Women's Basketball February 23, 2016

Panthers Return Home To Take On NKU

Final home stand for Milwaukee this season

MILWAUKEE - After a pair of road wins, the Milwaukee women's basketball team returns home for its final home stand of the year, starting Thursday night with Northern Kentucky at 7 p.m. inside the Klotsche Center. Milwaukee won the first contest, 86-60, one month ago. Since then, the Norse have been red hot, winning six of their last seven by an average of over 18 points per game, including an 80-64 win over Oakland on Sunday.

LOOKING AT NORTHERN KENTUCKY
The Norse are one of the hottest teams in college basketball right now, winners of six of their last seven by an average of over 18 points per game. Since Milwaukee topped NKU in late January, Northern Kentucky has been shooting the lights out, connecting on over .450 percent of its shots in five of its last seven games.

Christine Roush has been the leader of the Norse all season long. The senior averages 16.6 ppg and is shooting .415 percent from three and a league-best .920 from the free-throw line. The last seven games has seen the rise of twin sister Courtney Roush, scoring in double digits in six of the last seven, including netting at least 20 points three times and 29 against Detroit.

NKU is a true shooting team, draining 8.2 threes per game on a league-best .362 shooting percentage from behind the arc.

THE FIRST MEETING...
Four players scored in double figures – including career nights for Alexis Lindstrom and Steph Kostowicz – as Milwaukee rattled off its fifth win in a row with an 86-60 victory over Northern Kentucky.

The Panthers once again built a big lead early and were able to maintain throughout the second half, keeping NKU at arms length he entire second half.

UWM hit a season-high 55.6 percent from the floor and led by as many as 27 in this one, giving the team its third-straight win by at least 22 points.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee's win one month ago was the first matchup between the two teams in program history.

UP NEXT
It's senior day on Saturday when Milwaukee takes on Wright State at 2 p.m. from the Klotsche Center.

LAST GAME
Steph Kostowicz scored a game-high 24 points – including 20 in the second half – to power the Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 62-56 win over UIC Saturday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.

Milwaukee (15-10, 9-5 Horizon League) overcame a slow a start and a big effort by the Flames (12-14, 3-12 Horizon) for yet another important road win.

This is the first time Milwaukee has won at UIC since January of 2010 and it is the first season sweep of the Flames in 10 years.

"We didn't come out with our best start, but we fought back very hard," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "There was a lot of adversity in the sense that they were killing us on the rebounds. We played with a lot of passion and energy today. Especially doing that two games in row for our young team I thought was impressive."

Kostowicz had yet another big game, pouring 20 of her 24 points in the second half to spark the comeback for Milwaukee. The Oak Creek native was extremely efficient, shooting 8-10 from the floor and a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line. She also hauled in a team-best seven rebounds.

Milwaukee also got nine points from Alexis Lindstrom. Sierra Ford-Washington and Emma Roenneburg also were big for the Panthers Saturday, each netting eight points.

NOT THE AVERAGE VICTORY
UWM has won an impressive 15 games already this season, but Saturday's win at UIC was a little out of the ordinary. For starters, it was just the eighth time all season the Panthers were outrebounded in a game, and the third time in those eight Milwaukee won. It also marked just the second time the Panthers have trailed at halftime (24-23) and comeback to win. The other time that has happened this season? The first meeting against UIC.

THE KOST OF ADMISSION
Steph Kostowicz was a big part of Milwaukee's five-game winning streak earlier this year and she returned to that form last week. At Valparaiso, the sophomore forward poured in a career-best 27 points to go with 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year. It also marked the most points by a Panther this season and is the most since Ashley Green's 30 points against Cleveland State late last season.
Then, at UIC, Kostowicz was nearly perfect in Milwaukee's 62-56 win. She put the team on her back in the second half with 20 of her 24 points coming after the intermission on 8-10 shoot - including 1-1 from three - and a perfect 7-7 effort from the charity stripe. Kostowicz also led the team with seven rebounds.

AWARD-WINNING PLAY
For the second time this season, Steph Kostowicz has gotten quite a bit of attention for her efforts on the court. And rightfully so. The sophomore was named Horizon League Player of the Week on Monday after averaging 25.5 points and 9.5 rebounds in Milwaukee's two road wins last week. Kostowicz was also named best in the league by College Sports Madness. This marks the second time she has swept both weekly honors, doing so earlier this season on Jan. 25. That week she was also named to the NCAA's "Starting 5" for the week as one of the top-five players in the nation.

HOW SWEEP IT IS
With its win at UIC on Feb. 20, the Panthers completed their third season sweep of a team this season (Cleveland State and Valparaiso being the other two). That is significant as Milwaukee has had just two season sweeps in the past three years combined. In fact, UWM has not swept three or more season series since the 2009-10 team did so.

SHARP SHOOTER
Milwaukee's Alexis Lindstrom has hit some big shots this season; quite of few of which have come from behind the arc. Playing her first season in Milwaukee, the junior had connected on at least one three pointer in all 24 games this season before going 0-2 from deep against UIC Feb. 20. That marked the most games with a made three to start a season on record - topping Jess Wilhite's mark of 20 games with a three to start the 2000-01 season.

Prior to that, the last time Lindstrom went a full game without a made three pointer was all the back on March 8, 2014 when she was 0-1 while she was playing at Northern Illinois. One game after that performance, Lindstrom drained a career-high nine triples in the first game of the MAC conference tournament.

HERE'S JENNY
After a 25-point, 10-rebound performance in the season-opener, it had been a little bit more of a struggle for sophomore Jenny Lindner in the early going this season. That was until the last 10 games. After entering the season still working her way back from an off-season injury, Lindner has returned to form in a big way. Over those last 10 games, she scored in double digits nine times and is averaging nearly 14 points per game, including a 23-point performance against Youngstown State on Feb. 13. She has also been picking it up on the rebounding front during that time, averaging seven rpg over the last six contests.

THAT'S WHAT I CALL CLUTCH
Sierra Ford-Washington has come up with some big shots for Milwaukee this season, including a pair of game winners in the final seconds. The junior hit a tough jumper in the lane with 6.7 left in overtime to take down Cleveland State Feb. 11. Before that, her layup with 6.4 on the clock was the difference in UWM's 54-53 win over UIC Jan. 14.

A GOOD TIME TO GET GOING
While Sierra Ford-Washington stole the headlines in the 59-58 overtime win over Cleveland State Feb. 11 with her game-winning shot with just 6.7 seconds left on the clock, ironically it was one of the worst games she has played as a Panther. Entering that game averaging a team-leading 13.4 ppg, Ford-Washington nearly went scoreless, scoring her lone basket of the contest as the game's final points.

A LOT OF NAIL BITERS
Milwaukee's one-point, last second win against Cleveland State has been just part of the norm for the Horizon League this season. Heading into Thursday's action, 22 league-only games have been decided by five points or less, with five of those being decided by just one point.

FOURTH TIME'S A CHARM
Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz is enjoying quite a bit of success in her fourth season at the helm. Rechlicz has led the Panthers to 15 wins with at least five more games left on the schedule. That is more than each of her first three seasons, finishing last season with 10 victories. UWM hasn't won more than 15 games in a season since the 2007-08 team won 17.

AN OLD, OLD WOODEN SHIP
Milwaukee's offense has been very diverse this season. One year after Ashley Green led the team in scoring in 20 of UWM's 30 games, the Panthers have already had four different players lead the team in scoring through 25 games this season. Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz have led the way in nine games a piece thus far, while Sierra Ford-Washington has done so seven times.

In fact, UWM currently has four players that average 10+ points per game, making them one of just two league schools (Oakland) with that much wide-spread scoring options.

DOUBLING DOWN
Steph Kostowicz had a monster of a game in the win over Valparaiso Feb. 18. The sophomore led the way with a career-high 27 points and added 12 rebounds for her fifth double-double of the year.

That marked the 10th double-double by a Panther this season. Impressively, those 10 different outings have come by four different players (Kostowicz, Jenny Lindner, Emma Roenneburg and Sierra Ford-Washington).

BLOCK PARTY
Sophomore Steph Kostowicz has made quite an impact down in the post defensively for Milwaukee this season. The second-year player is averaging 1.5 blocks per game. That number ranks fourth in the conference and 109th in the nation.

Not only that, her 37 blocks this season are already closing in on the all-time record list for a single season. While Maria Viall's school record of 53 in 2003-04 might be hard to reach, Kostowicz already stands eighth in UWM history and needs just seven more to move into a tie for seventh place all time.

A PEEK AT THE LEAGUE STANDING
While there is still a lot of basketball yet to be played, UWM currently finds itself sitting in sole possession of third place in the league standings. That is significant as the Panthers haven't finished in the top half of the table since the 2010-11 team placed fourth and hasn't finished runner-up since the 07-08 season.

LIKING LEAGUE PLAY
Since the conference season started, the Panthers have seen some significant improvements in quite a few categories, especially the team's shooting. Before league play started up, Milwaukee was shooting .367 from the floor and just .302 from behind the arc. Now that conference play has started? UWM is shooting a whopping .410 from the floor and .340 from three.

WINNING BIG
The win at Northern Kentucky on Jan. 23 was Milwaukee's third-straight and fourth overall this season by at least 20 points. That is the most 20-point wins in a single season since the 2008-09 team also had four 20-point wins.

The last time Milwaukee has had more than four 20-point wins in a single season? The 2001-02 team posted nine victories by at least 20 points. That team went 20-8 with an average winning margin of 18.1 and has the largest win in school history - a 100-46 win over Youngstown State.

LOTS OF CHARITY SUCCESS
The Panthers are off to an impressive start from the free throw line, currently near the lead in the Horizon League with a 72.6 percent clip after sinking 316-of-435 thus far. That's a better ratio than the past few seasons. Milwaukee shot 69.8 percent last year and has not finished over 70 percent since a program-record 79.1 percent showing back in 2010-11.

Individually, Milwaukee has two of the best free throw shooters in the league this season. Jenny Lindner - who went 10-for-10 once this season and has missed just four free throws in 2016 - is third in the conference and is 15th in the nation at 86.5 percent this year. Meanwhile, Sierra Ford-Washington - who twice has gone 8-for-8 in a game this year and was 11-for-11 against Oakland - ranks fifth in the league and 61st in the country at 83.5.

IT'S BEEN A WHILE
It's no secret Milwaukee has had plenty of success so far this season. UWM got its 15th win of the year on Feb. 20 against UIC - the fastest calendar date Milwaukee has gotten to 15 wins since the 2005-06 season when they reached that mark on Feb. 13. That team finished the year with an impressive 22 wins, making it all the way to the NCAA Tournament.

MAKE IT RAIN
The Panthers hit a season-high 11 threes in its 82-60 win over Valparaiso Jan. 16. While making three-pointers is nothing new for Milwaukee, the rate at which UWM was clicking against the Crusaders was worth taking note. Milwaukee went 11-for-16 in that win for a .688 percentage, ranking third all-time in program history.

1- .786 (11-14) Central Michigan 2/17/00
2- .722 (13-18) Western Michigan        11/14/12
3- .688 (11-16) Valparaiso                    1/16/16

WORKING THE GLASS
Milwaukee has made a clear emphasis on the rebounding front this season, and it has shown. The Panthers are out-rebounding their opponents by an impressive 4.4 per game, including a decisive 44-32 edge against Wright State - a team that came into that game ranked second in the nation in rebounding. In fact, UWM is averaging nearly six more boards than its opponents in wins (40.5-34.6), and still has the edge in losses, though the margin is much closer (39.4-37.4).

Here's a look at some of the largest rebounding margins for Milwaukee thus far this season:

1. +24 vs. IPFW (50-26)
2. +21 at Youngstown State (46-25)
3. +20 at Chicago State (42-22)
4. +17 vs. La Salle (53-36)
5. +14 vs. Valparaiso (42-28)

THE W'S AND THE L'S
As one might expect, there are certainly some stark statistical differences in Milwaukee's 15 wins compared to its 10 losses:

                          W's    L's
FG%                  .432 .329
Def FG%             .339 .451
3FG%                .379 .250
3FG's Made/GM 7.0    5.6
PPG                   70.4 57.5
PPG Against         57.0 73.4

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 414 games in a row heading into the game against the Norse. 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 four 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.

FAST STARTS
One other notable stat from Milwaukee's 15 wins is how fast the team gets out of the starting blocks. The Panthers are outscoring their opponents 534-373 in the opening half when they win, including a 308-190 edge in the second quarter.

ALL GOOD THINGS...
Milwaukee's five-game win streak was snapped on Jan. 28 at the hands of Detroit, 89-79. It took a total team effort from the Titans to finally end the Panthers big run, including a season-high shooting percentage of 56 percent by Detroit.

The five-game run marked the longest winning streak under head coach Kyle Rechlicz. Milwaukee's last string of five or more came in 2007-08 when it rattled off five in a row early in conference play. Prior to that, the longest win streak of at least five came during the 2005-06 season when UWM ended the season with 12 straight all the way to the NCAA Tournament.

THE PERFECT GAME
The Panthers have had quite a few notable shooting performances this season. Despite playing in a season-low 19 minutes, Steph Kostowicz still made quite the impact in Milwaukee's 73-60 win over IPFW Dec. 28. She a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the game, the first time a Panther has finished without a miss in a game with a minimum of five attempts since Ashlee Imperial's 6-for-6 performance against Loyola back on Jan. 24, 2009.

A pair of Panthers have also been perfect from the charity stripe this season with at least 10 attempts.

Jenny Lindner drained all 10 of her attempts from the line against IPFW, the first Panther to do so since Angela Rodriquez also went 10-for-10 at New Mexico State Nov. 30, 2013. Sierra Ford-Washington than did one better, going 11-for-11 as part of her 24 points against Oakland Jan. 30.

ALL A-BOARD
Steph Kostowicz's performance against NIU on Dec. 3 was one for the ages. The sophomore hauled in an incredible 20 rebounds in the big win to go with 11 points for her second double-double of the season. The 20 rebounds shattered her previous career-high of 14 and ties her for sixth-most in program history. It is also the first time a Panther has collected 20+ rebounds in one game since Traci Edwards accomplished that feat Dec. 30, 2006.

WATCH 'EM ANYWHERE
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 16 games will be carried live online on ESPN3 as well as four other road games via opponent platforms. 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. Scott Warras is back for his 10th season donning the headset. Fans can also catch Warras' call with the majority of the team's ESPN3 webcasts. A select few games will not be aired due to broadcast conflicts.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Ashley Green: G/F; 5' 11"; Senior

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

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

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

#24 Emma Roenneburg: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

#4 Ashley Green
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G/F

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

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

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

#24 Emma Roenneburg
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F

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