Panthers Open Conference Tournament In Semifinals

Milwaukee takes on Wright State at 5:30 Saturday

MILWAUKEE - With the regular season in the books, the Milwaukee women's basketball team has shifted its attention to the Horizon League Tournament, where it will take on Wright State Saturday in a semifinal match at 5:30 p.m. from the Kress Center in Green Bay. UWM earned a double bye, straight to the tournament semifinal after finishing second in the regular season. The Raiders beat Youngstown State by a score of 81-54 in the quarter final to advance to Saturday's game.

LOOKING AT WRIGHT STATE
Wright State tied Milwaukee for the second spot in the Horizon League standings, with Milwaukee claiming the second seed after sweeping the regular-season series.

The Raiders have been banged up all season but appear to be getting healthy late in the season. Kim Demmings was named Horizon League Player of the Year for the second time in her career earlier this week. The senior guard broke the league's all time scoring mark earlier this season.

As a team, WSU is one of the top rebounding teams in the entire nation, averaging over 46 per contest for third in the NCAA. They are also ranked 17th in scoring average at 76.9 points per game.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET...
Sierra Ford-Washington scored a season-high 26 points to go with her nine rebounds to lead Milwaukee to a 68-57 win over Wright State from inside the Klotsche Center.

The win is another big one for the Panthers, who now claim sole possession of second place in the league standings with just two games left in the regular season.

Sydney Howard also came up big on Saturday. The lone senior scored 15 points on senior day, closing out her home career in style.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee swept this year's regular season series for the first time in 11 years. The Panthers have a chance to level the overall season, with Wright State holding a narrow 26-25 edge heading into Saturday. The two teams have met five times prior in the league tournament, with WSU holding a 3-2 edge overall, including a 73-64 win two years ago.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will look to advance to Sunday's Horizon League Tournament Championship, taking on the winner of the Green Bay/Northern Kentucky matchup. The tournament championship is scheduled for Sunday at noon, which will be aired live on ESPNU.

LAST GAME
Five players scored in double figures but the Milwaukee women's basketball team came up just short to Detroit Saturday afternoon, falling 80-76 from inside Calihan Hall.

Brianne Cohen had a career-high 33 points, including going 15-16 from the free throw line – both also career highs – to help Detroit (15-14, 11-7 Horizon) hand UWM its first loss in nearly a month.

Milwaukee – which had already locked up the No. 2 seed and the double bye in next week's conference tournament – finishes the regular season with an 18-11 record overall and a 12-6 league record. Both of those are the best finishes for Milwaukee since the 2005-06 team finished 22-9.

This comes after the Panthers were picked ninth of 10 in the Horizon League preseason poll.

"Detroit deserves a lot of credit. They came out here and executed their game plan today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We just didn't play the way we're capable of playing. It's not the way we wanted to end our regular season, but now we'll turn our attention to the postseason and get ready for our conference tournament."

Jenny Lindner led the Panthers' offense with 20 points – including 14 in the third quarter – and seven rebounds. Sierra Ford-Washington stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, five rebounds and seven assists, while Steph Kostowicz added 13 points and nine boards.

Milwaukee also had some big contributions off the bench with career games for both Christina Wakeman and Alyssa Fischer. Wakeman had a new career-high 12 points to go with four rebounds, while Fischer tied her career high with 10 points.

POSTSEASON AWARDS
The Horizon League handed out its annual postseason awards earlier this week and Milwaukee was very well represented this season. Head coach Kyle Rechlicz was named league coach of the year - just the second UWM coach to earn the honor from the Horizon League and first since Sandy Botham did so in 2005-06. Steph Kostowicz was also recognized, being named first team all-league after being one of the key pieces for Milwaukee all season long.

TOURNAMENT TIME
The Panthers head into this year's Horizon League Tournament as the No. 2 seed. That marks the highest ranking for the team entering the league tournament in head coach Kyle Rechlicz's four years and the first time they've finished that high since the 2005-06 team won the regular season and tournament titles on their way to the big dance.

UWM has struggled in the post season over the past decade, going 7-9 since that memorable NCAA Tournament run. Its last trip to the conference championship came during an incredible run in the 2008-09 season. Entering that year's tournament as the No. 7 seed, Milwaukee rattled off wins over Youngstown State, second-seeded Butler and Cleveland State before coming up just short to Green Bay in the championship game.

Milwaukee did lay claim to its first postseason win in five years last season with a 77-64 win over Valparaiso from Milwaukee.

IN THE BOOKS
Milwaukee wrapped up its best regular season in a decade this season with quite a few remarkable accomplishments achieved by this year's squad.

• The 18 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 since also since the 05-06 season.

• Milwaukee also now has nine wins away from home, tying the same mark done also by the 05-06 team.

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

• This marks 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...
With its 98-95 win at Oakland on March 3, Milwaukee officially clinched a second-place finish in the league standings and a double bye in this week's conference tournament in Green Bay. That is quite the remarkable turnaround from last year, when UWM finished eighth of nine. With the regular season officially in the books, the Panthers have become 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.

WHAT A WIN
Milwaukee clinched a second-place finish in the league standings with a memorable, 98-95 win at Oakland on March 3. Quite a few notable stats came out of that big win.

• Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner each scored 32 points in that win, marking the first time in the D-I era that two Panthers each scored 30+ points in a single game.

• Kostowicz did so on 13-14 shooting from the floor, including 2-2 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line. That shooting percentage of .929 is the highest in program history for a single game, besting Nicole Drummond's .909 (10-11) performance Feb. 11, 2006.

• Lindner got her 32 points on 14-24 shooting. That marks the second-most attempts in a game for Milwaukee, short of only Traci Edwards' 33 attempts in 2007.

WE'RE GOING STREAKING...AGAIN!
For the second time this season, Milwaukee rattled off five-straight wins before coming up just short to a very talented Detroit squad that finished fourth in the league. Prior to this season, 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. That season was also the closest on record of two five-game-plus winning streaks, with the 12 game run and a five-game string separated by just one loss.

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 over the last three weeks. During Milwaukee's most recent five-game win streak, Kostowicz averaged a double-double with 21.2 points and 10.2 rebounds per game. That includes a 32-point, 12-rebound performance at Oakland March 3.

LINDNER DOWN THE STRETCH
While Jenny Lindner's career-high 32-point effort at Oakland is impressive for a variety of reasons, it's worth taking note that 16 of those 32 points came in the final 10 minutes of action. It's not the first time she has taken over in the fourth quarter either. In her previous season-high performance at Eastern Illinois on Dec. 10, Lindner netted 14 of her 25 points in the final quarter to help secure that win, as well.

Not only that, she also had a monster third quarter in Milwaukee's narrow loss at Detroit in the regular season finale. Lindner scored a team-high 20, with 14 coming in the third quarter.

DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY
Milwaukee has racked up 18 wins this season and has gotten to that impressive total in a variety of ways.

During its first five-game win streak of the season, UWM blew the doors off quite a few opponents, winning three-straight at one points, all by at least 22 points. The Panthers have also had some grind-em-out wins (most recently at Valpo and at UIC) and have shown they can win both low-scoring (54-53 vs. UIC) and high-scoring (98-95) affairs.

AWARD-WINNING PLAY
The Panthers have posted some prolific performances this season, and the league office has taken notice. Steph Kostowicz was named league player of the week twice already this season, Sierra Ford-Washington's earned the award once and this past week it was Jenny Lindner's turn. The sophomore led UWM in scoring in both games, averaging 26 points on the final road swing. Lindner netter a career-high 32 points - including 16 in the final quarter - to help spark UWM past Oakland, 98-95, and clinch the No. 2 seed. She was also big defensively with six rebounds and three steals. Then, two days later, she scored a team-high 20 points to go with seven rebounds and another three steals in a narrow loss at Detroit.

THERE'S NO DEBATING IT
With debates from Presidential hopefuls taking hold of the national spotlight these days, the Panthers have shown they are up to the task when paired up against Washington's big wigs, going 2-0 when playing in the same city a debate is being held on the same day. Milwaukee beat Cleveland State, 59-58, on Feb. 11, the same day of the Democratic debate on the UWM campus. Then, the Panthers won at Oakland, 98-95, while the Republican nominees duked it out just down the road in Detroit on March 3.

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 18 wins with at least one more game 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 18 games in a season since the 2005-06 team won 22.

SENIOR SALUTE
Sydney Howard played her final two games from inside the Klotsche Center two weeks ago and what a week it was for Milwaukee's lone senior. The Milwaukee native poured in a season-high 15 points against both Northern Kentucky and Wright State and shot over .500 for the week, including draining a season-high three three-pointers in each win.

THE W'S AND THE L'S
As one might expect, there are certainly some stark statistical differences in Milwaukee's 18 wins compared to its 11 losses:

                          W's    L's
FG%                  .439 .333
Def FG%             .349 .453
3FG%                .370 .253
3FG's Made/GM 6.9    5.7
PPG                   72.2 59.2
PPG Against         59.9 74.0

HOW SWEEP IT IS
With its win over Oakland on March 3, the Panthers completed their sixth sweep of a team this year (UIC, Cleveland State, Northern Kentucky, Wright State and Valparaiso being the other five). That is significant as Milwaukee has had just two season sweeps in the past three years combined. In fact, UWM has not swept six or more season series since the 2005-06 team reached that same mark.

A LOT OF NAIL BITERS
Milwaukee's last second win at Oakland has been just part of the norm for the Horizon League this season. During the regular season, 24 games played within the conference were decided by five points or less, with five of those being decided by just one point.

AN OLD, OLD WOODEN SHIP
Milwaukee's offense has been the definition of diversity 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 29 games this season. Jenny Lindner has done so 11 times, while Steph Kostowicz has done so 10 times and Sierra Ford-Washington is right behind with nine.

LOTS OF CHARITY SUCCESS
The Panthers are having an impressive season from the free throw line, currently near the lead in the Horizon League with a 73.8 percent clip after sinking 378-of-513 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 - is fifth in the conference and is 35th in the nation at 84.6 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 the first time around - ranks third in the league and 37th in the country at 84.5.

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 4.6 per game, including twice out-rebounding league foe Wright State - a team that came into both games ranked second in the nation in rebounding. In fact, UWM is averaging six more boards than its opponents in wins (41.0-34.8), and still has the edge in losses, though the margin is much closer (39.5-37.5).

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)

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 has connected on at least one three point in 27 of the Panthers' 29 games so far this season. In fact, Lindstrom started the season with at least one triple in the first 24 games - topping Jess Wilhite's mark of 20 games with a three to start the 2000-01 season.

With at least one games left on the schedule, Lindstrom has already knocked in 60 shots from deep this season, tying her with Angela Rodriguez for ninth place in school history.

FAST STARTS
One other notable stat from Milwaukee's 18 wins is how fast the team gets out of the starting blocks. The Panthers are outscoring their opponents 662-479 in the opening half when they win, including a 374-244 edge in the second quarter.

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 117th in the nation.

Not only that, her 42 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 two more to move into a tie for seventh place all time.

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 418 games in a row heading into the game against the Raiders. 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.

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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Sydney Howard: G; 5' 7"; Senior

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

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

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

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

#21 Alyssa Fischer: G; 5' 9"; Freshman

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

Players Mentioned

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

#15 Sydney Howard
: 5' 7"; Senior
: G

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

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

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

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

#21 Alyssa Fischer
: 5' 9"; Freshman
: G

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