Women's Basketball December 19, 2018

Florida State Comes To Milwaukee For Non-Conference Finale

Panthers host Seminoles at Klotsche Center at 7 pm

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball team closes out its 2018-19 non-conference schedule Thursday when they play host to Florida State for a 7 pm contest inside the Klotsche Center. MKE enters the game at 5-5 and on a three-game win streak, going 2-0 on their trip to North Dakota last time out. The Seminoles have won six straight and are 10-1 on the season in pursuit of their seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. Thursday's game is the second annual Pride Night, as Milwaukee Athletics - working with the UWM LGBT Resource Center - will be accepting donations for CourageMKE.

LOOKING AT THE SEMINOLES
In her 22nd year at the helm, head coach Sue Semrau has Florida State right where they left off a year ago when they made their sixth straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Despite graduating all five starters, the Seminoles have plenty of talent this season with the sixth-rated recruiting class in the country and enter Thursday's contest in Milwaukee with a 10-1 record and sit just outside this week's top-25 national rankings.

Thursday will mark just the fifth time through its first 12 games that FSU has had to play away from its home court and just the third true road game of the year. The other two true road contests have proven to be the closest games of the year for the Seminoles, resulting in a 57-56 win at Mercer and a 57-53 victory at St. John's.

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Milwaukee dropped a heartbreaking 72-70 decision from Tallahassee back in Nov. 2003 as part of the Seminole Classic in the only previous meeting between the two teams. Milwaukee shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the first half to lead by 11 at the break but a second-half run by FSU gave them a two-point lead late and MKE's half-court shot at the buzzer went just wide. Milwaukee Hall of Fame Member Maria Viall scored a game-high 25 points to go with nine rebounds to lead the way.

SERIES HISTORY
Florida State owns a 72-70 win back on Nov. 29, 2003 in the only previous meeting between the two squads.

UP NEXT
The Panthers will have their last extended break of the season for Christmas before returning to the court Dec. 28 for the conference home opener against Green Bay at 7 pm from the Klotsche Center.

LAST GAME
The Milwaukee women's basketball team overcame a cold shooting day by turning in another strong defensive performance combined with clutch shots down the stretch for a 57-55 win over NDSU Sunday afternoon from the Scheels Center.

The Panthers (5-5) scored 21 of their 57 points in the final quarter, going a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc over the final 10 minutes and holding the lead for all but 19 seconds of the final frame.

"I give a lot of credit to North Dakota State. They really packed it inside and after all the travel we just had the last few days, that was a smart decision on their part," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We really started making some adjustments on the offensive end in the fourth quarter; calling and executing a lot of sets. I thought Alyssa Fischer came in and gave us a big lift off the bench and really played her role, which is what we needed.

"Throughout the season we talk about the ebbs and flows and you're not always going to play a perfect game. But, when you have a team that's really bought in to one another, you can always find a way to be successful."

Lizzie Odegard finished with a team-high nine points, five rebounds and two assists to help lead Milwaukee to the win. Bre Cera also netted nine points to go with three assists.

GETTING THINGS GOING
After shooting below 40 percent in its first six games on the season, the Panthers have been tearing the nets down with their shooting ever since. In three of its last four games, MKE has turned in shooting performances of .481, .483 and .465, going 3-1 in that stretch with the lone loss coming at the hands of No. 22 Marquette.

DE-FENSE
The Panthers turned in one of their best defensive performances in quite some time with its Dec. 1 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. Milwaukee held the Mastodons without a field goal for the first 13 minutes of the game in building a 22-3 first-quarter edge. In fact, that marks the first time that MKE has held a team without a field goal over an entire quarter since the NCAA shifted from halves to quarters entering the 2015-16 season. The three points are tied for the fewest allowed by the Panthers in a quarter, also achieving that feat back on Dec. 31, 2016 in a 72-44 home win over Northern Kentucky.

Another notable stat from Milwaukee's impressive defense day - the Panthers limited the visitors to just 24.1 percent from the floor all game, marking the lowest shooting performance by an opposing team since MKE held Valparaiso to an 11-50 performance (.220) back on Feb. 25, 2012.

Impressively, the Panthers followed that up with yet another outstanding defensive performance on Friday, holding North Dakota to just .235 shooting.

MORE DEFENSIVE NUMBERS
In two of Milwaukee's last three wins, they have held their opponents to just 48 and 46 points. That marks the first time MKE has held teams to under 50 points in back-to-back contests since doing so back in the 2001-02 season. Milwaukee actually accomplished the feat in three-straight back then, taking down Youngstown State (100-46), Loyola (74-49) and Wright State (64-47) from Feb. 2-7 on their way to a second-place finish in the Horizon League. The Panthers nearly made it three straight, with NDSU hitting a three at the buzzer to up their total to 55 points in MKE's road win last week.

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

Despite graduating the school-record-holder for blocks in Steph Kostowicz, the Panthers are right back at their rejecting ways. Ryaen Johnson already has 20 swats on the young season, with Megan Walstad (8) and Akaylah Hayes (7) not far behind, with Johnson's 2.0 blocks/game ranking her 35th nationally heading into the game against Florida State. In all, MKE has already racked up 43 blocks on the season for an average of 4.3/game - which would shatter the school record of 3.8/game, set last year.

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.

So far this season, Schmelzer has stepped up her game with 4.2 assists/game thus far - ranking her tops in the Horizon League and in the top 129 nationally.

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.

DROVE THE CHEVY TO THE LEVY
Sydney Levy had an impressive week in Milwaukee's two home games. Starting things off against No. 22 Marquette, the freshman finished with 19 points and 4 rebounds - both career highs - while draining five three pointers and finishing shooting 7-11 from the floor on the night. The hot shooting continued one game later, finishing with an awfully efficient 11 points and four rebounds in just nine minutes of action in a convincing win over Purdue Fort Wayne.

BENCH PLAY
The Panthers have shown great depth so far this season and have proven to have an awfully deep bench. In fact, through the first 10 games, Milwaukee's bench is outscoring the opposition by a whopping 299-173. MKE has scored at least 20 points off the bench in eight of its first 10 games, with the season high so far coming against Columbia when 47 points came from non-starters.

BALANCING ACT
Through its first 10 games, the Panthers have proven to be an incredibly balanced squad this season. Six different players (Jamie Reit, Sydney Levy, Megan Walstad, Alyssa Fischer, Bre Cera and Lizzie Odegard) have led the team in scoring in at least one game. Even more impressively, seven different Panthers (Ryaen Johnson, Lizzie Odegard, Brandi Bisping, McKaela Schmelzer, Akaylah Hayes, Fischer & Walstad) have led the team in rebounding in at least one game on the young season.

STARTING FIVE
MKE head coach Kyle Rechlicz has already shown how deep her team can be - using six different starting lineups through the first 10 games. Sydney Staver, Bre Cera, Megan Walstad, Jamie Reit and Brandi Bisping got the nod on opening night at Indiana. McKaela Schmelzer's return from postseason play with the soccer team slotted her back into her starting spot from a year ago against Wisconsin, before Rechlicz went with an added post presence with Ryaen Johnson and Lizzie Odegard opening the game on the court against Columbia. In fact, if you include the exhibition game against Parkside, the Panthers have used seven different starting lineups through their first 11 times on the court this season.

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 the Nov. 13 game against Wisconsin, including an impressive six in the opening quarter. Milwaukee then hit a season-high 11 against Saint Mary's one day after Thanksgiving and equaled that total again Nov. 28 against No. 22 Marquette. MKE enters Sunday's contest averaging 8.3 threes per game - a total that ranks 48th in the nation.

Just as impressive, the Panthers early hot shooting has come from a wide variety of players with 12 players already connecting on at least one triple this season, and 10 players sinking at least two threes so far.

BUZZER BEATERS
Milwaukee has made somewhat of a habit of buzzer-beater wins over the past few seasons. Ryaen Johnson's put back at the horn against UC Riverside brings back memories of Jamie Reit's jumper that just beat the buzzer in a 62-61 home win over Youngstown State last season.

Former Panther Steph Kostowicz had a number of memorable shots in her time in the Black & Gold. Her reverse layup with 0.1 left on the clock gave Milwaukee a big comeback win at Cleveland State for an 80-78 win in the 2016-17 season. Earlier that season, Kostowicz sent MKE into overtime at NIU with a mid-range jumper at the horn in a double-OT thriller.

Sierra Ford-Washington had a pair of buzzer beaters her senior year. The former Panther guard ended things for both conference foes UIC (Jan. 14, 2015) and Cleveland State (Feb. 11, 2015).

Ashley Green also finds her name in this category, hitting a jumper with less than five seconds left on the clock back on Jan. 24, 2015 for a 64-63 win over UIC.

GONE FISCH'N
Alyssa Fischer had a career performance in Milwaukee's near comeback against Saint Mary's Nov. 23. The redshirt junior exploded for seven three pointers, finishing with 23 points and eight rebounds - both career highs. Even more impressively, 17 of those points came in the second half with Saint Mary's trying to stop Milwaukee's main offensive threat on the day.

Fischer's seven three pointers are also a career high, are now tied for the third most in program history and are the most by a Panther in a game since Jessica Wilhite sank eight triples back in December of 2002.

So far this season, Fischer's seven made three's rank her tied for 23rd in the NCAA at the D-I level. Thirteen different players have connected on eight triples in a single game so far, while Lamar University senior Moe Kinard sank an NCAA record 13 three pointers in a 117-110 double overtime loss at Denver on Nov. 23.

OK AKAYLAH!
Senior Akaylah Hayes has stepped up her game in the early going of her senior year, notching career-highs in three of the team's first six games. Against Wisconsin, Hayes made the most of her minutes with eight points off the bench before exploding for 17 points, six rebounds, three blocks, two assists and a steal in just 24 minutes against Columbia last week Friday. Hayes tied or set a career high in five different categories in that win over Columbia. She then tied her career high with nine rebounds in the win over UC Riverside Nov. 24.

EARLY HONORS
Newcomer Megan Walstad has quickly made a strong impression through the first few weeks of her collegiate career. The Apple Valley, Minn., native was named the Horizon League Freshman of the Week Nov. 19 after leading MKE with 18 points and five rebounds in its win over Columbia earlier that week. Walstad followed that up with double-digit points in all three games on Milwaukee's California trip and was named to the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic All-Tournament Team, leading the team with 27 points in the two-day tourney.

TAKING THEIR TALENTS...EVERYWHERE
Milwaukee has traveled all over the country over the past few seasons and had a large amount of success. In addition to the traditional Midwestern trips against area power-five schools and conference foes, the Panthers have made a large number of long trips recently. Last week, the Panthers notched their first ever win in the state of California in just their second ever trip to the Golden State, taking down UC Riverside. Last year's Preseason WNIT sent MKE to New Orleans, going 1-1 in the Big Easy. That came one year after taking the tournament title at a Thanksgiving tournament held by Vermont. Couple that with a 2015 trip to Miami and Milwaukee's roster will have seen a large amount of the countryside just for team travel.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 498 games in a row heading into the game against the Seminoles.

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).

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.

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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

#13 Brandi Bisping: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

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

#21 Alyssa Fischer: G; 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior

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

#25 Ryaen Johnson: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

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

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

#13 Brandi Bisping
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

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

#21 Alyssa Fischer
: 5' 9"; Redshirt Junior
: G

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

#25 Ryaen Johnson
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: F

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