Box Score

Milwaukee UWM 21-12

Indiana IND 19-14

Milwaukee UWM

21-12

Final

Mar. 18, 2018

Indiana IND

19-14

Score By Periods
Team	1	2	3	4	F
Milwaukee UWM	15	9	15	15	54
Indiana IND	16	26	21	11	74

Game Recap: Women's Basketball | March 18, 2018

Milwaukee’s WNIT Run Ends At Indiana

Four Panthers close out their memorable careers

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – 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.

Milwaukee came out strong and matched Indiana shot for shot in the opening frame. Lindner started the day with a steal – one of her team's season-high 13 on the day – and a pull-up jumper on the other end to help settle UWM in. Farley drilled a three a short while later before her second late in the quarter to tie things up at 14-all.

Midway through the second is where things unraveled for the Panthers. A pair of Farley free throws put Milwaukee down just one at 22-21 with 6:10 left in the half. UWM then hit a cold spell, while Indiana got hot. Despite the increased physicality on both ends, IU went to the charity stripe 17 times in the quarter compared to Milwaukee's two, helping spark a 17-0 run and taking a 42-24 led into the break.

The Panthers continued to battle, with multiple players coming up with big shots off the bench, but the deficit proved too much to overcome in this one.

Ten different players scored for UWM in Sunday's contest. Indiana narrowly won the rebounding battle – 39-33 – marking just the fifth time all season the Panthers didn't walk away with the edge in that category.

Milwaukee closes out its season with a multitude of accomplishments, including finishing with 21 wins for just the third time in program history and notching the first Postseason WNIT victory and just the third postseason win of any kind in program history.

"We accomplished a lot (this season)," Rechlicz said. "You look at this senior class – they're the winningest class in school history. That's pretty amazing and we wouldn't have gotten to do that if we hadn't played in the postseason.

"It was a very successful year. Anytime you win more than 20 games, you definitely can't complain."

Four Panthers are set to graduate in Kelsey Cunningham, Bailey Farley, Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner. The foursome has certainly left their mark on the program, finishing with an impressive amount of records to their name and a program-record 72 wins over their four-year careers.

Print Friendly Version