Back at it after a week off over the Christmas holiday, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team looks to continue its upward trend after claiming victories in two of its past three games, including a 22-point win over Chicago State a week ago at home. The final road trip of December opens Sunday at IPFW, scheduled to tip off against the Mastodons at 1 p.m. CST.

LOOKING AT IPFW
The Mastodons come into the contest at 4-7 overall after a high-scoring 92-84 loss to Horizon League member Oakland on their home court Dec. 22. The team has now dropped three straight. IPFW is led by Haley Seibert averaging 16.1 points as the only player in double-figures. Rachel Rinehart (8.3 ppg) and KeShyra McCarver (8.1 ppg/team-high 5.5 rpg) also contribute heavily. IPFW went 15-15 a season ago but had to replace two-time Summit League Player of the Year Amanda Hyde - who averaged 22.0 points per game a year ago - on its roster.

SERIES HISTORY
The series is tied, 4-4, with the Panthers having won two of three since the series was renewed in 2010 (1996 was the last matchup prior to that). A season ago, the Leathernecks won a shootout at the Klotsche Center by a final score of 99-86.

LAST GAME
The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team took over in the second half to claim a 69-47 victory over Chicago State University Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers (4-6) used a decisive 17-0 scoring run after intermission to open up the game against the Cougars (2-9) and cruised from there.
 
Senior Ashley Green just missed a double-double, scoring a game-high 25 points to go along with nine rebounds. It's the sixth time in 10 games that Green has scored at least 20 this season. Freshman Jenny Lindner was in double-figures again with 14, also just missing her first double-double with nine boards. Junior Sydney Howard added nine points and classmate Jordyn Swan finished with eight points and a career-high eight rebounds.

THE LAST TIME?
A couple of numbers jump off the box score from the win over the Cougars Dec. 21. The Panthers collected 40 total rebounds, including an impressive 20 on the offensive end. The last 20-plus offensive rebound effort came in the season finale in 2012-13 when they grabbed 22. The team also committed just nine fouls. The last time UWM was under 10 personal fouls was also a count of 9 versus Valparaiso in February of 2012. Finally, the last time Milwaukee allowed less than 50 points to an opponent was 28 games ago when Omaha netted 48 in January of 2014.

18 FROM 10
Senior Ashley Green started the season in 17th place on the all-time scoring list. Entering play Sunday, she is just 18 points away from entering the Top 10 in program history. She now has 1,293 and No. 10 is currently at 1,310.

JENNY, FROM THE BLOCK
Freshman Jenny Lindner netted a career high for the second game in a row against Eastern Illinois Dec. 10, finishing with a team-best 19 points. Her high-water scoring mark has now gone from 12 to 15 to 19 overall and she has finished seven games in double-figures - the most for a UWM freshman since Ashley Green accomplished the feat 17 times back in 2011-12.

22 SKIDOO
The 22-0 scoring run that UWM used to carry itself to the win over Eastern Illinois Dec. 10 was a thing of beauty. In all, Milwaukee forced eight missed shots and came up with 10 turnovers, holding the visiting Panthers without a made field goal for a stretch that ended up lasting 12 minutes and 33 seconds overall.

'TIS THE SEASON OF GIVING
For the second year in a row, a Panther sits near the top of the Horizon League leaders in assists. Newcomer Jaleesa Armstrong is currently second at 5.0 assists per game, with the current first-place tally at 5.3. A year ago, Angela Rodriguez led the league, finishing with a school record 168 on the year.

SIMPLY MAV-A-LOUS
Junior Jordyn Swan and freshman Jenny Lindner both stepped up in the game against Omaha Dec. 7, both setting career-highs in points scored against the Mavericks. Swan netted 16 points for her third career double-figure effort, topping the mark of 12 she established against North Dakota last month. Lindner had 15 for the fourth double-digit effort of her career, bettering the 12 she scored back in the season opener.

START LOOKING AT ME SWAN
Finally 100 percent healthy, junior Jordyn Swan has been emerging as a go-to player this season. She has started all 10 games and is averaging career-highs with 8.6 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. In fact, coming into this season, she had accumulated 58 career points and 20 career rebounds - this season alone she now has 86 points and 46 boards.

A 'ROOS A-WAKE-NING
Sophomore Christina Wakeman contributed heavily in the win against UMKC Dec. 2, posting her second-best collegiate effort in points. She finished with eight (just off her career-high of nine) on 3-of-6 shooting, adding three rebounds, an assist and a block.

ROYAL WORK IN KC
Not to be overlooked against UMKC Dec. 2, but the Panthers did one of their best-ever jobs of taking care of the basketball. The team ended up with just eight turnovers against the Kangaroos, just one off the school record-low of seven in a game (It's the sixth game in program history with eight).

NOT A GREENHORN
Ashley Green is making this scoring thing look easy as a senior. Over the course of her first three years in a Panther uniform, Green crossed the 20-plus plateau on eight occasions, including a pair of 30-plus point outings.

This season alone, she has finished with 20-or-more points six times, including two outings over 30. She has paced the team in scoring seven of 10 times and has led or tied for the team lead in rebounding in nine of 10 outings as well.

I GOT THIS
Freshman Jenny Lindner made sure the Panthers took care of business in the victory against the Kangaroos Dec. 2. Ahead by as many as 15 points early in the second half, UMKC trimmed the deficit to six at 50-44. Lindner took over from there - she hit a three-pointer, a layup on a fast break and another 3 over the course of the next trio of possessions to extend the lead back to 14 and UWM coasted to the win from there.

ON FIRE
Ashley Green's scoring output in the early portion of the season has been impressive and, as of Friday, was still ranked in the Top 15 at the NCAA Division I level at 22.0 ppg. In fact, the 89 she netted in the first three games of the campaign marked the third-highest three-game output in school history. Only Traci Edwards had more: 94 (42/30/22) in 2006-07 and 92 (45/20/27) in 2007-08.

I'LL TAKE GREEN FOR 20, ALEX
Ashley Green scored at least 20-or-more points four times in a row to open the 2014-15 campaign - with the streak coming to an end against Mizzou - just one off of Traci Edwards' school-record streak of five (which she did four times).

THROWING THEM INTO THE MIX
Steph Kostowicz became the third freshman to earn her first start this season, cracking the opening lineup against Marquette Nov. 26. She responded with 12 points and four rebounds, making 8-of-12 attempts from the free throw line.

IT AIN'T EASY BEING GREEN
Ashley Green became just the second player in program history to score 30-or-more points in back-to-back games (66 total points Nov. 16 and Nov. 18), joining Traci Edwards (72 in consecutive games in January of 2007) on the short list. Edwards' two-game tally included outings of 42 and 30 points.

A DEFENSIVE BAKERS DOZEN
The 13 points Milwaukee held Bowling Green to in the first half of the Nov. 22 contest was nearly unprecedented. The tiny tally was just one point off the school record of 12 accomplished in the first half against Wagner way back in December of 1997.

HIGH-SCORING HALF
The 50-point first half against North Dakota Nov. 18 marked the first time UWM hit the half-century plateau as a team since netting 53 in the second half of an 82-69 victory over Chicago State Nov. 16, 2010.

LONG-RANGE LEGENDS
The Panthers continue to sink an impressive amount of three-pointers under Kyle Rechlicz and the performance against North Dakota Nov. 18 added to the list. Milwaukee finished with 16 three's, just one triple away from the school and Horizon League record of 17 it set back against Bradley December 5, 2012. In addition to being the second-highest total in program history, the 16 is also the most ever made in a game that did not go into overtime. The Panthers were an incredible 13-of-15 in the first half, an 87 percent clip.

BEST EVER
Ashley Green's 36 points against NDSU Nov. 16 were the most-ever for a Milwaukee player in a season opener, topping the 30 that Traci Edwards netted in the initial game of the 2007-08 campaign. It was also a marked improvement in season openers for Green personally. She finished with three points as a junior against Wisconsin, five against Chicago State as sophomore and did not score in her freshman debut off the bench.

SETTING THE BAR HIGH
Ashley Green has been a starter since early in her freshman campaign and has already accumulated a lengthy resume when it comes to personal statistical highlights. She one-upped all of that in just one performance in the season opener, setting new career-highs in both points scored and rebounds. Her 36 points topped her former best of 33 that she scored against Bradley December 4, 2012. Meanwhile, the 15 rebounds eclipsed her former career-best of 14, accomplished twice prior. In addition, she also tied her collegiate-best with the 13 made field goals.

FILLING IT UP
That 36-point effort from Ashley Green tied for the fourth-highest single-game scoring effort in program history.

1. 45 points, Traci Edwards, 2/21/08
2. 42, Edwards, 1/20/07
3. 38, Andrea Filipek, 1/23/99
4. 36, now accomplished four times

IT'S AN OLD HABIT
The Panthers have turned it up from three-point range recently, but have always been a threat from long distance. In fact, the team has a long history of making three's headed in to 2014-15. Milwaukee has made at least one three-pointer in every game dating back to an 0-for-4 showing from long-distance against Marquette back on November 26, 2002. That makes 369 games in a row heading into the game against the Mastodons. It's a ways to go for the NCAA record, however, which is held by Canisius at 510 in a row (1994-2011). The Horizon League record was halted two years ago when Loyola came up empty at 446. Cleveland State held the record previously - which was also the NCAA mark at the time - at 408 (1992-2007). For comparison, the NBA's longest streak is the Dallas Mavericks at 1,108 in a row.

KELSEY, I SEE
Kelsey Cunningham added her name to a short list against the Bison Nov. 16. She became the 13th freshman to start a season opener in the 25-year program history at Milwaukee and the first since Kiki Wilson in 2011.

JUST ANOTHER GAME
After averaging 17.1 points per game as a senior in high school, freshman Jenny Lindner picked it right up on the collegiate level with 12 points and seven rebounds in her UWM debut against NDSU Nov. 16. The 12-point effort marks the most for a Milwaukee freshman in a season opener since Angela Rodriguez finished with 16 points in the 2010 opener against Oklahoma.

PRESEASON PUBLICITY
Senior Ashley Green was named to the Preseason All-Horizon League Second Team in the league's annual preseason poll of head coaches, media members and sports information directors.

NEW-LOOK PANTHERS
Milwaukee will have an interesting look to the roster this season after graduating three senior starters from a year ago. The roster features five players who were on the team in 2013-14 and seven newcomers. Among the new faces are a pair of transfers (one will be sitting out per NCAA regulations), a senior playing her first season of collegiate hoops and four true freshmen all looking to make a good first impression.

TIME TO STEP UP
The situation allows the Panthers an opportunity for new players to step up or returning players to expand their roles from last season. The team returns just 30.7 percent of its scoring (608 of 2,081 total points) and 36.9 percent of rebounding (370 of 1,004 total individual rebounds). When you break it down further, senior Ashley Green accounts for 70 percent of that returning point total and 55 percent of the boards.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers now hold an 8-17 record in season-openers at the NCAA Division I level (dating back to 1990-91) after topping North Dakota State. A year ago, Milwaukee fell to the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 85-60 at the Klotsche Center in the season opener. Head coach Kyle Rechlicz is now 2-1 in openers, as UWM ran away with an 82-58 win over Chicago State in Rechlicz's debut contest two years ago.

FOR OPENERS: PART II
Taking the win-loss record a step further, the Panthers are now 13-12 in home openers over the same time period after falling to Bowling Green Nov. 22.

MORE THAN A GREEN THUMB
One look at the career statistics of senior Ashley Green show an impressive trajectory. In each season at UWM, she has increased both her scoring average and her rebounding average and will look to continue the trend over her final campaign. As a freshman in 2011-12, Green averaged 10.4 points and 5.4 rebounds. She upped that to 11.6 ppg and 6.2 rpg and then followed that up with a junior season where she contributed 14.2 ppg and 6.7 rpg.

HOW THEY ROLL
The Panthers were at it again last season and it would have been more noticeable had they not been even better at it two years ago. The team once again finished close to the top of the record book for three-pointers made and attempted. Prior to Kyle Rechlicz's arrival, the most three's made was 212 and attempted was 586. The marks set in 2012-13 (255 of 726) smashed the old standards. Last year, the team finished at 241 makes and 733 attempts, both numbers ending in the top two all-time.

MAKING BUCKETS
The 90 points Milwaukee scored against Cleveland State Feb. 23 last season marked a season-high, topping the 86 it scored against Western Illinois Nov. 17. UWM went 4-1 last season when it scored over 80 points. That was a one-game jump over the prior year, when the Panthers scored at least 80 points four times. This is a marked change for the offense. Looking back, the last time a UWM team scored more than 80 points at least four times in the same season was 2006-07 (four times that campaign). The last time Milwaukee netted at least 80 more than four times was back in 2000-01, when it did so seven times.

TAKING CARE OF BUSINESS
The Panthers set a record for fewest turnovers per game in 2012-13 at 16.2 - an impressive total considering the record that they broke was the former standard of 17.3 set during the 2001-02 campaign (an improvement of over one per game). The new record did not last long, however, as UWM turned the ball over just 14.9 times per contest a year ago to shatter the record once again.

SELECT COMPANY
Senior Angela Rodriguez went over 1,500 career points at the end of last season to become just the fifth player to reach that level in a UWM career. She started the season in 17th place on the all-time list moved all the way up to No. 5 (1,564).

AND NOW THERE IS 19
There was another addition to the 1,000-point club a year ago and it happened against Youngstown State Feb. 21. Ashley Green finished with 17 points that day against the Penguins, with her three-pointer with 5:20 remaining pushing her career total from 998 to 1,001 to become the 19th player to score over 1,000 career points at UWM.

1,000/500
Green not only scores, but rebounds. Sitting at 499 career rebounds headed into the game at UIC Feb. 17 last season, she grabbed an early board to become the 23rd player in program history to collect 500 rebounds in a career. She is now just the fifth player to have recorded over 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in a career in UWM's NCAA Division I era. The rest of the list includes Traci Edwards (2,340 pts/1,193 reb), Maria Viall (1,867/971), Lindsay Laur (1,404/791) and Sami Tucker (1,172/774).

BIG-TIME HONOR
Angela Rodriguez was named Second-Team All-Horizon League last season, becoming the first Panther to earn postseason all-league honors since 2010-11. She also earned a spot on the Mexico National Team in October, one of 12 chosen to play on the squad.

SETTING THEM UP
Senior Angela Rodriguez broke the Milwaukee single-season record for assists against Wright State March 1 of last season. She went into the contest against the Raiders with 151, and her third of the day near the end of the first half in Dayton gave her 154 to break the mark of 153, set by Pam Bartnik during the 1993-94 campaign. She finished the season with 168.

MAKING A NAME FOR HERSELF
Head coach Kyle Rechlicz was named the seventh coach in program history in May of 2012. She also got off to one of the best starts - becoming the first UWM coach to win three of her first five contests of her initial campaign. In her first season, Rechlicz was also one of the youngest coaches at the NCAA Division I level - just seven coaches had earlier birth years when the 2012-13 campaign began.

BE A HOOPS COUCH POTATO
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. The team will play five games on local broadcast television, once again returning to Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. Another 18 games will be carried live online on the Horizon League Network. For the Panthers' TWC SportsChannel contests, Bob Brainerd and former UWM great Maria Viall will once again be calling the action. Early season games will also be available on the SEC+ Network (Missouri) and the WAC Digital Network (UMKC).

HEAD TO THE BIG 920
Every Milwaukee regular-season game will once again be available on the radio and online via "The Big 920" on your AM dial. Scott Warras is back for his ninth season donning the headset. Fans can also catch Warras' call with the majority of the team's ESPN3 webcasts. A handful of games will be aired on WISN 1130 AM due to broadcast conflicts.

WELCOME
Head coach Kyle Rechlicz rounded out her staff in the offseason by hiring Ashlee McGee as an assistant coach and Scott Warras as the Director of Basketball Operations. Kelly Poster also begins her first season as the team's athletic trainer.

McGee comes to Milwaukee after most recently serving as the women's basketball assistant coach at Tennessee State University since the summer of 2012. Warras, the voice of the Panthers on radio broadcasts for the past eight seasons, joins the Milwaukee staff on a full-time basis and will work directly with Rechlicz on coordinating team travel, budget, practices and other program functions.

UP NEXT
The Panthers close out the 2014 portion of the schedule with a midweek battle at Western Illinois Tuesday. Tip time is set for 5:30 p.m.