Women's Basketball November 06, 2018

2018-19 Season Opens At Indiana

Panthers, Hoosiers square off to start the year

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball team will tip off the 2018-19 regular season from historic Assembly Hall, taking on Indiana at 6 pm Central on Wednesday. The Panthers are coming off a program-record third consecutive postseason appearance, coincidentally ending last season at Indiana in the Postseason WNIT Second Round. Wednesday's opener will be streamed live on BTN+ - an online version of the Big Ten Network. Matt Menzl will have the radio call on the Black & Gold Network - returning for the start of his third season as the voice of Milwaukee women's basketball.

LOOKING AT THE HOOSIERS
Indiana will be kicking off the 2018-19 season as the reigning Postseason WNIT Champions. The Hoosiers finished last season with a 23-14 overall record, getting hot late in the year as they won 15 of their final 17 games of the year.

IU does graduate two outstanding players from last year's squad in Tyra Buss (20.6 points/game) and Amanda Cahill (15.2 points, 8.0 rebounds/game). But, Big Ten All-Freshman honoree Jaelynn Penn returns for her sophomore season, while Notre Dame transfer Ali Patberg will final suit up for the Crimson and Cream after sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer rules.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET...
Bailey Farley scored a game-high 19 points but it wasn't enough as the Milwaukee women's basketball team fell to Indiana, 74-54, Sunday afternoon from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in the Second Round of the WNIT.

The Panthers - who had beaten a pair of Big Ten teams earlier this season - battled the Hoosiers (19-14) even for three of the four quarters. But, a big IU run in the second period where the home team could do seemingly no wrong proved the difference to close out Milwaukee's season.

SERIES HISTORY
The Hoosiers have won all three matchups with Milwaukee: last year's Postseason WNIT contest, as well as a home-and-home back in 2013 and 2014.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee has its home opener Tuesday, Nov. 13 when in-state rival Wisconsin comes to campus. That game will be broadcast live on Fox Sports Wisconsin, with tip time scheduled for 7 pm from the Klotsche Center. The first 400 fans will receive a "Defend MKE" Panther t-shirt.

LAST GAME
Bailey Farley scored a game-high 19 points but it wasn't enough as the Milwaukee women's basketball team fell to Indiana, 74-54, Sunday afternoon from Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in the Second Round of the WNIT.

The Panthers - who had beaten a pair of Big Ten teams earlier this season - battled the Hoosiers (19-14) even for three of the four quarters. But, a big IU run in the second period where the home team could do seemingly no wrong proved the difference to close out Milwaukee's season.

One game after shooting a single-game school-record 69.4 percent in the win at Northern Iowa on Thursday, the Panthers shot just 34 percent in Sunday's loss.

"I thought there were a few factors that led into what happened today, but most of it came in that second quarter," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "The mark of a really good team is the ability to move the basketball and play with one another, which we did in the UNI game. When we started to get down in this game, we started to try to be the hero and make the plays. That was really tough because our team hasn't done that in a while. We got a little selfish, which led to some easy turnovers and bad shots, and when you're playing at Indiana, you can't make that 20-0 comeback run."

Farley led all players with 19 points and a career-high six steals in her final collegiate game.

Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner – who both came in ranked in the top-100 nationally in shooting percentage – couldn't get the ball to fall their way Sunday, each finishing with six points on a combined 5-of-17 shooting.

Three-time First-Team All-Big Ten honoree Tyra Buss led Indiana with a team-high 17 points.

FOR STARTERS
The Panthers hold a 10-18 record in season openers at the NCAA Division-I level (dating back to 1990-91). A year ago, MKE fell just four points short in the Preseason WNIT opener at perennial mid-major powerhouse Drake. Former Panther Steph Kostowicz led all players with 26 points and 12 rebounds. Head coach Kyle Rechlicz is 4-2 in openers, as Milwaukee ran away with an 82-58 win over Chicago State in Rechlicz's debut contest six years ago.

AGAINST THE B1G
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.

PLENTY OF FAMILIARITY
While the Panthers and Hoosiers have only played three times before, there are still plenty of connections between the two programs. IU assistant coach Janese Constantine (nee Banks) was a part of Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz's coach staff her first two years at UWM. Rechlicz also grew up just up the road from Bloomington in Indianapolis.

BEST EVER
Ashley Green netted 36 points in Milwaukee's season-opening win at North Dakota State to start the 2014-15 season, marking the most points by a Panther to start the season in program history. That eclipsed Traci Edwards' previous mark of 30 set back in 2007-08.

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 488 games in a row heading into the game against the Hoosiers.

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

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

#11 Anaiah Moore: G; 5' 5"; Freshman

#24 Sydney Levy: G; 5' 8"; Freshman

#43 Tahlia Walton: F; 5' 11"; Freshman

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

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

#11 Anaiah Moore
: 5' 5"; Freshman
: G

#24 Sydney Levy
: 5' 8"; Freshman
: G

#43 Tahlia Walton
: 5' 11"; Freshman
: F