Panthers, Wildcats Set For Big Showdown Sunday

Both teams 7-1 to start the season

MILWAUKEE - Winners of six-straight, the Milwaukee women's basketball team will look to make it seven in a row this weekend when they welcome Big Ten foe Northwestern to the Klotsche Center for a noon tip off Sunday. Both teams are off to hot starts and are 7-1 entering the game. The Panthers - now ranked 20th in College Insider's Mid-Major poll - will look to continue their best start in program history. Sunday's game will be streamed live on ESPN3, as well as broadcast over the airwaves on 920 AM.

LOOKING AT THE WILDCATS
The Wildcats are off to an equally impressive 7-1 start to their season, including a 73-68 win over then No. 16 Florida. Sunday's game will be just the second away from home this season for NU, with their lone road game thus far being their only loss (89-66 at DePaul Nov. 19). Reigning Big Ten Player of the Week Nia Coffey leads Northwestern with 22.2 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. Ashley Deary and Christen Inman both average 11.0 points/game, as well. The Wildcats also have two local ties on their roster, with Maya Jonas (Whitefish Bay) and Lydia Rhode (Brookfield) both hailing from the greater Milwaukee area.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee will be looking for its fourth win in the all time series with Northwestern. In fast, the series was tied at 3-3 until NU's win in Evanston last year. The Panthers won three straight from 1999 to 2006, with their lone home win in the series coming on Dec. 12, 2004 - a 74-60 win that saw UWM force 30 Northwestern turnovers.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee has one more game on its schedule before final exams start, taking on Chicago State Wednesday night at 7 pm from the Klotsche Center.

LAST GAME
A 13-0 run early in the fourth quarter was the key for the Milwaukee women's basketball team in a 68-60 win on the road at Illinois State Wednesday night from Redbird Arena.

The win is the sixth-straight for Milwaukee (7-1), which is now off to its best start in its Division-I history.

"I thought our team was resilient tonight, especially in the second half," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "At half time, we made quite a few adjustments as to how we were playing. It was nice to see our senior leadership come out of the locker room and execute those changes."

Alexis Lindstrom led all scorers with 14 points Wednesday, getting going from behind the arc early before hitting some big mid-range shots late.

Steph Kostowicz recorded her fifth double-double of the young season with 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Milwaukee also tied its season high with 12 steals and forced 25 Redbird (3-5) turnovers.

WHAT A START!
The 7-1 start by Milwaukee may not be overly surprising to some fans based on how successful last year went, but it is still plenty noteworthy. In fact, this year's 7-1 record is the best start through seven games in the Division-I history of the program. The only one better dates back to the NAIA 1987-88 team that began that season 8-1.

CRACKING THE POLLS
Milwaukee achieved yet another new feat earlier this week when they were ranked 20th in the College Insider Mid-Major poll. That marks the first time Milwaukee women's basketball has been ranked in any capacity in its Division I history.

MIXING IT UP
Over the last two games, the Panthers have shown a real ability to adapt and adjust to pull out wins. Milwaukee's first six wins were highlighted by lightning-fast starts, outscoring opponents by a whopping 132-69 in the first quarter. But, in the last two games, UWM has actually trialed at halftime - the only two times that has happened this year.

The Panthers responded by big kicks down the stretch, including a late 9-0 run against North Dakota State and a 13-0 run that spanned nearly six minutes of the final quarter Wednesday at Illinois State.

AWARD-WINNING PLAY
While Milwaukee is only a few short weeks into its season, people have taken plenty of notice of the Panthers play on the court thus far.

Earlier this week, it was Steph Kostowicz's turn. The junior was named Horizon League Player of the week after a strong showing down the stretch in Milwaukee's come-from-behind win over North Dakota State Dec. 3.

That came just one week after six different players earned various awards after posting three wins in a five-day span. Bailey Farley, Alexis Lindstrom, Sierra Ford-Washington and Steph Kostowicz were all named to the TD Bank Classic All-Tournament Team, with Kostowicz also earning MVP honors.

On top of that, junior Jenny Lindner was named the Horizon League Player of the Week after three outstanding games. First, Lindner poured in a game-high 28 points to lead the way in the convincing 17-point win over Wisconsin. She also finished as the top scorer of the TD Bank Classic, with a combined 29 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists as Milwaukee swept through the tournament.

As if that weren't enough, Lizzie Odegard also was recognized, being named the league's freshman of the week after capping her strong week with a 14-point, seven-rebound performance in the tournament championship game. That already is the second time Odegard has earned the league's weekly freshman honor, also doing so following her first collegiate game. With that, Odegard became the first Panther to earn a league award after her collegiate debut in program history.

TURKEY TOURNEY
With its sweep at the TD Bank Classic hosted by Vermont over the Thanksgiving weekend, the Panthers claimed their first in-season tournament title since the 2006 team went 2-0 at the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic in Dallas, Texas. Milwaukee no only won both games this season in Vermont, but did so dominating fashion - taking the title by an average winning margin of 31. UWM improved its record to 17-10 all time in tournaments over the Thanksgiving holiday and broke the tie to jump up to 27-25 in all in-season tournaments.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1000
Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz have been on a mission since day one in the Black & Gold and it seems only a matter of time until both individuals crack the 1,000-point milestone during this their junior seasons. Milwaukee entered the season with 19 players in program history reaching the historic scoring mark, with Lindner and Kostowicz well on pace to eclipse the barrier shortly. Heading into Sunday's game, Lindner sits with 881 points (119 away), while Kostowicz is at 743 points (257 away). Of Milwaukee's 19 players with 1,000+ points in their careers, there have been two other tandems to achieve the feat as part of the same class:

-Umenia White (1,597 points) and Cammie Nonhoff (1,087 points) from 1985-89

-Jaci Clark (1,830 points) and Marsha Housley (1,491 points) from 1979-83.

...AND THE COUNTDOWN TO 500
The same duo that has been lighting up the scoreboard for Milwaukee the past two-plus seasons has also been getting things done on the glass. Not only are Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Linder closing in on 1,000 career points, but both seem likely to crack the 500-rebound list this season, as well. Kostowicz is closest, with 467 (33 away) entering Sunday's game, while Lindner isn't far away at 410 (90 away). To date, UWM has 23 players with 500 rebounds all time in program history. Of those 23, only 12 also reached the 1,000-point mark in their careers.

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS WITH WAKEMAN
Christina Wakeman has been chosen as a nominee of the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team. The award - in its fifth year of existence - honors college basketball players for their community service work - something Wakeman has been no stranger to in her time with the Panthers.

Wakeman is one of 97 student-athletes nominated. A total of 10 will be named to the Allstate WBCA Good Works Team in February, and selected student-athletes will be honored at the 2017 WBCA Convention and at the 2017 NCAA Women's Final Four in Dallas, Texas.

WINNING BIG
The Panthers have made a habit of late with some rather lopsided wins. First, Milwaukee claimed a 27-point win over Loyola (73-46) on Nov. 20 - the biggest win in Kyle Rechlicz's four-plus years as head coach of the Panthers at that time. UWM then took down in-state rival Wisconsin by an impressive 17 points before a 38-point smothering (88-50) of LIU-Brooklyn to start the TD Bank Classic Nov. 25. Milwaukee then closed out that tournament with a 24-point win (68-44) over host Vermont Nov. 26.

Not only is the 38-point win the new bench mark for margin of victory under Rechlicz, it's also the fourth-largest win for UWM since they moved to Division I heading into the 1990-91 season. It also marks the biggest win since the school-record 54-point victory (100-46) over Youngstown State back on Feb. 2, 2002.

STREAK SNAPPERS
The Panthers have already put a pair of long losing streaks to bed this season. With its win at Loyola on Nov. 20, UWM ended a six-game win streak by the Ramblers in the series, with the last win coming back in 2011. Then, just two days later, Milwaukee emphatically took down Wisconsin for its first win in that series since Dec. 15, 1992 - a span of 17-straight wins by the Badgers over nearly 25 years.

A B1G WIN
Another notable feat in its win over in-state rival Wisconsin was that it marked just the seventh time the Panthers have taken down a Big Ten foe. That marked the first win over the Big Ten since an 81-73 victory over Northwestern on Jan. 18, 2006.

DE-FENSE
The Panthers turned up the defensive pressure Nov. 20 at Loyola and held the Ramblers to just 15 first-half points and 46 total for the game. That tied the fewest allowed by Kyle Rechlicz-coached Milwaukee team, equal to a 62-46 win at Cleveland State Jan. 9, 2016.

Then, just six days later, Milwaukee one-upped themselves yet again. Going up against tournament host Vermont as part of the TD Bank Classic, the Panthers again cranked things up defensively and limited the Catamounts to just five first-quarter points and just 44 for the game. That trumps both 46-point games as the new standard under Rechlicz.

In fact, no UWM team has conceded fewer points since the 2011-12 squad posted a 50-31 win over Valparaiso on Feb. 25 at the Klotsche Center.

WHAT A TURNAROUND
After the 114-104, double-overtime thriller at Northern Illinois on Nov. 16, defense was a clear point of emphasis heading into the next game. The result: the Panthers held Loyola to just 46 points (just 15 in the first half) en route to a 27-point win over the Ramblers. The 68-point shift in points allowed is the largest - plus or minus - between two games in Milwaukee's 46 years of women's basketball.

DON'T CALL IT A COMEBACK
After missing the entire 2015-16 season following a preseason injury, Jordyn Swan returned for her redshirt senior year and made her return to the court with three minutes of action at NIU Nov. 16. Four days later, Swan had a big impact - netting 13 points in just 13 minutes of action. That is significant, as it marks the first time Swan reached double figures in scoring since her junior season when she netted 11 against Youngstown State on Jan. 31, 2015.

LEAGUE LEADERS
While it is still early, UWM has started out much like they played all of last season with their preliminary statistics ranking quite high in the league standings. Milwaukee already leads the conference in rebounding margin (+10.3) and also ranks second in free throw percentage (.791), second in scoring offense (79.5 points/game), third in three-point shooting (.338) and third in scoring margin (+14.6).

Individually, quite a few Panthers check in atop the league standings, headlined in numerous categories by do-it-all forward Steph Kostowicz. The junior is third in the Horizon League in scoring (17.6 points/game), third in field goal percentage (.560), third in rebounding (9.3/game) and second in blocks (1.5/game).

A LOT OF CHARITY WORK
Kyle Rechlicz's teams have increasingly improved on their free throw shooting, with last year being the third-best in program history, connecting on .737 percent of their freebies. This year's Panther squad is well above that mark, sinking 151-191 of their shots from the charity stripe heading into the game against Northwestern. That is good for an .791 percentage - just ahead of the school record mark of .790 set back in the 2010-11 season.

Not only that, the Panthers' free throw shooting ranks 12th in the entire nation after eight games. Iowa State leads the NCAA at .838 (150-197).

COMING OUT SWINGING
Last year, Milwaukee made a habit of jumping out quickly on its opponents and building a very sizeable lead before they knew what hit them. That has been a trend once again in the early going this season. UWM is outscoring its first eight opponents by 64 in the first quarter alone and boasts a 305-223 edge in first halves thus far.

BREAKING THE CENTURY MARK
Milwaukee's 104-point performance against Northern Illinois Nov. 16 tied the second-most points in a game in program history - second only to the memorable 116-point game Dec. 4, 2012 against Bradley. The Panthers also scoring 104 points in a big win over Northeastern Jan. of 1991. This year's performance marked the sixth time UWM has eclipsed the 100-point barrier in its D-I history and the 12th time since basketball began at the school in 1971. The Bradley game marked the most recent reaching the century mark, with the other triple-figure outings including totals of 104 (Northeastern, 1/22/91), 102 (Detroit, 1/19/02), 101 (CSU, 2/17/96) and 100 (YSU, 2/2/02). The 218 combined points in the NIU this season also marked the second-most total points in a game in program history, shy of only the 228 in the 2012 win over Bradley. It also marked just the second time both teams were 100-plus in the same contest.

THAT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Milwaukee did something it has never done before in the Nov. 16 game at Northern Illinois - have three players with a double-double in the same contest. Steph Kostowicz (30 pts, 11 reb), Sierra Ford-Washington (18 pts, 11 reb) and Jenny Lindner (16 pts, 12 reb) all recorded double-doubles in Milwaukee's 114-104 loss, marking the first time three players have done that all in the same game.

6 x 10 = TEAM EFFORT
Another notable from Milwaukee's Nov. 16 contest at Northern Illinois - six Panthers reached double figures in scoring. The Panthers entire starting five of Bailey Farley, Alexis Lindstrom, Jenny Lindner, Sierra Ford-Washington and Steph Kostowicz all scored 11 or more points, while freshman Lizzie Odegard came off the bench to also chip in 12. That marked the first time six players scored since Mar. 9, 2007 in an 83-79 win over Wright State in the Horizon League Tournament quarterfinals - a total of 280 games earlier.

FOR OPENERS
The Panthers improved to 10-17 all-time in season openers at the NCAA Division I level (dating back to 1990-91) after their 76-68 win over Western Illinois to start the 2016-17 season. The win over WIU was an exciting one, with Jenny Lindner pouring in 23 points to go with eight rebounds, while Steph Kostowicz notched her first double-double of the young season with 20 points and 11 boards. Head coach Kyle Rechlicz is now 4-1 in openers, as UWM ran away with an 82-58 win over Chicago State in Rechlicz's debut contest four years ago.

DOUBLING DOWN
Steph Kostowicz has picked up right where she left off last year, recording five double-doubles in her first eight games of the year. The preseason first-team all-league honoree opened with 20 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Western Illinois and followed that up with 30 points and 11 boards against Northern Illinois. She also went for 12 and 13 in the big win over Wisconsin before tallying 10 and 12 at Vermont and 13 and 10 at Illinois State. That gives her 15 double-doubles now in her career at the early part of her junior season. In fact, the back-to-back double-doubles to start the season marked the first time any Panther has achieved that feat in program history.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER
Sierra Ford-Washington, Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner have helped make Milwaukee a force to be reckoned with. The trio attributed for .612 percent of the Panthers' scoring last season and have gotten off to a blazing start to the 2016-17 season. So far, that number is up to .607 percent, with the big three combining for 20 double-digit scoring performances and eight double-doubles in just eight games.

AWFULLY EFFICIENT
Not only is Steph Kostowicz lighting up the scoreboard in the early going of her junior season, she's doing so in an awfully efficient manner. Kostowicz started the season going 8-10 in the season opener and is now shooting .560 (51-91) from the floor on the year, including .400 (6-15) from behind the arc. Not to be overshadowed, her free-throw shooting of .846 (33-39) is also awfully impressive and is a big reason why Milwaukee ranks 12th in the nation in that category.

PRESEASON RANKS
The Horizon League released its preseason rankings as voted on by coaches, media members and SIDs with the Panthers picked to be right back at the top this season. Milwaukee was tabbed third overall with 246 points, behind only Green Bay (299) and Detroit (256). Steph Kostowicz also was recognized when the votes were announced, earning first-team all-league honors after earning the same distinction at the end of last year's outstanding run.

400 AND COUNTING!
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. 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 429 games in a row heading into the game against the Wildcats. It's still 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 five 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.

IN THE BOOKS
Last season was truly a memorable one for Milwaukee, recording its best regular season in a decade with quite a few remarkable accomplishments achieved by last year's squad.

• The 19 wins are the most in a season since the 2005-06 team that finished 22-9 on their way to the NCAA Tournament.

• The 12 conference wins are the most also since the 05-06 season.

• Milwaukee also posted 10 wins away from home, just one shy of the record 11 non-home wins set by the 2001-02 team.

• The Panthers finished their home season with a 9-5 mark - the first home winning season since 2010-11 (7-6). In fact, last season's home winning percentage of .643 is the highest since the 05-06 team went 13-3 for an .813 mark.

• Last year's second-place finish marked the first time Milwaukee has finished in the top half of the league standings since the 2010-11 team placed fourth and it is the first top-two finish for UWM since taking second in the 07-08 season.

STARTED FROM THE BOTTOM...
UWM is coming off an incredible season that saw them finish second in both the regular season and conference tournament to earn a postseason berth with a trip to the WNIT. Even more impressive, the Panthers were picked ninth overall in last year's preseason league poll following an eighth-place finish (of nine) in 2014-15. That made them just the third team in Horizon League history to finish in the bottom two one season and follow that up with a top-two finish the very next year. The other two?

-Youngstown State finished last (4-14) in the 2011-12 season before jumping up to second (11-5) in 12-13, making it to the WNIT.

-Butler placed seventh of eight (3-11) in 1988-89 before leaping up to second (12-4) the next year, losing to Notre Dame by just one point in the conference tournament championship.

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 season 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 last season, making her just the second coach in program history to earn that honor.

WATCH 'EM ANYWHERE
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. The team will play four games on local broadcast television, once again returning to Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. Another 21 games will be carried live online on ESPN3 as well as one other road game via an opponent platform. For the Panthers' TWC SportsChannel contests, Bob Brainerd and former UWM great Maria Viall will once again be calling the action.

HEAD TO THE BIG 920
Nearly every Milwaukee regular-season game will once again be available on the radio and online via "The Big 920" on your AM dial. Matt Menzl will don the headset for the first time this season. Fans might remember Menzl after years of calling Milwaukee soccer and volleyball games, as well spending the past five seasons as the voice of Green Bay men's basketball. Fans can also catch Menzl's call with the majority of the team's ESPN3 webcasts. A select few games will not be aired over the radio waves due to broadcast conflicts, but can still be found online at MKEPanthers.com

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Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley: G; 5' 10"; Junior

#30 Sierra Ford-Washington: G; 5' 8"; Senior

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

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

#5 Alexis Lindstrom: G; 5' 7"; Senior

#41 Jordyn Swan: G/F; 6' 0"; Senior

#43 Christina Wakeman: C; 6' 3"; Senior

#45 Lizzie Odegard: F; 6' 0"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

#30 Sierra Ford-Washington
: 5' 8"; Senior
: G

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

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

#5 Alexis Lindstrom
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

#41 Jordyn Swan
: 6' 0"; Senior
: G/F

#43 Christina Wakeman
: 6' 3"; Senior
: C

#45 Lizzie Odegard
: 6' 0"; Freshman
: F