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Steph Kostowicz
Steph Kostowicz
104
Milwaukee UWM 1-1
114
Winner NIU NIU 2-0
Milwaukee UWM
1-1
104
Final
114
NIU NIU
2-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 OT 1 OT 2 F
Milwaukee UWM 24 22 19 22 10 7 104
NIU NIU 22 15 26 24 10 17 114

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Panthers Run Out Of Gas In Double OT Thriller, 114-104

Three players record double-doubles in loss

DEKALB, Ill. – Sierra Ford-Washington, Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner all posted double-doubles but it wasn't enough as the Milwaukee women's basketball team dropped a 114-104 double overtime thriller to Northern Illinois from the NIU Convocation Center Wednesday evening.
 
It took a herculean effort from NIU's (2-0) Ally Lehman to bring Milwaukee (1-1) down in this one, scoring a program-record 48 points on 17-29 shooting.
 
"Coming into this game, we knew this was going to be a very tough battle," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We really respect the Northern Illinois coaching staff and what they're building here. They have an unbelievable senior in Ally Lehman, and she put her team on her back tonight."
 
Kostowicz led UWM with 30 points and 11 rebounds. Ford-Washington added another 18 points and 11 rebounds for her second double-double in a Panther uniform, while Lindner was also big with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
 
This marks the first time in Milwaukee's Division I history that three players all recorded a double-double in the same game.
 
In all, Milwaukee had six players score 10 or more points on the night, with Lizzie Odegard and Alexis Lindstrom each netting 12, while Bailey Farley scored 11 in her first start as a Panther.
 
But, four players fouled out for Milwaukee in the tightly officiated contest that saw 33 calls against UWM and 60 fouls called all together.
 
"Foul trouble really put us in a poor position tonight," Rechlicz said. "We ended up playing the last overtime with four of our best players on the bench. I trust our backups. They have a lot of potential, but they haven't been put in those positions before."
 
The Panthers got to overtime after a buzzer-beater play to close out regulation. With just 1.8 seconds left on the clock and down two, Farley found Kostowicz in the lane on the inbound and the junior made one move before creating her shot to tie it up at 87-87 as the horn sounded.
 
In the first OT, Odegard hit a three followed by another triple from Ford-Washington to give UWM a 97-92 lead with 1:59 left. But, Lehman hit a pair of free throws followed by a three late to tie things up at 97-apiece. Milwaukee had one last crack at it, but Lindner's drive to the basket did not draw a call and the game went to double overtime.
 
With four players on the bench after fouling out, Milwaukee ran out of gas in the final five minutes as NIU seized momentum in the close contest.
 
The early going of the game was one of big swings. The Panthers started the contest strong, bursting out of the gates for a 20-8 edge just six minutes in. NIU responded with an 18-4 run of its own to take its first lead at 26-24, only to see UWM answer back with a 12-0 run to go back up 36-26.
 
Milwaukee carried that advantage for a nine-point lead at halftime and a two-point edge at the end of the third, setting up Kostowicz's heroics at the end of regulation.
 
For the game, Milwaukee collected 57 rebounds – just shy of second most in program history at 60. The Panthers shot 42 percent from the floor and 22-28 from the free throw line.
 
UWM will look to rebound Sunday with a trip back to the state of Illinois, taking on Loyola Chicago at 2 pm from Gentile Arena.
 
 
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