Women's Basketball February 10, 2017

Milwaukee Hosts Cleveland State For Big Saturday Game

Pink Out, Alumni Day events both scheduled for Saturday

MILWAUKEE – Two weeks after a thriller in Cleveland, the Milwaukee women's basketball team will once again go up against Cleveland State Saturday afternoon at 2 pm from the Klotsche Center. Saturday will be a busy day, with the program's alumni game taking place earlier in the day. The Panthers will also wear special jerseys for Saturday's contest as part of the annual Pink Out game to raise awareness for breast cancer, with the jerseys being auctioned off after the game.

THE FIRST TIME AROUND
Steph Kostowicz's reverse layup just before the buzzer sent Milwaukee home with a thrilling 80-78 victory in front of a school-day crowd of 1,329 in Cleveland Jan. 26. UWM started the game slowly and trailed by as many 13 early before charging back in the second quarter in a game that featured eight ties and 13 lead changes.

LOOKING AT THE VIKINGS
Picked tied for seventh in the preseason league poll, Cleveland State has had a strong showing thus far with a 7-6 conference record thus far. The Vikings' offense runs through their strong guard duo of Ashanti Abshaw (18.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg) and Khayla Livingston (15.0 ppg, 4.7 apg).

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee is on a four-game win streak over the Vikings, jumping out to a 28-23 lead in the all time series. The two teams have been a part of some thrillers, including last-second shots in both of the last two. In fact, the margin of victory in the series has been three or fewer in five of the last 10 match ups.

UP NEXT
The four-game home stand continues next Friday with a rematch against Green Bay at 7 pm from the Klotsche Center.

LAST GAME
Steph Kostowicz went 6-for-6 from the free-throw line in the final 1:15 of the game to help ice an 86-82 win for the Milwaukee women's basketball team over a hot-shooting Youngstown State squad Thursday evening from the Klotsche Center.

YSU (8-16, 4-9 Horizon) shot a season-best 56.4 percent from the floor, including connecting on 13 three-pointers, only to see Milwaukee (16-8, 8-5 Horizon) respond with a 55.2 shooting percentage of their own – also a season best – in the big home win.

Two other very noticeable stats from Thursday's contest: UWM had 21 second-chance points to Youngstown's three and Milwaukee finished the game out-rebounding the Penguins by a lopsided 38-17, including limiting YSU to just one offensive rebound for the game.

Steph Kostowicz led all players with a game-high 22 points, while Kelsey Cunningham provided a huge spark for the Panthers off the bench with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists.

Jenny Lindner finished one rebound shy of her fifth double-double of the season with 17 points and nine rebounds to go with three assists. Lindner also grabbed rebound No. 500 for her career in this game, making her the 25th player in program history to reach that milestone. The junior also is just the 13th Panther to score 1,000 career points and grab 500 career rebounds.

Alexis Lindstrom also finished in double digits with 14 points and five rebounds, while Bailey Farley stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, six rebounds, two steals and one block.

Indiya Benjamin led the way for the Penguins with 21 points on a season-best 5-of-7 shooting from behind the arc.

OFFENSIVE OUTBURST
Milwaukee shot lights out in its 86-82 win over Youngstown State Thursday evening, connecting on 55.2 percent (32-58) of its attempts from the floor. It had been nearly a full year since the Panthers shot the ball that well for a full game, last doing so at the end of last season at Oakland with a 56.1 mark (37-66) in a 98-95 win. In fact, UWM shot better than 55 percent twice last year, also doing so at Northern Kentucky. That ended a span of 112 games without reaching that shooting percentage - last doing so back on Feb. 16, 2012 (56.0/28-50) at Youngstown State.

WORKING THE GLASS
Milwaukee has prided itself in its ability to control the boards over the past few years, with that standing out in a number of games this season. Thursday against Youngstown State was just another example, as the Panthers had 38 rebounds to YSU's 21 - a difference of +21. In fact, UWM limited the Penguins to just one offensive rebound for the whole game - the Panthers best showing of the year.

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

1. +25 vs. Detroit Mercy (47-22)
2. +23 at Vermont (45-22)
3. +21 vs. Youngstown State (38-17)
4. + 19 vs. Chicago State (48-29)
5. + 17 vs. Northern Kentucky (41-24)
6. + 16 - two times (Loyola/LIU-Brooklyn)

LOOKING AT THE LEAGUE
With just a few weeks remaining in the regular season, Milwaukee sits in the top-half of the standings. UWM boasts an 8-5 league record and currently sits in sole possession of fourth place - just a half game ahead of Oakland and one game ahead of Saturday's opponent Cleveland State. While the Panthers have had some hurdles of late, they still have plenty of time and can finish in a variety of spots before the year is out. In fact, of the five teams either one game back or ahead of Milwaukee in the league standings, the Panthers will play three of them in the final three weeks.

400 AND COUNTING!
The Panthers have been on fire from behind the arc of late, headlined by hitting 14 threes against Valparaiso Jan. 7. 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 445 games in a row heading into the game against the Penguins.

In fact, a made three on Saturday would tie the league record of 446 held by Loyola, halted five years ago when they went 0-11 against Butler. Cleveland State held the record prior to that - which was also the NCAA mark at the time - at 408 (1992-2007). 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.

DOUBLING DOWN
The Panthers have had quite a number of big performances this season. In fact, UWM has turned out an impressive 14 double-doubles on the season. Steph Kostowicz leads the way with nine - two shy of the league lead entering Saturday's game. Jenny Lindner also has four such performances on the season, while Sierra Ford-Washington had 18 points and 11 rebounds at Northern Illinois earlier this year.

WELCOME TO THE CLUB
With her three-pointer with 2:06 remaining in the first half in the Jan. 13 against Detroit Mercy, Jenny Lindner became just the 20th player in program history to score 1,000 points for her career. Lindner was able to reach the milestone in just her 79th game, making her the seventh-fastest to 1,000 points in Panther history. The junior should move her way up the charts plenty still this year with at least seven games still left on the schedule.

THE COUNTDOWN TO 1,000
While Jenny Lindner reached the 1,000-point club earlier this year, she likely won't be the only addition this season as classmate Steph Kostowicz is right behind and is well on pace to eclipse the barrier soon. Heading into Saturday's game, Kostowicz sits with 985 points (15 away). Heading into this year, Milwaukee had 19 players with 1,000+ points in their careers. Of those 19, only two other tandems achieved the feat as part of the same class, with neither doing so during the same season:

-Umenia White (1,597 points) and Cammie Nonhoff (1,087 points) from 1985-89

-Jaci Clark (1,830 points) and Marsha Housley (1,491 points) from 1979-83.

THE BIG 5-0...0
The same duo that has been lighting up the scoreboard for Milwaukee the past two-plus seasons has also been getting things done on the glass. Not only are Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Linder both right around 1,000 career points, but both also cracked the 500-rebound list this season, as well. Kostowicz achieved that milestone feat in the Dec. 31 win over Northern Kentucky with her first rebound of the game, making her just the 24th player in program history to notch 500 rebounds for her career. Since then, she has upped that total to 584. Lindner then joined the club just this Thursday with her final rebound in the first half in the 86-82 win over Youngstown State. Lindner becomes the 25th player in program history to reach 500 rebounds and is one of just 13 to do so while also breaking the 1,000 point barrier.

A NEAR TRIPLE DOUBLE
Sierra Ford-Washington had quite the remarkable stat line Jan. 13 against Detroit Mercy. The senior point guard finished with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists - awfully close to a triple double. Not only would that have been her first triple-double, but it would have been just the second in program history. The first and only in Milwaukee history came on March 9, 2007 when Jody Crumble finished with 13 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists in a Horizon League Semifinal contest at No. 22 Green Bay.

BLOCK PARTY
It's no wonder Youngstown State shot so many threes against Milwaukee Jan. 28, as Steph Kostowicz was a force down low defensively. Kostowicz tied her career-high with six blocks in the game. The junior also achieved that feat at the end of her freshman season to mark the second time she finished one shy of Traci Edwards' program record of seven blocks in one game. Not only that, Kostowicz now has 101 blocks for her career, making her the fifth player in program history to reach that milestone. She now ranks 67 shy of the school record and just 11 away from third place all time.

OH SO CLOSE
While the Panthers' 16-8 record is certainly impressive, Milwaukee is just a few shots away from one of the best marks in the entire nation. Milwaukee had buzzer-beater attempts against both Northern Illinois and Northwestern fall just short for a pair of extremely close non-conference losses, and had three attempts in the final 10 seconds just miss against Oakland the first time around.

LEAGUE LEADERS
It has been a busy season but UWM has quietly once again established themselves as on the best in the league with their statistics ranking quite high in the conference standings. Milwaukee ranks second in the league in scoring offense (74.8 points/game), free throw percentage (.779), rebound margin (+7.3) and field goal percentage (.435).

A LOT OF CHARITY WORK
Kyle Rechlicz's teams have increasingly improved on their free throw shooting, with last year being the third-best in program history, connecting on .737 percent of their freebies. This year's Panther squad is well above that mark, sinking 338-434 of their shots from the charity stripe heading into the game against Youngstown State. That is good for a .779 percentage - just below the school-record mark of .790 set back in the 2010-11 season.

Not only that, the Panthers' free throw shooting ranks 11th in the entire nation after 24 games. South Dakota leads the NCAA at .813 (348-428).

Individually, Jenny Lindner stands sixth in the nation with a rate of 91.3 percent from the line, missing just nine (94-103) from the line all season.

BEATING THE BUZZER
Steph Kostowicz's layup with 0.9 left on the clock Jan. 26 at Cleveland State brought back memories from last season. Sierra Ford-Washington twice sent Milwaukee home with a win in the closing seconds last year. The point guard's layup with seven seconds left sealed the win over UIC last January before hitting a jumper in the paint one month later for the Panthers first buzzer-beater against Cleveland State.

THE W's AND THE L's
As one might expect, there are certainly some statistical categories that stand out as the difference between Milwaukee's 16 wins compared to its eight losses:

                                    W's       L's
FG%                             .460      .390
Def FG%                       .403      .481
Rebound Margin            +11.4    -0.4
PPG                              78.3      67.2
PPG Against                   61.5      81.4

PRESEASON RANKS
The Horizon League released its preseason rankings as voted on by coaches, media members and SIDs with the Panthers picked to be right back at the top this season. Milwaukee was tabbed third overall with 246 points, behind only Green Bay (299) and Detroit (256). Steph Kostowicz also was recognized when the votes were announced, earning first-team all-league honors after earning the same distinction at the end of last year's outstanding run.

CRACKING THE POLLS
A few weeks ago, Milwaukee achieved yet another new feat when they cracked the top-25 in the College Insider Mid-Major poll at No. 20. That marked the first ever ranking of any kind in Milwaukee women's basketball Division-I history.

THREE-HEADED MONSTER
Sierra Ford-Washington, Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner have helped make Milwaukee a force to be reckoned with. The trio attributed for .612 percent of the Panthers' scoring last season and has gotten off to a blazing start to the 2016-17 season. So far, that number is considerably lower at .572 percent, with the big three combining for 53 double-digit scoring performances and 14 double-doubles in just 24 games.

AWARD-WINNING PLAY
People have taken plenty of notice of the Panthers' play on the court thus far this season.

Most recently, Lizzie Odegard was named Horizon League Freshman of the Week - already the third time (Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Jan. 9) she has earned that honor in her young career.

Steph Kostowicz (Dec. 5) and Jenny Lindner (Nov. 28) were both named Horizon League Player of the Week earlier this season.

On top of that, six different players earned various awards after posting three wins in a five-day span. Bailey Farley, Alexis Lindstrom, Sierra Ford-Washington and Steph Kostowicz were all named to the TD Bank Classic All-Tournament Team, with Kostowicz also earning MVP honors.

STREAK SNAPPERS
The Panthers have already put a pair of long losing streaks to bed this season. With its win at Loyola on Nov. 20, UWM ended a six-game win streak by the Ramblers in the series, with the last win coming back in 2011. Then, just two days later, Milwaukee emphatically took down Wisconsin for its first win in that series since Dec. 15, 1992 - a span of 17-straight wins by the Badgers over nearly 25 years. Finally, with its win at Youngstown Sate Jan. 28, the Panthers stopped an eight-game skid against the Penguins, notching their first win in the series under head coach Kyle Rechlicz.

THAT'S KIND OF A BIG DEAL
Milwaukee did something it has never done before in the Nov. 16 game at Northern Illinois - have three players with a double-double in the same contest. Steph Kostowicz (30 pts, 11 reb), Sierra Ford-Washington (18 pts, 11 reb) and Jenny Lindner (16 pts, 12 reb) all recorded double-doubles in Milwaukee's 114-104 loss, marking the first time three players have done that all in the same game.

BREAKING THE CENTURY MARK
Milwaukee's 104-point performance against Northern Illinois Nov. 16 tied the second-most points in a game in program history - second only to the memorable 116-point game Dec. 4, 2012 against Bradley. The Panthers also scoring 104 points in a big win over Northeastern Jan. of 1991. This year's performance marked the sixth time UWM has eclipsed the 100-point barrier in its D-I history and the 12th time since basketball began at the school in 1971. The Bradley game marked the most recent reaching the century mark, with the other triple-figure outings including totals of 104 (Northeastern, 1/22/91), 102 (Detroit, 1/19/02), 101 (CSU, 2/17/96) and 100 (YSU, 2/2/02). The 218 combined points in the NIU this season also marked the second-most total points in a game in program history, shy of only the 228 in the 2012 win over Bradley. It also marked just the second time both teams were 100-plus in the same contest.

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 last season, making her just the second coach in program history to earn that honor.

WATCH 'EM ANYWHERE
Fans will have the opportunity to watch the Panthers all season long. The team will play four games on local broadcast television, once again returning to Spectrum Sports (formerly Time Warner Cable SportsChannel). Another 21 games will be carried live online on ESPN3 as well as one other road game via an opponent platform. For the Panthers' Spectrum Sports 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. Matt Menzl will don the headset for the first time this season. Fans might remember Menzl after years of calling Milwaukee soccer and volleyball games, as well spending the past five seasons as the voice of Green Bay men's basketball. Fans can also catch Menzl's call with the majority of the team's ESPN3 webcasts. A select few games will not be aired over the radio waves due to broadcast conflicts, but can still be found online at MKEPanthers.com.

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Players Mentioned

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

#4 Bailey Farley: G; 5' 10"; Junior

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#4 Bailey Farley
: 5' 10"; Junior
: G

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

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

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

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

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