Women's Basketball November 15, 2018

Panthers Host Columbia Friday

Milwaukee wraps up brief homestand before heading to California

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball team will wrap up its brief two-game homestand Friday by playing host to Columbia with a 7 pm contest from the Klotsche Center. The Panthers and Lions are squaring off for just the second time ever Friday, with a game that can be seen live online on ESPN+, with Matt Menzl on the call. Fans can also listen to the game live through the Black & Gold Network, and follow the game's statistics online. All links can be found through the Panthers' website - MKEPanthers.com.

LOOKING AT THE LIONS
Columbia comes to the Midwest with a 2-0 record after a 65-63 road win over Hofstra in the season opener and an impressive 70-49 victory over Army at home on Monday. The Lions finished last season with an 8-21 overall record, and - like Milwaukee - have some big shoes to fill this season with the graduation of Camille Zimmerman.

In her third season at the helm in Manhattan, Megan Griffith has relied on a pair of freshmen in the early going. Sienna Durr leads all Lions with 18.0 points/game to go with 6.0 rebounds, while fellow newcomer Mikayla Markham is averaging 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds thus far.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET...
Junior Nichole Drummond led three Panthers in double-digits, scoring a game-high 17 points to lead Milwaukee to its first win of the season, and third place at the Seattle Times Classic, with a 63-59 victory over Columbia University, Saturday afternoon (11/27/04) in Seattle. The Panthers (1-3) held a 15-point lead late in the game, and held off a Lion (2-2) comeback in the waning seconds to preserve the win.

After a dominating first half, Columbia looked like it would creep up on MKE, cutting its 36-23 first half lead down to five points at 51-46 with 8:28 remaining. The Panthers came out of the media timeout and continued to hold CU scoreless for over five minutes as they went on a 10-0 run.

SERIES HISTORY
Milwaukee's win over the Lions back in 2004 is the only time the two teams have met previously. In fact, that meeting was the first and only contest between Milwaukee and Columbia in any head-to-head sport.

UP NEXT
MKE will now prepare for nearly a week in the Golden State, heading to California for three games in two cities over Thanksgiving week.

LAST GAME
Sydney Levy finished with a team-high 11 points but the Milwaukee women's basketball team couldn't overcome a cold shooting night in a 68-57 loss to Wisconsin Tuesday night from the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (0-2) opened the game on fire, connecting on six three-pointers in the opening quarter and finishing shooting 7-14 overall in the opening frame, but would finish the game shooting 20-61 (.328) to halt their win streak over their in-state rivals.

"For some reason, we didn't play our game tonight," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "Outside of the first nine minutes or so of this game, we didn't play aggressive enough. We started strong and then they (Wisconsin) had a player go down, and I thought we would come out from that and attack but we seemed to play scared.

"I give a lot of credit to Akaylah Hayes. She really came off the bench and pushed things for us down the stretch, but it was just too much to overcome at that point."

Levy led MKE with 11 points on the night. Jamie Reit added nine, followed by eight points apiece from both Lizzie Odegard and Hayes – with Hayes' total equaling a new career high.

LOOKING BACK
While the 0-2 start is not how MKE hoped the first two games of this season would go, all is far from lost for the Panthers. In fact, last year started the same way before Milwaukee finished with one of their best records in program history at 21-12 on their way to the WNIT Second Round. The 2015-16 squad also dropped two of its first three before racking up 19 wins en route to another Postseason WNIT appearance.

FROM DOWNTOWN
After relying on the three-pointer the least amount in Kyle Rechlicz's tenure a season ago, the Panthers have been back to their M-O of lighting it up from behind the arc in the early going this season. MKE hit nine triples in the season opener at Indiana. They one-upped that total with 10 in Tuesday's game against Wisconsin, including an impressive six in the opening quarter.

FOR STARTERS
Megan Walstad inked her name into the Panther record book before her first collegiate game even ended. That's because the highly touted freshman was in the starting lineup in her first collegiate game, becoming the fourth freshmen to achieve that feat in the last seven years. McKaela Schmelzer and Sydney Staver both started last year's opener, while Kelsey Cunningham did so in her debut in 2014. Walstad didn't disappoint either, finishing with 11 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal in 19 minutes at Indiana.

REIT OUT OF THE GATES
Jamie Reit wasted no time in putting together an incredible performance to start her junior year. The 5-9 guard went off for 21 points on 8-13 shooting - including a red-hot 4-5 performance from behind the arc. Milwaukee has a history of big performances in its season openers of late, with at least one 20-point performance coming in each of the last five seasons now after Reit's big night. Ashley Green started that five-year run with 36 points in the first game of the 2014-15 season - a record for Milwaukee openers.

AGAINST THE B1G
Milwaukee's strong showing at Indiana last week should come as no surprise as the Panthers have had a fair amount of success against Big Ten opponents the past few seasons. MKE nearly finished perfect in three contests against the midwestern power-five foes last year, notching road wins at Wisconsin (67-64) and Northwestern (66-57) before falling to Indiana in the Postseason WNIT Second Round. That marked the second consecutive win over the Badgers by Milwaukee, taking down their in-state rival 80-63 back in 2016-17. The Panthers also came up just short of an upset bid in the Postseason WNIT First Round in 2015-16 at Minnesota, with the Gophers getting a herculean effort from Big Ten Player of the Year Rachel Banham in an 87-80 thriller from historic Williams Arena.

EXCUSED ABSENCE
McKaela Schmelzer missed Milwaukee's season opener at Indiana, but had an awfully good reason. The redshirt sophomore who played in every basketball game last season was off in California with the MKE soccer team as they were set to take on No. 7 Santa Clara in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Tied at 1-1 with 21 minutes to go, the Panthers had a hard-luck loss to end their season with a 16-2-1 record.

PRESEASON RANKS
The Horizon League released its preseason rankings as voted on by coaches, media members and SIDs, with the Panthers once again picked to finish in the top half of the conference. Milwaukee was tabbed fifth in this year's poll despite graduating 65-percent of their scoring and their winningest class in program history.

EXHIBITION REWIND
All 13 players scored as Milwaukee put together a total team performance in an 84-69 win over Parkside this past Thursday. Panther fans got to see a blend of new players with veterans as both seniors as well as two newcomers scored in double figures to lead the way. Freshman Megan Walstad led all scorers with 18 points in just 16 minutes, while senior Akaylah Hayes was an awfully efficient 6-for-8 from the floor for 15 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in 19 minutes.

NON-CONFERENCE SUCCESS
With a 9-3 non-conference record a year ago, Milwaukee wrapped up its early going with the best non-conference performance in Division-I history. Last year's squad surpassed the 2016-17 team's 8-3 mark and the 1997-98 team's 8-4 record.

RISING HORIZON
The Horizon League made its case as one of the top mid-major conferences in the country last year. In addition to Milwaukee's advancement into the Postseason WNIT Second Round, Wright State and IUPUI also both qualified for the Postseason WNIT - marking a conference record for number of qualifiers. Not to mention league-leading Green Bay's narrow loss in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, and four league teams competed in the top-two national postseason tournaments last spring.

TAKING ON THE TOP TALENT
Milwaukee has put together one of its most challenging schedules in recent memory with this year's ledger. The Panthers will play a total of 10 contests against teams that won at least 20 games from a year ago and 11 total against teams that participated in the postseason.

PILING UP THE WINS
Over the past three seasons, Milwaukee has been piling up the total in the win column. The Panthers eclipsed the 20-win mark for the second straight season and the fourth time in program history last year, racking up 21 wins and advancing to the Postseason WNIT Second Round. That came after tying the program record with 22 wins on their way to the WBI Semifinals one year earlier. That, piled on top of going 19-13 and advancing to the Postseason WNIT in 2015-16, and Milwaukee has tallied an impressive 62 wins over the past three seasons. That is by far the most in a three-year span in Milwaukee's DI history.

INTO THE RECORD BOOKS
Last year was another memorable season for Milwaukee, with quite a number of team records being surpassed by the powerhouse of a squad. The Panthers continued to re-write the record book last season, with some of the notable marks including:

-Winning was once again a key theme for MKE last year, with its 21 victories now standing second-most in the Division-I history. Last year's squad also now ranks second in road-winning percentage (.706/12-5), fourth in overall win percentage (.636/21-12) and is tied for the third-longest win streak with a run of eight straight in the early going of last year.

-Milwaukee destroyed the program record for blocks in a single season last year with 124 rejections in all, easily surpassing the previous mark of 109 set back in 2008-09.

-Once again, MKE finished as one of the top free-throw shooting teams in the country a year ago. Milwaukee finished with a .772 shooting clip from the charity stripe, good for third all time.

-The Panthers also nearly broke the school record for margin of victory last year, taking down league foe Detroit Mercy 90-45 late in the season. The 45-point win now ranks third in program history.

SPECIAL SENIORS
Milwaukee's four graduating seniors from last season of Kelsey Cunningham, Bailey Farley, Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner certainly left their mark on the program and went out in style. The foursome broke the program record for most wins by a four-year class when they recorded the 72nd win of their careers in the WNIT First Round. That surpassed the 2003-04 class' previous standard of 71 career wins.

SPECIAL FRESHMEN?
Milwaukee is welcoming in one of its most decorated incoming freshman classes ever with this year's group of newcomers. Megan Walstad leads the way with high honors, being named Miss Minnesota as the top senior in the state last year. Sydney Levy was a McDonald's All-American nominee and guided her team to its second-straight state title last year. In fact, Walstad, Levy and Emma Wittmershaus all led their prep squads to state championships last year. All told, the combined freshman class of Anaiah Moore, Tahlia Walton, Levy, Walstad and Wittmershaus tallied a remarkable combined 119 wins in their final high school seasons compared to just 25 losses.

QUE CERA CERA
MKE fans will get to see transfer Bre Cera in action this season, after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules. Cera was a prep standout at Mukwonago High School before playing for Iowa as a freshman. Cera started 18 games with the Hawkeyes and helped them to a deep Postseason WNIT run as a true freshman before transferring to Milwaukee.

SHØT BLØCKERS
Milwaukee established an impressive knack for blocking shots last season. MKE racked up 124 blocks on the year - breaking the program record of 109 set back during the 2008-09 season.

Individually, Steph Kostowicz was a force with a league-leading 2.0 blocks per game. She broke Maria Viall's single season block record with swat number 54 on the year on her Senior Day and is now the career record holder after tallying block No. 168 in the league tournament before extending that total to 174 before closing the book on her impressive career.

DISHING IT OUT
McKaela Schmelzer played in every game last season and made the most of her time on the court. The redshirt freshman racked up an impressive 95 assists on the season - fourth most for a freshman in Milwaukee history. Also noteworthy, Schmelzer's 3.3 assists/game in conference-only play ranked her sixth in the Horizon League.

A LOT OF CHARITY WORK
Kyle Rechlicz's teams have increasingly improved on their free-throw shooting, with the last two seasons now ranked second and third in program history. Milwaukee shot 78.4 percent from the charity stripe in 2016-17 to rank second all-time, before nearly duplicating that mark last year with an impressive .772 clip from the line - now ranking third in Panther history.

A pair of Panthers cracked the national rankings on the individual level, as well, last year. Jenny Lindner - one of the top free-throw shooters in the nation in 2016-17 - ranked 66th (.831). Bailey Farley (not ranked due to number of attempts) was been nearly automatic from the line late in the season to up her percentage to .824 (75-91) - just ahead of Steph Kostowicz at 114th (.793) in the country after hitting on 92 of her 116 from the line.

WORKING THE GLASS
Milwaukee has prided itself in its ability to control the boards over the past few years. Over the past two seasons, the Panthers won the rebounding battled a in 54 of their 67 games. In fact, MKE finished with a double-digit rebounding edge in over half (17 of 33) of its games a year ago, with the season high coming in the Dec. 1 drubbing of NDSU as Milwaukee finished that game with a 53-28 edge on the boards.

In all, the Panthers out-rebounded their opponents 1285-1016 for a +8.1 margin per game. That ranked 21st in the nation at the end of last season.

Here's a look at the best rebounding performances last season by MKE:

1. +25 vs. NDSU (53-28)
2. +24 vs. Detroit Mercy (56-32)
3. +23 at Chicago State (42-19)
4. +16 vs. Youngstown State (42-26)
5. +15 - three times
6. +14 at Drake (44-30)
7. +13 - two times
8. +12 - four times

400 AND COUNTING!
Despite relying on the three-pointer much less last season, the Panthers have continued their impressive streak of games with at least one made shot from behind the arc. In fact, Milwaukee has 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 490 games in a row heading into the game against the Lions.

That run stands as a new league standard, after Alexis Lindstrom hit her first three pointer against Green Bay on Feb. 17 of the 2016-17 season, topping the previous mark of 446 set by Loyola. It's still a ways to go for the NCAA record, however, which is held by Iowa State. Their run was still active at the start of the of the 2018-19 season at 735 in a row (1995-present).

THE W's AND THE L's
As one might expect, there were certainly some stark statistical differences in Milwaukee's 21 wins compared to their 12 losses last season:

                                   W's        L's
FG%                           .456       .398
Def. FG%                    .350       .423
3FG%                         .351       .336
PPG                            69.0       59.9
PPG Against                55.9       69.5
Turnover Margin         -3.5       -8.1

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. 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 before another postseason berth and 21 more wins last year. In fact, the 62 wins by Rechlicz's Panthers over the past three seasons is the most over that span in program history.

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/ESPN+, 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 return to TV on FOX Sports Wisconsin this season when they host Wisconsin inside the Klotsche Center on Nov. 13, with Bob Brainerd and former Milwaukee 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 29 regular season contests, as well as 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

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

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

#23 Bre Cera: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

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

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

#10 Jamie Reit: G; 5' 9"; Junior

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#4 Bailey Farley
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Senior
: G

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

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

#23 Bre Cera
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

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

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

#10 Jamie Reit
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

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

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