Women's Basketball December 27, 2017

Conference Play Starts At Northern Kentucky

Milwaukee looking to build off 9-3 start

MILWAUKEE – Returning to the court after a week off, the Milwaukee women's basketball team kicks off conference play Thursday with a trip to Northern Kentucky. The Panthers are looking to build off their 9-3 start - their best non-conference showing at the Division-I level. Tip off from the BB&T Arena is scheduled for 4pm Central. Fans can catch all the action with Matt Menzl on the call streaming live on the Black & Gold Radio Network. The game will also be live streamed on ESPN3.com.

LOOKING AT THE NORSE
The Norse enter conference play looking for their second straight win and third overall after going 2-9 in non-conference play. NKU and UWM have one common opponent thus far in Illinois State. The Redbirds took down Northern Kentucky, 49-37, early in the season, before the Panthers dug deep for an overtime win over ISU.

NKU enters league play with the second stingiest defense in the league, allowing just 58.3 points against per contest. That's just a hair under their offensive output of 59.2 points/game.

Northern Kentucky has a very young roster this season, with only one junior and one senior on the 13-man roster.

SERIES HISTORY
The Panthers head to NKU with a 3-1 lead in the all-time series. Only one of the four games in the brief history finished within 20 points - a 78-71 win by Milwaukee in 2016.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will continue their four-game road trip Saturday with a showdown with Wright State at 12:30pm Central.

LAST GAME
Milwaukee used a 23-4 run early in the second half to blow the game open on their way to an 84-59 win over Chicago State Thursday evening from the Jacob Dickens Center.

UWM shot a season-high 59.3 percent (35-59) from the floor and led for the final 37 minutes to finish the non-conference schedule with a 9-3 record.

"I thought we came out with a high level of focus, especially on the offensive end. We really picked apart their defense right from the start and I was really impressed with how our team really locked into the scouting report," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I credit our team. It's the end of finals week and we came out with a ton of energy and I'm really proud to finish off the non-conference slate 9-3."

Bailey Farley and Steph Kostowicz tied for a team-high 17 points on the night, while Jenny Lindner was right behind with 16. Kostowicz finished just shy of another double-double with a game-high nine rebounds.

Alyssa Fischer and Lizzie Odegard each scored seven off the bench, and McKaela Schmelzer stuffed the stat sheet with five assists, four points, four rebounds and a pair of steals.

Jaye Two Bears came off the bench for three points and two assists in six minutes and a total of 11 different players scored for Milwaukee in the 25-point win.

WHAT A START
With a 9-3 final showing, Milwaukee wrapped up this season's early going with the best non-conference start in Division-I history. This year's squad surpassed last year's 8-3 mark and the 1997-98 team's 8-4 record.

Not only that, but this year's 9-3 start is the best 12-game beginning for UWM in its 28-year Division-I history.

CRACKING THE POLLS
The Panthers once again find themselves ranked in the CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll, as voted on by Division I Women's Basketball coaches this week. Milwaukee - which received its first ever ranking in the same poll one year ago - broke into the poll two weeks at No. 25 before moving up to No. 24 this week.

GOING STREAKING
The Dec. 17 loss to Marquette brought Milwaukee's eight-game win streak to a close. The impressive run finishes tied as the fourth longest in the Division-I history of the program, with only a pair of nine-game runs and the school-record 12-game streak longer than this year's early season start. It also marks the fourth time in the last two-plus seasons the Panthers have put together at least five consecutive wins, with this year's run setting the new mark for the longest under head coach Kyle Rechlicz.

MORE B1G WINS
With wins over both Northwestern (Dec. 3) and Wisconsin (Dec. 14) this season, the Panthers now own two wins over Big Ten foes in the same season for the first time in program history. While it marks just the eighth and ninth wins all-time against the current Big Ten schools, the success should come as no surprise. Milwaukee thumped the Badgers, 80-63, at home a year ago and dropped a 65-63 heartbreaker to NU a few weeks later. That came one year after nearly upsetting Minnesota in the WNIT to close out the 2015-16 season.

GETTING EVERYONE INVOLVED
Coach Rechlicz has a much deeper bench this season compared to years past, as evident to just how many different people can score for UWM this year. Milwaukee has had at least 10 different players score in a single game six times already this year, with five of those six featuring 11 or more scorers. The season high came against North Dakota State when 12 different players got in on the fun. The six games already matches last year's season total with at least 19 games left on the schedule.

FARLEY CATCHING FIRE
Bailey Farley has been a big part of Milwaukee's offense of late. The senior guard - who was a game-time decision at Northwestern - went off for a career-high 24 points on near-perfect shooting against the Wildcats. Farley finished 8-11 from the floor and a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line. She was also vital down the stretch, netting 11 of her 24 points in the fourth quarter to help put the game out of reach.

That hot shooting carried over for Farley, who finished with a game-high 19 points after tying her career high with five made three-pointers, providing the spark her team needed in the win over Illinois State.

After being the clear focus defensively for Fort Wayne, Farley again got hot late in the win at Wisconsin to finish with a game-high 16 points and racked up a team-high 17 points at Chicago State

Farley now has finished in double figures in scoring in five of the last six games - a new career best.

DE-FENSE
Milwaukee has put together some lock-down showings on the defensive side of the ball recently, including the Dec. 1 performance against North Dakota State. The Panthers limited the Bison to just 38 total points - the ninth time over the past two-plus seasons UWM has held an opponent to 50 points or less in a game. In fact, that marks the fewest points allowed by Milwaukee since head coach Kyle Rechlicz took over the program in 2012 and the third-fewest points allowed in the program's Division-I history. The Panthers also held Bison to just 29-percent shooting for the game - the second time this season UWM has held its opponent below 30 percent for four quarters.

UWM has also held teams to single digits in the scoring column for an entire quarter nine times now this season (excluding overtime), including in both the second and fourth quarters against both NDSU and Illinois State.

The Panthers head into Thursday's game against Northern Kentucky with their defense boasting some impressive national rankings, checking in at 72nd in scoring defense (59.8 points/game against) and 78th in field-goal percentage defense (37.1%).

SHE SHOOTS, SHE SCORES
Steph Kostowicz has come out of the gates on fire to start her senior season. The 6-2 forward opened the season with 26 points on 9-14 shooting from the floor and a perfect 8-8 showing from the free throw line. Then, in the Nov. 21 home opener, Kostowicz racked up another 19 points while going 8-10 from the floor. She then duplicated that feat Dec. 10 at Fort Wayne, again finishing 8-10 from the floor with 19 points. Kostowicz enters this Thursday's game with a sparkling .608 percentage from the field - 20th best in the entire NCAA.

WORKING THE GLASS
Milwaukee has prided itself in its ability to control the boards over the past few years. Last season, the Panthers won the rebounding battle in 26 of their 34 games. That dominance has carried over into this season, with Milwaukee claiming the rebounding edge in all 12 games to start the season. In fact, seven of those 12 games have finished with a double-digit advantage by UWM, with the season high so far coming in the Dec. 1 drubbing of NDSU as Milwaukee finished that game with a 53-28 edge on the boards.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
The Panthers have certainly enjoyed playing in front of their home fans recently. Milwaukee went an impressive 12-3 at home last season and is already 3-1 at the Klotsche Center this season with a pair of emphatic wins. UWM is now 24-9 in the last two-plus seasons when playing in front of their home fans.

In fact, the Panthers just closed out a 10-game home winning streak with the win over Illinois State Dec. 7. That finishes as the fourth-longest home win streak in the team's Division I history.

WINNING BIG
The Panthers have made a habit lately of posting some rather lopsided wins. Milwaukee put together nine 20-plus-point wins a season ago and has already done so three times this season. It started in the home opener with a 22-point smothering of Loyola (63-41) Nov. 21 before steamrolling North Dakota State by a whopping 36 points (74-38) Dec. 1 and a 25-point (84-59) handling of Chicago State Dec. 21.

Milwaukee's big win over NDSU marked the fifth-largest margin of victory for UWM since they moved to Division I heading into the 1990-91 season. Milwaukee only has two bigger wins in the last 15 years - the 38-point handling of LIU-Brooklyn last year and the school-record 54-point victory over Youngstown State back on Feb. 2, 2002.

WHAT A WIN
Milwaukee's 77-67 win over Western Illinois Nov. 26 was significant for a number of reasons:

-The Panthers trailed by 13 points with just over five minutes left in the third quarter and finished with a 10-point win; a 23-point swing over the final 15:20.

-The home loss was the first for WIU in nearly 10 months (12/31/17) after going 13-1 at Western Hall last year.

-The Leathernecks entered that game ranked in the mid-major top-25. That marks the second win for Milwaukee over a mid-major-ranked team in a short span, taking down highly ranked Green Bay late last year, 72-60.

COMEBACK KIDS
Milwaukee's 13-point comeback over Western Illinois Nov. 26 isn't a program record, but it certainly is a memorable one. It marks the largest come-from-behind win since the Panthers turned a 44-28 deficit (16 points) in a 60-57 win over Toledo back in 2011.

Fans shouldn't be too surprised by Milwaukee's comeback win over WIU though. UWM set a program record with seven come-from-behind (trailing at halftime) wins last season, besting the previous mark of six set back in the 2006-07 season.

A CAREER PERFORMANCE
Jenny Lindner turned in one of her best performances to date in Milwaukee's road win at Western Illinois Nov. 26. The senior poured in a career-high 34 points - 21 of which came in the second half - to go with 10 rebounds to lead all players in both categories. That marks the third time in her career Lindner has finished with 30+ and it surpasses her previous high of 32 set late in her sophomore season in a win at Oakland.

In fact, her 34 points were the most by a Panther since Courtney Lindfors netted 35 in a road win over Chicago State Nov. 16, 2010.

EARLY HONORS
Just four weeks into the 2017-18 season, Milwaukee has already turned in some of the top performances in the entire Horizon League. Steph Kostowicz was named Horizon League Player of the Week after just the first week of the season, going off for 26 points, 12 rebounds, two blocks, two assists and one steal at perennial power Drake in the Preseason WNIT. Then, Jenny Lindner was named player of the week by the conference after pouring in a career-high 34 points to go with 10 rebounds in the road win at Western Illinois Nov. 26.

RIGHT OUT OF THE GATES
McKaela Schmelzer and Sydney Staver both inked their names into the Panther record book before their first collegiate game even ended. That's because the duo both were in the starting lineup in their first collegiate game, becoming the first freshmen to achieve that feat since Kelsey Cunningham did so in her debut in 2014. In fact, it marks just the second time in program history two freshmen started the season opener, joining Angela Rodriguez and Courtney Lindfors back in 2010.

DOUBLE VISION
After turning in two double-doubles as a freshman, Steph Kostowicz has been a machine at putting together 10+ performances in points and rebounds. With her 17-point, 13-rebound performance on Dec. 7 against Illinois State, Kostowicz now has 26 double-doubles in her collegiate career. That already ranks her fourth in program history and is just one shy of Lindsay Laur for third place all-time.

Teammate Jenny Lindner is also steadily climbing that chart in this season's early going. The senior turned in a 19-point, 11-rebound performance in the win over CSUN Nov. 18 before exploding for 34 points and 10 rebounds in the comeback win over Western Illinois eight days later. Those marked Lindner's 13th and 14th career double-doubles, ranking eighth in program history and just three shy of sixth place.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
It's no secret Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz have already left their mark on this program heading into their senior year. The duo both eclipsed both the 1000-point and 500-rebound milestones as juniors and have continued to climb up the statistical charts. Entering Sunday's game, Lindner ranks seventh in scoring (1,393 points), eighth in rebounding (647), eighth in double-doubles (14) and fifth in games started (104). Meanwhile, Kostowicz sits at ninth in career scoring (1,321 points), sixth in rebounding (771), third in blocks (136) and fourth in double-doubles (26).

PRESEASON RANKS
The Horizon League released its preseason rankings as voted on by coaches, media members and SIDs, with the Panthers picked to once again battle for the top this season. Milwaukee was tabbed fourth overall this year with 129 points, behind only Green Bay (246), Wright State (204) and Oakland (139). Steph Kostowicz was once again recognized when the votes were announced, earning preseason first-team all-league honors for the second-straight year.

PILING UP THE WINS
Over the past two seasons, Milwaukee has been racking up the total in the win column. The Panthers eclipsed the 20-win mark for just the third time in program history last season, finishing with a program-record-tying 22 wins on their way to the WBI Semifinals. Additionally, that marked the first time UWM has had back-to-back seasons with at least 16 wins since doing so in three-straight years from 99-2000 through 01-02.

400 AND COUNTING!
The Panthers have been on fire from behind the arc of late, headlined by hitting 14 threes against Valparaiso Jan. 7 of last season. That's nothing new for Milwaukee, though, as they have been lighting it up from three-point range for a while now. In fact, the Panthers have made at least one three-point in every game dating back to an 0-for-4 showing against Marquette back on Nov. 26, 2002. That makes 467 games in a row heading into the game against the Norse.

In fact, when Alexis Lindstrom hit her first three pointer against Green Bay on Feb. 17 of last season, the Panthers broke the league record for consecutive games with a made three. That topped the previous mark of 446 set by Loyola, halted six years ago when they went 0-11 against Butler. It's still a ways to go for the NCAA record, however, which is held by Canisius at 510 in a row (1994-2011). For comparison, the NBA's longest streak is the Dallas Mavericks at 1,108 in a row.

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 second 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 that season, making her just the second coach in program history to earn that honor. She followed that up with an impressive 22 wins in 2016-17, tying the school record in that category and helping guide the team to its second consecutive postseason berth.

CATCH ALL THE ACTION
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. All 13 of Milwaukee's home games will be carried live online at ESPN3, with 10 road contests also streaming live through ESPN, as well as the entirety of the Horizon League Tournament. An additional six games this season will be streamed through various opponent platforms. Milwaukee women's basketball will also make its TV debut on FOX Sports Wisconsin this season when they host Marquette inside the Klotsche Center on Dec. 17, with Bob Brainerd and former UWM great Maria Viall once again calling the action.

Panther fans will also be able to listen to this year's games everywhere they go, as Matt Menzl calls all the action on the Black & Gold Network. Menzl will be courtside for all 30 regular season contests, as well as the exhibition game against Cornell and all postseason action. The Black & Gold Network is streaming live online and can be accessed at MKEPanthers.com.

BLACK & GOLD ON DEMAND
Panther fans can also re-live all of the action by listening to archived games on the Black & Gold Radio Network. All games are chronicled at mixlr.com/Milwaukee-panthers/showreel, where fans can re-live Matt Menzl's broadcast in its entirety.

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Players Mentioned

#12 Kelsey Cunningham: G; 5' 9"; Senior

#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

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

#3 McKaela Schmelzer: G; 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman

#22 Jaye Two Bears: G; 5' 10"; Sophomore

#1 Sydney Staver: G; 5' 11"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#12 Kelsey Cunningham
: 5' 9"; Senior
: G

#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

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

#3 McKaela Schmelzer
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#22 Jaye Two Bears
: 5' 10"; Sophomore
: G

#1 Sydney Staver
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: G