Women's Basketball January 09, 2018

Milwaukee Returns Home For Annual “School Day” Game

Panthers welcome Vikings, dozens of area schools

MILWAUKEE – Returning home for the first time in nearly a month, the Milwaukee women's basketball team is set to host Cleveland State from the Klotsche Center at 11am Thursday morning for the annual "School Day" game. Over 2,000 students are expected to be on hand from area schools for the big game - the fifth-straight year Milwaukee has hosted local schools for a day game.

LOOKING AT THE VIKINGS
Cleveland State comes to Milwaukee with an 11-4 record overall, including a 3-1 start to conference play. Thursday's game will mark the first time the Vikings will play a league game on the road this season, and it marks the first road game overall since the Dec. 19 contest at Bradley.

Ashanti Abshaw has once again stepped up her game, averaging an impressive 20.3 points per game - second in the Horizon League thus far. Seniors Khayla Livingston (14.1 points, 4.2 assists) and Olivia Voskuhl (13.3 points, 7.3 rebounds) are also big parts of the Viking attack, while Shadae Bosley leads the conference with 2.3 blocks/game.

SERIES HISTORY
UWM has had Cleveland State's number of late, winning the last five to take a 29-23 edge in the all-time series. There have been quite a number of memorable games recently between the two squads, including just two years ago with a 59-58 overtime win for Milwaukee on School Day.

UP NEXT
The Panthers close out their brief home stand Saturday by playing host to Youngstown State at 2pm from the Klotsche Center.

LAST GAME
Allie LeClaire finished with 28 points as 24th ranked Green Bay took down the Milwaukee women's basketball team, 52-29, Saturday afternoon from the Kress Center.

Going up against the top scoring defense in the country, the Panthers (10-5, 1-2 Horizon) struggled to find their rhythm in just their fifth loss of the season.

Bailey Farley continued her impressive stretch of games with a team-high 13 points to go with four rebounds.

Jenny Lindner reigned in nine rebounds to go with four points, while freshman Sydney Staver finished with a career-best five points off the bench.

The Panthers once again claimed the rebounding battle against another one of the top rebounding teams in the country, 37-35. UWM also finished with a 10-9 edge in second chance points, while Green Bay had a 10-0 edge in fast break points.

ANOTHER BIG SHOWDOWN
The Panthers will face another stiff opponent Thursday in the form of Cleveland State. The Vikings are receiving votes in the most recent Mid-Major Top-25, following two straight games against teams ranked in that poll. In fact, the Panthers have now played four games already this season against Mid-Major ranked foes, all of which have taken place on the road. UWM opened the season with a narrow 77-73 loss at Drake (Nov. 10) before an impressive 77-67 win at Western Illinois (Nov. 26). Milwaukee then dropped a 56-51 decision at Wright State (Dec. 30) and a 52-29 contest at Green Bay (Jan. 6) in the early going of conference play.

ROAD WARRIORS
UWM recently wrapped up yet another road trip - a familiar story for the Panthers, who will play 17 of their 30 regular season games away from the Klotsche Center this season. Milwaukee has proven to feel right at home on the road so far this year, with a 7-4 record in road/neutral games. One more win and they will match last year's regular season total of eight before even reaching the midway point of the schedule.

COMEBACK KIDS
Milwaukee's 15-point comeback over Northern Kentucky Dec. 28 isn't a program record, but it certainly is a memorable one. It marks the largest come-from-behind win since the Panthers turned a 44-28 deficit (16 points) into a 60-57 win over Toledo back in 2011.

It also marks the third time this season UWM has erased double-digit deficits, trailing at Western Illinois by 13 in the second half Nov. 26 before winning by 10. Milwaukee also trailed Illinois State by 10 Dec. 7 before claiming an overtime win.

Fans shouldn't be too surprised by Milwaukee's comeback efforts though. UWM set a program record with seven come-from-behind (trailing at halftime) wins last season, besting the previous mark of six set back in the 2006-07 season.

FOR STARTERS
The Panthers opened their 24th Horizon League campaign last Thursday with a big road win over Northern Kentucky last week. That improves UWM to 11-13 all-time in conference openers. It actually marks the first win in a league opener in the last three years for Milwaukee, despite going a combined 23-13 in the Horizon League over the past two seasons.

ON FIRE OUT OF THE BLOCKS
With its win at Northern Kentucky on Dec. 28, the Panthers recorded their 10th win of the season in just their 13th overall game. That marks the fastest to double-digit wins in the program's 28-year Division-I history, surpassing last year's 10-4 start to the season.

WORKING THE GLASS
Milwaukee has prided itself in its ability to control the boards over the past few years. Last season, the Panthers won the rebounding battle in 26 of their 34 games. That dominance has carried over into this season, with Milwaukee claiming the rebounding edge in 14 of the first 15 games to start the season. In fact, eight of those 15 games have finished with a double-digit advantage by UWM, with the season high so far coming in the Dec. 1 drubbing of NDSU as Milwaukee finished that game with a 53-28 edge on the boards.

CRACKING THE POLLS
The Panthers dropped out of the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll for the first time in a month last week. The rankings - voted on by Division I Women's Basketball coaches - debuted Milwaukee at No. 25 back on Dec. 12, with the Panthers staying in the top-25 for three straight weeks.

GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
Coach Rechlicz has a much deeper bench this season compared to years past, as evident to just how many different people can score for UWM this year. Milwaukee has had at least 10 different players score in a single game six times already this year, with five of those six featuring 11 or more scorers. The season high came against North Dakota State when 12 different players got in on the fun. The six games already matches last year's season total with at least 18 games left on the schedule.

MORE B1G WINS
With wins over both Northwestern (Dec. 3) and Wisconsin (Dec. 14) this season, the Panthers now own two wins over Big Ten foes in the same season for the first time in program history. While it marks just the eighth and ninth wins all-time against the current Big Ten schools, the success should come as no surprise. Milwaukee thumped the Badgers, 80-63, at home a year ago and dropped a 65-63 heartbreaker to NU a few weeks later. That came one year after nearly upsetting Minnesota in the WNIT to close out the 2015-16 season.

DOUBLE VISION
After turning in two double-doubles as a freshman, Steph Kostowicz has been a machine at putting together 10+ performances in points and rebounds. With her 17-point, 11-rebound performance Dec. 30 against Wright State, Kostowicz now has 27 double-doubles in her collegiate career. That already ranks her third in program history, tied with former Panther great Lindsay Laur.

Teammate Jenny Lindner is also steadily climbing that chart in this season's early going. The senior turned in a 12-point, 10-rebound performance in her return against Wright State Dec. 30. That marked the 15th career double-double for the Neillsville native, ranking seventh in program history and just two shy of sixth place.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a 9-3 non-conference record, Milwaukee wrapped up this season's early going with the best non-conference start in Division-I history. This year's squad surpassed last year's 8-3 mark and the 1997-98 team's 8-4 record.

DE-FENSE
Milwaukee has put together some lock-down showings on the defensive side of the ball recently, including the Dec. 1 performance against North Dakota State. The Panthers limited the Bison to just 38 total points - the ninth time over the past two-plus seasons UWM has held an opponent to 50 points or less in a game. In fact, that marks the fewest points allowed by Milwaukee since head coach Kyle Rechlicz took over the program in 2012 and the third-fewest points allowed in the program's Division-I history. The Panthers also held Bison to just 29-percent shooting for the game - the second time this season UWM has held its opponent below 30 percent for four quarters.

UWM has also held teams to single digits in the scoring column for an entire quarter 10 times now this season (excluding overtime), including in both the second and fourth quarters against both NDSU and Illinois State.

The Panthers head into Thursday's game against Green Bay with their defense boasting some impressive national rankings, checking in at 52nd in scoring defense (58.3 points/game against) and 53rd in field-goal percentage defense (36.7%).

SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES
Steph Kostowicz has come out of the gates on fire to start her senior season. The 6-2 forward opened the season with 26 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-8 showing from the free throw line. Then, in the Nov. 21 home opener, Kostowicz racked up another 19 points while going 8-10 from the floor. She then duplicated that feat Dec. 10 at Fort Wayne, again finishing 8-10 from the floor with 19 points. Kostowicz enters this Thursday's game with a sparkling .593 percentage from the field - 18th best in the entire NCAA.

GOING STREAKING
The Dec. 17 loss to Marquette brought Milwaukee's eight-game win streak to a close. The impressive run finishes tied as the fourth longest in the Division-I history of the program, with only a pair of nine-game runs and the school-record 12-game streak longer than this year's early season start. It also marks the fourth time in the last two-plus seasons the Panthers have put together at least five consecutive wins, with this year's run setting the new mark for the longest under head coach Kyle Rechlicz.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Panthers have certainly enjoyed playing in front of their home fans recently. Milwaukee went an impressive 12-3 at home last season and is already 3-1 at the Klotsche Center this season with a pair of emphatic wins. UWM is now 24-9 in the last two-plus seasons when playing in front of their home fans.

In fact, the Panthers just closed out a 10-game home winning streak with the win over Illinois State Dec. 7. That finishes as the fourth-longest home win streak in the team's Division I history.

WINNING BIG
The Panthers have made a habit lately of posting some rather lopsided wins. Milwaukee put together nine 20-plus-point wins a season ago and has already done so three times this season. It started in the home opener with a 22-point smothering of Loyola (63-41) Nov. 21 before steamrolling North Dakota State by a whopping 36 points (74-38) Dec. 1 and a 25-point (84-59) handling of Chicago State Dec. 21.

Milwaukee's big win over NDSU marked the fifth-largest margin of victory for UWM since they moved to Division I heading into the 1990-91 season. Milwaukee only has two bigger wins in the last 15 years - the 38-point handling of LIU-Brooklyn last year and the school-record 54-point victory over Youngstown State back on Feb. 2, 2002.

WHAT A WIN
Milwaukee's 77-67 win over Western Illinois Nov. 26 was significant for a number of reasons:

-The Panthers trailed by 13 points with just over five minutes left in the third quarter and finished with a 10-point win; a 23-point swing over the final 15:20.

-The home loss was the first for WIU in nearly 10 months (12/31/17) after going 13-1 at Western Hall last year.

-The Leathernecks entered that game ranked in the mid-major top-25. That marks the second win for Milwaukee over a mid-major-ranked team in a short span, taking down highly ranked Green Bay late last year, 72-60.

A CAREER PERFORMANCE
Jenny Lindner turned in one of her best performances to date in Milwaukee's road win at Western Illinois Nov. 26. The senior poured in a career-high 34 points - 21 of which came in the second half - to go with 10 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. That marks the third time in her career Lindner has finished with 30+ and it surpasses her previous high of 32 set late in her sophomore season in a win at Oakland.

In fact, her 34 points were the most by a Panther since Courtney Lindfors netted 35 in a road win over Chicago State Nov. 16, 2010.

PILING UP THE WINS
Over the past two seasons, Milwaukee has been racking up the total in the win column. The Panthers eclipsed the 20-win mark for just the third time in program history last season, finishing with a program-record-tying 22 wins on their way to the WBI Semifinals. Additionally, that marked the first time UWM has had back-to-back seasons with at least 16 wins since doing so in three-straight years from 99-2000 through 01-02.

EARLY HONORS
Just four weeks into the 2017-18 season, Milwaukee has already turned in some of the top performances in the entire Horizon League. Steph Kostowicz was named Horizon League Player of the Week after just the first week of the season, going off for 26 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, two assists and one steal at perennial power Drake in the Preseason WNIT. Then, Jenny Lindner was named player of the week by the conference after pouring in a career-high 34 points to go with 10 rebounds in the road win at Western Illinois Nov. 26.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
It's no secret Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz have already left their mark on this program heading into their senior year. The duo both eclipsed both the 1000-point and 500-rebound milestones as juniors and have continued to climb up the statistical charts. Entering Sunday's game, Lindner ranks sixth in scoring (1,409 points), eighth in rebounding (666), seventh in double-doubles (15) and fifth in games started (105). Meanwhile, Kostowicz sits at ninth in career scoring (1,357 points), fourth in rebounding (793), third in blocks (146) and tied for third in double-doubles (27).

PRESEASON RANKS
The Horizon League released its preseason rankings as voted on by coaches, media members and SIDs, with the Panthers picked to once again battle for the top this season. Milwaukee was tabbed fourth overall this year with 129 points, behind only Green Bay (246), Wright State (204) and Oakland (139). Steph Kostowicz was once again recognized when the votes were announced, earning preseason first-team all-league honors for the second-straight year.

400 AND COUNTING!
The Panthers have been on fire from behind the arc of late, headlined by hitting 14 threes against Valparaiso Jan. 7 of last season. That's nothing new for Milwaukee, though, as they have been lighting it up from three-point range for a while now. In fact, the Panthers have made at least one three-point in every game dating back to an 0-for-4 showing against Marquette back on Nov. 26, 2002. That makes 470 games in a row heading into the game against the Vikings.

In fact, when Alexis Lindstrom hit her first three pointer against Green Bay on Feb. 17 of last season, the Panthers broke the league record for consecutive games with a made three. That topped the previous mark of 446 set by Loyola, halted six years ago when they went 0-11 against Butler. It's still a ways to go for the NCAA record, however, which is held by Canisius at 510 in a row (1994-2011). For comparison, the NBA's longest streak is the Dallas Mavericks at 1,108 in a row.

MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF
Head coach Kyle Rechlicz was named the seventh coach in program history in May of 2012. After three years of hard work, the Panthers broke through in her fourth season at the helm with an incredible campaign last year. Milwaukee racked up 19 wins, finished second in the Horizon League and earned a trip to the WNIT. All that work did not go unnoticed, as Rechlicz was named Horizon League Coach of the Year at the end of that season, making her just the second coach in program history to earn that honor. She followed that up with an impressive 22 wins in 2016-17, tying the school record in that category and helping guide the team to its second consecutive postseason berth.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All 13 of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN3, with 10 road contests also streaming live through ESPN, as well as the entirety of the Horizon League Tournament. An additional six games this season will be streamed through various opponent platforms. Milwaukee women's basketball will also make its TV debut on FOX Sports Wisconsin this season when they host Marquette inside the Klotsche Center on Dec. 17, with Bob Brainerd and former UWM great Maria Viall once again calling the action.
Panther fans will also be able to listen to this year's games everywhere they go, as Matt Menzl calls all the action on the Black & Gold Network. Menzl will be courtside for all 30 regular season contests, as well as the exhibition game against Cornell and all postseason action. The Black & Gold Network is streaming live online and can be accessed at MKEPanthers.com.

BLACK & GOLD ON DEMAND
Panther fans can also re-live all of the action by listening to archived games on the Black & Gold Radio Network. All games are chronicled at mixlr.com/milwaukee-panthers/showreel, where fans can re-live Matt Menzl's broadcast in its entirety.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

#32 Steph Kostowicz: F; 6' 2"; Senior

#20 Jenny Lindner: G; 6' 0"; Senior

#1 Sydney Staver: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#32 Steph Kostowicz
: 6' 2"; Senior
: F

#20 Jenny Lindner
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G

#1 Sydney Staver
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G