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2017 wbb seniors
64
Valparaiso VALPO 8-20, 3-14 HL
80
Winner Milwaukee UWM 19-8, 11-5 HL
Valparaiso VALPO
8-20, 3-14 HL
64
Final
80
Milwaukee UWM
19-8, 11-5 HL
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Valparaiso VALPO 22 12 16 14 64
Milwaukee UWM 19 10 32 19 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Second-Half Surge Propels Panthers Past Valpo

Lindner finishes with game-high 23 points

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball turned a five-point deficit at the half into an eight-point lead in the blink of an eye on its way to an 80-64 win over Valparaiso Monday evening from the Klotsche Center.
 
UWM (19-8, 11-5 Horizon) not only had the 13-0 to start the third but used an 11-0 early in the fourth to blow this one open in a big win on "Senior Day".
 
"I'm really proud of where our team is at right now," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "To win four in a row, and Valpo is playing excellent basketball. We knew this was not going to be an easy win. They started off very strong and I was very proud of how our team came out in the second half. Just the refocus, the energy and intensity to finally put them away was tremendous by our entire group."
 
Sierra Ford-Washington had a monster game, again flirting with a triple double. The senior scored 16 points to go with eight assists, six rebounds and four steals to lead the way.
 
"I thought (Sierra) put our team on her back from start to finish," Rechlicz said. "She played an excellent game. When we couldn't get anything going on the offensive side in the first half, she was finding ways to score in very difficult situations. She hit some long shots in the first half, and then in the second half, she really started commanding the defense and started finding open holes. She played an excellent game and really played like she was a senior on senior night."
 
Jenny Lindner was nearly perfect from the floor in this one, leading all players with 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the floor – including a perfect 5-for-5 from behind the arc in just 25 minutes.
 
Bailey Farley and Steph Kostowicz both also scored in double figures Monday, each netting 11.
 
Dani Franklin had the hot hand for Valpo (8-20, 3-14 Horizon), finishing with a team-high 19 points.
 
After a first half that saw Milwaukee struggle to find its rhythm while Valpo shot lights out (5-of-8 from three in the first quarter alone), the Panthers trailed 34-29 heading into the break.
 
That would instantly change right out of the gates in the second half.
 
Farley drilled a three on the first possession and a layup by Lindner on the next time down tied the game just 40 seconds into the third quarter. Lindner then hit a three of her own followed by a Kostowicz bucket to force a VU timeout. On the ensuing possession, Kostowicz forced a steal and Farley hit another triple and just 3:14 into the second half Milwaukee led 42-34.
 
Another deep ball from Farley later in the frame made it an 11-point lead and a jumper by Alexis Lindstrom pushed UWM up 12 late in the third.
 
Heading into the fourth up 11, the Panthers once again ripped off a big run.
 
After a bucket by Valpo to start the quarter, Milwaukee got back-to-back jumpers from Lindstrom and Ford-Washington. With solid defense holding the Crusader attack at bay, Kostowicz and Kelsey Cunningham each scored to make it a 17-point edge. Lindner then drilled her fifth three of the game on the next possession as the lead swelled to 20 with Milwaukee never looking back.
 
Jordyn Swan scored six points and Christina Wakeman got on the board with three in both their final home games of their career.
 
"I was really big on the fact that this isn't goodbye," Rechlicz said. "This was just a chance for us to honor (our seniors), to congratulate them on the success that they've had and a chance to talk about the next steps of their journey, but this is not goodbye. We have many more games to play.
 
"I really have a lot of respect and appreciation for this group. When a lot of them came in, our culture was not the same as it is now. They fought to make it the way that it is now and I know we're going to have so much success in the future and be using all four of them as examples for many years to come."
 
Milwaukee finished the game with 18 assists – 14 coming in the second half. The team also limited its turnover margin to just 12 after committing eight in the first 20 minutes.
 
The Panthers close out the regular season with one final road trip, starting Friday at Northern Kentucky for a 4 pm Central tip.
 
 
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