Women's Basketball March 04, 2017

Women’s Basketball Starts “Motor City Madness” Sunday

Milwaukee, Oakland to battle inside historic Joe Louis Arena

MILWAUKEE - The Milwaukee women's basketball team kicks off the 2017 Horizon League Tournament - "Motor City Madness" - Sunday afternoon with a quarterfinal matchup against Oakland. This year's league tournament is the first year for the women competing on a neutral court in Detroit, Mich. with all nine games taking place inside the famous Joe Louis Arena - home of the Detroit Red Wings. The men's league tournament runs in conjunction with the women, with two games on each side taking place each day.

LAST TIME AROUND
Sierra Ford-Washington was nearly perfect from the floor on 8-10 shooting for 22 points but it wasn't enough as the Panthers fell at Oakland, 77-63, Feb. 4 from the O'rena.

LOOKING AT THE GOLDEN GRIZZLIES
Oakland just wrapped up an 18-11 regular season and finished just ahead of Milwaukee in the league standings. Hannah Little leads the league in rebounding (11.6/game) and is one of four Golden Grizzly players scoring in double figures this season.

As a team, OU likes to play a high-tempo style, forcing nearly 20 turnovers by their opponents per game all season long.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee and Oakland have squared off 10 times at the Division-I level, with each team winning five games. The Panthers had won three-straight coming into this year before OU won both games this season - including a two-point decision at UWM back in early January.

UP NEXT
The winner of Sunday's contest will take on Green Bay in the league tournament semifinal Monday at Noon Central Time live on ESPN3.

LAST GAME
The Milwaukee women's basketball team led at the break but couldn't overcome a cold-shooting third quarter as Wright State did just enough down the stretch for a 62-52 win Sunday from the Nutter Center.

The Panthers (19-10, 11-7 Horizon) had a chance to play spoiler as WSU (23-7, 15-3 Horizon) was fighting for its first-ever regular season league title in program history. The Raiders thrived under the pressure though, shooting nearly 70 percent from the floor in the third quarter and went on a 17-0 run in that frame to build a lead it would never relinquish.

"Huge credit to (Wright State) coach (Katrina) Merriweather and her staff for the season that they've had. They are definitely deserving of this honor," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I thought we came in and really battled tonight. Our intensity, our effort, our enthusiasm for one another was excellent. We just didn't finish in certain aspects."

Jenny Lindner led Milwaukee with 17 points and nine rebounds despite playing in foul trouble for the majority of the game.

Steph Kostowicz added another 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals.

Alexis Lindstrom was limited to just three points but corralled a career-high eight rebounds.

For the second-straight game, Akaylah Hayes was big off the bench – scoring just two points, but also grabbing four rebounds and one steal while playing tough defense.

Jaye Two Bears also had a solid showing in limited minutes, making her only shot to help provide another spark off the bench.

Four Raiders scored in double figures in their final home contest, led by Lexi Smith with 21.

ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
The Horizon League unvailed its annual all-league teams as voted on by coaches, sports information directors and local media, and the Panthers had a pair of honorees on this year's list. Steph Kostowicz - a preseason all-league selection - was named second team all league after leading the team in both scoring (15.2 ppg) and rebounding (7.9 rpg) on the season. Lizzie Odegard also was recognized, being named to the league's all-freshman team after consistently proving to be Milwaukee's first player off the bench all season long in her first year on campus.

SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM, TOO
Not only did Milwaukee have a pair of student-athletes recognized on the all-league lists, but the Panthers were also represented on the academic all-league squad, as well. as Steph Kostowicz was named to the prestigious five-person list earlier this week.

PANTHER LEAGUE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
This year's league tournament has a different format, with all 10 teams moving to a neutral site at the Joe Louis Arena in downtown Detroit, shifting from the top-seed as the host.

Milwaukee is the fifth seed in this year's tournament - a spot they have seen just twice before in its 19 previous conference tournaments. The first two times came back in 2011 and 1999 - both losses.

The Panthers have won the whole thing two times - in 2006 and 2001. They have also won three games in a single tournament three times - both championship years and 2009. That is notable as Milwaukee will need to win that exact amount of games to cut down the nets this year. Additionally, UWM has played in the title game four times (2016, 2009, 2006, 2001) and has finished its season in the semifinals another four times (2008, 2007, 2004, 1997). For complete league tournament history for the Panthers, turn to page nine.

THE REST OF THE FIELD
Entering Sunday, the top six seeds remain in the 2017 Horizon League Tournament. Wright State and Green Bay shared the regular season title and have been the most consistent teams in the league all season. They now get a buy after wins on Saturday and will resume play in the semifinals on Monday. In the other Sunday game, third-seeded Detroit Mercy has taken big steps this season after shoring up its depth from last year and will take on No. 6 Cleveland State and their dynamic guard duo of Ashanti Abshaw and Khayla Livingston.

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 450 games in a row heading into the game against the Golden Grizzlies.

In fact, when Alexis Lindstrom hit her first three pointer against Green Bay on Feb. 17, the Panthers broke the league record for consecutive games with a made three. That topped the previous mark of 446 set by Loyola, halted five 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.

BEST IN THE BADGER STATE
The Panthers have made a case for themselves as one of the top teams within the Badger State this season. Milwaukee started its in-state rivalries this season with a big 80-63 win over Wisconsin before the 72-60 handling of conference foe Green Bay on Feb. 17. Had it not been for a woeful first quarter against Marquette - a game in which UWM drew back to within three late in the fourth before running out of gas in the final minutes - the Panthers would own wins over all three fellow D-I foes within state lines for the first time in program history.

PILING UP THE WINS
For the past two seasons, Milwaukee has been racking up the total in the win column. Entering the postseason, the Panthers have already tied last year's mark with 19 wins on the year - good for a tie for third most in program history. In fact, it marks 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 00-02.

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
With its win over Valparaiso on Feb. 20, the Panthers closed out the regular season with an 11-3 record inside the Klotsche Center this season. That marks the first time the team has reached double-digit home wins since the 05-06 team went 13-3 on campus.

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.

Then, just nine games later, Steph Kostowicz netted her 1,000th career point on a free throw late in the first half in the Feb. 17 win over Green Bay. Oddly enough, Kostowicz also reached the milestone in her 79th game as she battled injuries during her freshman campaign.

With both reaching the 1,000-point mark in the junior season, they become the first duo to do so during the same season for the Black & Gold and just third pair of classmates to add their names to the prestigious list. The other two:

-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 have Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Linder both reached 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. Lindner then joined the club Feb. 7 with her final rebound in the first half in the 86-82 win over Youngstown State. Not only are they two of the 25 players in program history with 500 rebounds to their name but they are just the 13th and 14th in Milwaukee history to do so while also scoring 1,000 career points.

THREE POINT ASSASSINS
Not only has Milwaukee continued its long run of consecutive games with a made three pointer, it has some of the best marksmen in the league. In fact, heading into the league tournament, three of the top four shooters from long range wear the Black & Gold of UWM. Bailey Farley leads the way with a rate of .436 (44-101) from outside the arc, while Jenny Lindner sits third at .411 (30-73) and Alexis Lindstrom is fourth at .395 (58-147). Additionally, freshman Lizzie Odegard has connected on nearly half of her three-point attempts this season and is hitting at .488 (20-41) but does not meet the league minimum qualifications to qualify in the rankings.

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. The Panthers' final home stand was a prime example, with Milwaukee outrebounding its two opponents over the weekend by a combined 84-45. In fact, against Youngstown State, the Panthers had 38 rebounds to YSU's 17 - a difference of +21, with UWM limiting 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)

BIG SHOT BAILEY
Bailey Farley had a career day against Cleveland State Feb. 11, going off for a career-high 22 points on 8-of-12 shooting, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. Not only did she pour in the points, but she did so at the game's biggest moment. Up by just one with just over 60 seconds left, Farley connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key to give UWM a four-point cushion in what proved to be the game's winning basket.

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.

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. Jenny Lindner also has had four such performances on the season, while Sierra Ford-Washington had 18 points and 11 rebounds at Northern Illinois earlier this year.

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' 19-10 record is certainly impressive, Milwaukee is just a few shots away from an even more outstanding season. 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 leads the league in free throw percentage (.781) and ranks second in the league in three-point shooting (.346), scoring offense (73.3 points/game), rebound margin (+7.0) and field goal percentage (.436).

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 388-497 of their shots from the charity stripe heading into the game against Oakland. That is good for a .781 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 eighth in the entire nation after 29 games. South Dakota leads the NCAA at .814 (389-478).

Individually, Jenny Lindner stands sixth in the nation with a rate of 90.8 percent from the line, missing just 11 (108-119) from the line all season.

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

Most recently, Jenny Lindner was named Horizon League Player of the Week after helping lead Milwaukee to a pair of home wins three weeks ago. The junior combined for 42 points on 14-of-20 shooting from the floor - including going 4-8 from behind the arc and a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line.

That marks the second time this season Lindner has been recognized as the league's top player for the week. Steph Kostowicz also earned the honor earlier this year on Dec. 5.

Meanwhile, Lizzie Odegard has been named Horizon League Freshman of the Week three times (Nov. 14, Nov. 28, Jan. 9) already in her young career.

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.

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 19 wins compared to its 10 losses:

W's       L's
FG%                             .465      .385
Def FG% .411      .481
Rebound Margin +9.9      +1.5
PPG 78.1      64.1
PPG Against    62.7      78.5

CRACKING THE POLLS
Earlier this season, 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 .571 percent, with the big three combining for 65 double-digit scoring performances and 14 double-doubles in just 29 games.

STREAK SNAPPERS
The Panthers have already put a number 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. Moving into conference play, 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. Finally, with its win over Green Bay last Friday, UWM ended an eight-game slide against their in-state rival.

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.

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.

6 x 10 = TEAM EFFORT
Another notable from Milwaukee's Nov. 16 contest at Northern Illinois - six Panthers reached double figures in scoring. The Panthers entire starting five of Bailey Farley, Alexis Lindstrom, Jenny Lindner, Sierra Ford-Washington and Steph Kostowicz all scored 11 or more points, while freshman Lizzie Odegard came off the bench to also chip in 12. That marked the first time six players scored 10+ since Mar. 1, 2007 in an 83-79 win over UIC - a total of 278 games earlier.

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.

DE-FENSE
The Panthers have been turning up the defensive pressure this season, with quite a few impressive performances already in the books.

It started early with the Nov. 20 game at Loyola when UWM held the Ramblers to just 15 first-half points and 46 total for the game. That tied the fewest allowed by Kyle Rechlicz-coached Milwaukee team, equal to a 62-46 win at Cleveland State Jan. 9, 2016.

Then, just six days later, Milwaukee one-upped themselves. Going up against tournament host Vermont as part of the TD Bank Classic, the Panthers again cranked things up defensively and limited the Catamounts to just five first-quarter points and just 44 for the game. That trumps both 46-point games as the new standard under Rechlicz.

Milwaukee then duplicated that performance by holding Northern Kentucky to just three points in the second quarter and 44 for the game to equal the benchmark set against Vermont.

In fact, no UWM team has conceded fewer points since the 2011-12 squad posted a 50-31 win over Valparaiso on Feb. 25 at the Klotsche Center.

Additionally, Milwaukee has now held five opponents to 50-or-less points this season (LIU-Brooklyn - 50 points; Chicago State - 49 points). That is two better than last year's squad and hasn't been done since the 2001-02 team limited opponents to 50 points or less an impressive seven times while going 20-8.

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

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

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

#2 Akaylah Hayes: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

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

#2 Akaylah Hayes
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

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

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

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

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

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