Women's Basketball March 06, 2017

Women’s Basketball Looks For Return Trip To Tournament Final

Panthers square off with in-state rival Green Bay in semifinal Monday

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball team will look for its second-straight trip to the Horizon League Tournament Finals, taking on in-state rival Green Bay in Monday's semifinal at Noon Central. The Panthers split the regular-season series against the Phoenix, grabbing a 12-point win just over two weeks ago. Fans can catch all the action streaming live on ESPN3 and over the air waves with Matt Menzl on the call on The Big 920 AM.

LAST TIME AROUND
All five starters scored in double figures as Milwaukee pulled off a big 72-60 win over Green Bay from the Klotsche Center back on Feb. 17. The Panthers shot a season-best 58.1 percent from the floor and stymied the GB offense to just 34.5 percent shooting.

LOOKING AT THE PHOENIX
Green Bay extended its streak earlier this year when they tied Wright State for the regular-season title, marking the 19th-straight year they have achieved that feat.

GB is led by Horizon League Player of the Year Mehren Kraker, who averages 17.8 points/game and leads the team with 110 assists on the year.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee is looking for its second-straight win over Green Bay, something that has happened just three previous times in the Division-I history between the two schools. The last time that happened was during the 2006 league tournament - the last time Milwaukee punched its ticket to the big dance.

UP NEXT
The winning of Monday's game punches its return trip to the Horizon League Tournament Final, taking on the winner of Monday's second game between No. 3 Detroit Mercy and second-seeded Wright State.

LAST GAME
All five starters scored in double figures as the Milwaukee women's basketball team led from nearly start to finish in a complete victory over Oakland, 82-60, in the Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal Sunday afternoon from Joe Louis Arena.

The Panthers (20-10) – who had lost both regular season games against Oakland (18-12) – had great ball movement all game long and committed a season-low eight turnovers. That total ranks tied as the second fewest in program history and is even more impressive considering Oakland came into Sunday's contest ranked 11th in the nation in steals while averaging nearly 12 per game.

"I think Oakland is an incredibly talented team," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I think they have great coaching and they were the hottest team in the league coming in on a five-game winning streak.

"In this game, we knew we had to get back in transition and we knew we had to take care of the basketball. Those were our two goals to start the game…for us to only have eight turnovers against a team that is ranked (seventh) in steals in the country is pretty impressive.

"We played with toughness, we played as a team and our focus was great from start to finish."

Jenny Lindner had a solid game with 16 points on just 6-10 shooting while adding a game-high 14 rebounds – just one shy of her career high. Steph Kostowicz also added 16 points to go with her 10 rebounds. That marks the third time this season two Panthers have posted a double-double in the same game.

Bailey Farley was on fire to start the game and finished with 14 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.

Alexis Lindstrom added another 12 points, while Sierra Ford-Washington chipped in for another 10 as all five starters scored in double figures.

The Panthers also had quite a few big performances off the bench. Kelsey Cunningham scored seven points to go with a pair of steals. Lizzie Odegard returned to action for the first time in two weeks and finished with four points, while Akaylah Hayes had three points and three rebounds in just four minutes.

A COMLPLETE 180
Milwaukee has put together two very different performances against Green Bay earlier this year. In the first matchup in Green Bay, UWM couldn't get anything going and lost 89-47. Then, less than one month later, Milwaukee played arguably its most complete game for a 72-60 home win over the Phoenix. Doing the math, that adds up to a 54-point swing for the Panthers from the first game to the second - the highest total in school history in a single season.

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 21 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.

TOURNAMENT TIDBITS
Other notables heading into Monday's semifinal matchup with Green Bay:

-The Panthers have played GB seven other times in league tournament history, recording its lone win in the 2001 tournament title game - a 77-62 win over the top-seeded Phoenix.

-Milwaukee returns to the tournament semifinal for the second-straight year. The only other time that has happened was actually a four-year run for the Panthers from 2006-09.

-Sunday's win marked the first time UWM has won a league tournament game as the No. 5 seed, previously going 0-2 in that slot.

-Milwaukee is the lowest seed remaining in this year's field, with the top-3 seeds making up the rest of the bracket.

-UWM is looking to become the lowest seed to ever win the league tournament. The No. 4 team has cut down the nets three times: twice by Cleveland State (2008 & 2010) and once by Northern Illinois (1995).

PILING UP THE WINS
For the past two seasons, Milwaukee has been racking up the total in the win column. Now, with Sunday's win over Oakland, the Panthers eclipsed the 20-win mark for just the third time in program history. That ties the same number of wins from the 2001-02 season and is second only to the school record of 22 wins set by the 2005-06 squad. This year's team is sure to hope history repeats itself as both previous 20-win teams advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Additionally, this 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.

ALL-LEAGUE HONORS
The Horizon League unveiled 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.

THE REST OF THE FIELD
Looking the at the other side of the bracket, Milwaukee would face off against either No. 2 Wright State or No. 3 Detroit Mercy should they advance to Tuesday's championship game. The Panthers dropped both contests against the Raiders this year, but drastically improved the second time around before a cold-shooting third quarter doomed them in the regular season finale. Meanwhile, UWM split to UDM this season, with each team winning on its home court.

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 451 games in a row heading into the game against the Phoenix.

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.

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 .461 (48-108) from outside the arc, while Jenny Lindner sits third at .400 (30-75) and Alexis Lindstrom is fourth at .395 (60-152). Additionally, freshman Lizzie Odegard has connected on nearly half of her three-point attempts this season and is hitting at .476 (20-42) 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 16 double-doubles on the season. Steph Kostowicz leads the way with 10. Jenny Lindner also has had five 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' 20-10 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 (.786) and ranks second in the league in three-point shooting (.345), scoring offense (73.6 points/game), rebound margin (+7.2) and field goal percentage (.436).

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 20 wins compared to its 10 losses:

   W's       L's
FG% .463      .385
Def FG%                       .408      .481
Rebound Margin +10.0    +1.5
PPG 78.3      64.1
PPG Against 62.5      78.5

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 404-514 of their shots from the charity stripe heading into the game against Oakland. That is good for a .786 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 seventh in the entire nation after 30 games. South Dakota leads the NCAA at .814 (389-478).

Individually, Jenny Lindner stands sixth in the nation with a rate of 91.1 percent from the line, missing just 11 (112-123) 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.

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 .569 percent, with the big three combining for 68 double-digit scoring performances and 16 double-doubles in just 30 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.

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.

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

#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

#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

#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

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