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Bailey Farley
35
Cornell College CCW
80
Winner Milwaukee UWM
Cornell College CCW
35
Final
80
Milwaukee UWM
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Cornell College CCW 6 9 9 11 35
Milwaukee UWM 27 17 18 18 80

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Balanced Attack Sends Panthers To 80-35 Win

Panthers defense leads the way in exhibition win

MILWAUKEE – All 12 players scored as the Milwaukee women's basketball team opened up its 2017-18 season with an impressive showing Sunday afternoon, cruising past Cornell College by a score of 80-35 in the lone exhibition game of the season.
 
The Panthers led from start to finish against a team that went 20-5 last season, with each player seeing significant minutes and the majority of the scoring coming off the bench.
 
"I thought we came out ready today, which is something that is very important to us," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "Last year we had some lulls in our starts, and I thought our team was really focused; especially on the defensive end.
 
"I thought we played with a lot of energy and intensity. It was really nice to play against a team that plays so hard in Cornell, and I was really proud of the effort we gave today."
 
Ryaen Johnson led all players with 15 points to go with six rebounds in just 16 minutes in her first action in the Black & Gold after sitting out last season due to NCAA transfer rules.
 
McKaela Schmelzer – another Panther redshirt from last season – and true freshman Sydney Staver each had 11 points on a combined 8-of-12 shooting from the floor.
 
Steph Kostowicz finished with an efficient eight points in eight minutes, while Lizzie Odegard added another seven points, five rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block off the bench.
 
"We're very versatile," Rechlicz said. "We have a lot of scoring coming from different ways. If people want to play us in zone or man, we can attack them in a variety of different ways. It was nice to be able to have some of the young kids come in and get high-level minutes, because that will only help them as the season goes along."
 
Rose Shimaoka had a team-high 10 points to lead the Rams Sunday.
 
Milwaukee jumped out of the gates with makes on its first three attempts to quickly claim a 6-0 lead with just barely a minute gone by. Bailey Farley and Kostowicz executed a perfect inbound play to beat the buzzer at the end of the first to cap an 11-0 run for a 27-6 lead after one.
 
It was much of the same in the second, with the Panther defense again keeping Cornell in single digits in the quarter with just nine points. Meanwhile, the UWM attack continued to spread the ball around and find scoring in a wide variety of ways. On consecutive plays, Johnson powered down low for a layup, followed by a three-pointer by Jamie Reit, followed by a put-back by freshman Brandi Bisping.
 
After taking a 44-15 lead at the break, UWM didn't let up. The defense continued to shine, again limiting the Rams to single-digit scoring and just one made field goal in the entire third period.
 
Milwaukee finished the game holding Cornell to just 23.9 percent shooting overall, while connecting on nearly 45 percent of their shots.
 
The Panthers also finished with significant advantages in rebounds (52-32), points in the paint (42-7), points off turnovers (25-7) and second-chance points (24-0).
 
UWM will now get ready for its regular season opener on Friday, heading to Des Moines, Iowa to take on Drake as part of the Preseason WNIT. Tip time is scheduled for 7 pm.
 
 
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