Women's Basketball November 21, 2017

Stout Defense Pushes Panthers Past Loyola

Kostowicz leads the way with 19 points

Box Score MILWAUKEE – Steph Kostowicz poured in 19 points and the defense did the rest of the work as the Milwaukee women's basketball team cruised to a 63-41 win over Loyola Tuesday night from the Klotsche Center.

UWM (2-2) held the Ramblers (0-4) to just 26.4 percent from the floor for the game and limited them to under 10 points in each of the first three quarters, while efficiently pulling away on the offensive end.

"I was really proud of the way we came out and executed our game plan," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I think we forced four or five shot clock violations, which is great to see that we can lock in for a full 30 seconds and get a few of those. We're communicating better and we're really making that a stronghold for us this season. It's nice to see when I all comes together."

Kostowicz was on fire right from the start and finished with 19 points on 8-10 shooting from the floor to go with a perfect 3-3 performance from the charity stripe. She also added five rebounds and one block in just 24 minutes.

Jenny Lindner picked up right where she left off in Milwaukee's win on Saturday, finishing with 12 points in just 21 minutes Tuesday.

Alyssa Fischer finished third on the team in scoring, netting six points off the bench.

Loyola was led by graduate transfer Jessica Cerda with 12 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.

It was all UWM right out of the gates, with layups from Lindner, Kostowicz and Bailey Farley in the opening minutes for a quick 6-0 lead. After Loyola kept things close on an and-one play that cut Milwaukee's lead to 10-7 in the first, the Panthers clamped down and finished the first frame on an 11-2 run.

In fact, the Panthers finished the opening quarter with 20 of their 21 points coming in the paint on a truly dominant showing down low.

"Typically, we've been known as a three-point shooting team, and we have so many more weapons than that," Rechlicz said. "It was really great for some of those to be able to be showcased in game like this. We knew that we had the advantage in the paint, so our first goal was to dominate the paint; early and often."

It was more of the same in the second, with UWM once again pounding the ball down low and heading into the break with a 33-18 advantage.

The Panthers went back to their bread and butter on the first play of the third quarter as Farley drilled a three pointer, extending the team's streak to 459 consecutive games with a made three.

UWM continued to frustrate LU, holding the Ramblers without a made field goal for the final 4:52 of the quarter and limiting Loyola to just six points in the entire frame.

The Milwaukee bench got in on the action, with 11 different players getting in the scoring column and all but two players securing at least one rebound on the night.

Milwaukee finished the night with a 43-30 edge in rebounding and got 34 of its 63 points from the paint. UWM also finished with a season-high seven blocks.

Up next, UWM will make the drive to Macomb, Ill. to take on Western Illinois Sunday at 4:30 pm from Western Hall.

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Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior

#21 Alyssa Fischer: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore

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

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

Players Mentioned

#4 Bailey Farley
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#21 Alyssa Fischer
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

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

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