ranked team and stayed within reach throughout the game as they gave the Irish all they could handle.Notre Dame: The Irish struggled offensively early against the Phoenix, who ranked ninth nationally in scoring defense last season at 52.2 points a game, but managed to pull out the victory despite being held to 36 percent shooting.POLL IMPLICATIONS:Green Bay: The Phoenix were already receiving votes and likely could well move into the rankings with an impressive showing on the road.Notre Dame: The Irish may be hard-pressed to keep the No. 1 ranking after struggling on its home court against an unranked opponent.TIP-INS: The Irish were 0 of 5 from 3-point range in the second half after going 5 of 8 in the first half. ... Green Bay was 6 of 9 from 3-point range in the third quarter. ... The Irish have players from 10 states on their roster. Every player on Green Bay is from Wisconsin. ... The Phoenix dropped to 1-2 all-time against the Irish, with the win coming in 1987.UP NEXTGreen Bay: The Phoenix are knocked out of the Preseason WNIT. Green Bay plays road games against Belmont, Chattanooga and Bradley before returning home to face Drake on Dec. 3.Notre Dame: The Irish will play No. 17 Washington in the Preseason WNIT final at South Bend on Sunday. The Irish then play at Louisiana-Lafayette on Tuesday.Meyers Leonard Jersey . Note: The Calgary Flames announced Tuesday that Sean Monahan would not be made available to Canadas World Junior team. Justise Winslow Heat Jersey . The Nashville Predators were glad their captain was still on their side. Weber had a goal and two assists, and Roman Josi scored the shootout winner to lift the Predators to a 4-3 win over the Flyers on Thursday night. https://www.heatlockerroom.com/Kz-Okpala-City-Edition-Jersey/ . Vettel, who has already clinched his fourth straight F1 title, enters the finale with a chance to equal Michael Schumachers 13 victories in a year and match the record of nine consecutive wins by Alberto Ascari in the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Kelly Olynyk Jersey . -- Kyrie Irvings last-minute 3-pointer helped seal another victory for Cleveland -- and the Cavaliers longest winning streak since LeBron James left. Dion Waiters Jersey . It was Kerbers third final of the year after losing to Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova of Russia in Monterrey in April and to Petra Kvitova of Czech Republic in Tokyo two weeks ago. The 10th-ranked German improved her record in finals to 3-5.BMX racer Maris Strombergs has earned the nickname The Machine.The Latvian is the only man to win BMX cycling gold in the disciplines short Olympic history.In 2008, Strombergs swept through the competition from the quarterfinals. He wasnt quite as strong during the early rounds in 2012, but won the final anyway. Now 29, Strombergs will be one of the older competitors at the Rio Olympics, where the average age of a rider skews closer to the early-to-mid 20s.Strombergs does have that Olympic pedigree , though. USA Cycling BMX director Jaime Staff said Strombergs has the ability to peak toward one or two events a year.A physical specimen for sure, mentally very tough, Staff said. Hes able to switch it on when he needs to.Both the mens and womens fields figure to be as competitive as ever. Here are a few notes and other things to watch in Brazil:MEET MARIANAMariana Pajon is a star in her native Colombia after winning gold in 2012. She took the womens title in late May at the world BMX championships on a track named after her in her home country, and figures to be a top contender again in Rio.Pajon had been dealing with injuries in the months leading up to worlds that limited her typical training regimen. But Pajon can also draw on the experience of international success.She knows exactly what needs to be done to be the best, said Colombia coach German Medina.WHAT A RUSHImagine sitting on a BMX bicycle, staring down a ramp about three stories high while anxiously awaiting a signal to take off. As with horse racing, a gate prevents anyone from getting a head start but this is no flat, oval track. Its winding, nearly quarter mile-long course with groomed dirt hills serving as bumpy obstacles. Someone could be pedaling as fast as 40 mph after clearing the starting ramp.Even the best BMX competitors in the world will have to steel themselves at the Rio Olympics. Team USA rider Alise Post compares BMX cycling to a mix of horse racing and getting in the front car of an amusement park ride.Youre in this starting gate ... and then everybody goes, said Post, a top medal contender . After that youre riding a roller coaster. Everytthing happens fast out there.dddddddddddd.The action sport is aimed at attracting a younger audience to the Summer Games, having been introduced in 2008 in Beijing. Post, 25, watched that competition eight years ago. She rode in London in 2012, finishing 12th.OLYMPIAN EFFORTSTwo of the top U.S. riders are bouncing back from recent injuries. Connor Fields and Brooke Crain, who each competed in London, have returned to the track, and they should have plenty of time to prepare since the BMX competition will be held toward the end of the Olympics in mid-August.Fields was the top-ranked American in the world before hurting his wrist this spring. He was cleared to start training again in mid-June , and returned to the Rio-replica track for the first time on June 27. Crain came back after five weeks away following a broken left leg. She fractured her fibula while extending the leg while trying to brace herself from a crash during a race.TEAM USAThe United States is looking for its first BMX gold and was shut out of the podium entirely in 2012. Fields and Crain were discretionary picks to the U.S. team . Post was an automatic qualifier after finishing third at worlds. On the mens side, Fields will be joined by automatic qualifiers Nic Long, who placed third at worlds; and Corben Sharrah, who won the U.S. Olympic trials. Its the strongest squad that Team USA could field, headlined by some of the top-ranked racers in the world.Probably the best team we could wish for, Staff said.OTHERS TO WATCHNiek Kimmann of the Netherlands, who won the time trials at worlds, is atop the world rankings on the mens side. Joris Daudet of France, who won the elite title, is fourth in the world. Australias Sam Willougby took silver in 2012 and remains a medal favorite. ... Australian teammate Caroline Buchanan, who took the time trials at worlds, is the top-ranked womens rider internationally. Laura Smulders of the Netherlands is back after winning bronze in London.---Follow Genaro Armas at http://twitter.com/GArmasAP ' ' '