Women's Basketball January 22, 2019

IUPUI Comes To Campus Thursday For Pivotal Matchup

Panthers, Jaguars sit just one game apart in the league standings

MILWAUKEE – The Milwaukee women's basketball team will look to extend its current win streak to five when IUPUI comes to campus Thursday for a 7 pm contest from the Klotsche Center. The Panthers and Jaguars sit just one game apart in the league standings. Thursday's contest can be streamed live online through ESPN+. Fans can also listen to Matt Menzl's radio broadcast live online at MKEPanthers.com.

LOOKING AT THE JAGUARS
IUPUI enters Thursday's game just ahead of Milwaukee in the league standings at 5-2 overall. The Jaguars two league losses came at home in overtime against Wright State and in a lopsided affair on the road at Youngstown State.

Reigning conference coach of the year Austin Parkinson has once again had plenty of success now in his second season in the Horizon League - most notably the output from post player Macee Williams. The sophomore and preseason league player of the year is averaging 18.7 points (tops in the conference) and 7.9 rebounds (ranking 3rd).

THE LAST TIME THEY MET
Four Panthers scored in double figures as Milwaukee used a total team effort to take down IUPUI, 67-60, Monday evening from The Jungle.

Milwaukee (19-9, 10-6 Horizon) used an 8-0 run midway through the fourth quarter to go up by five with 3:39 left and never trailed again, once again icing the game away from the line.

The Panthers' defensive effort was also notable Monday, holding IUPUI (20-7, 12-4 Horizon) to just 60 points after they came into the game averaging 86 over the last three games, handing the Jags just their fourth loss in conference play this season.

SERIES HISTORY
Last year marked the first time MKE and IUPUI squared off since the Panthers moved to the Division-I ranks in 1990. The two teams split last season's series, with each team winning a tight contest on the road.

UP NEXT
Milwaukee will close out another short-lived homestand Saturday with a 2 pm contest against UIC from the Klotsche Center, with a number of former Panthers expected to be on hand for Alumni Day.

LAST GAME
Akaylah Hayes had the steady hand early and Sydney Levy had the hot hand late as the Milwaukee women's basketball team pulled away late for a 62-44 win Sunday afternoon against Detroit Mercy from Calihan Hall.

After an early fourth-quarter run by the home team closed Milwaukee's (9-9, 4-3 Horizon) lead to just 42-39 with 5:59 left in the game, the Panthers finished the game on a 20-5 for an exclamation point on their fourth consecutive win.

Levy finished the game red hot, netting 11 of her game-high 23 points during MKE's decisive run down the stretch. The freshman shot a blistering 8-for-13 from the floor, hitting a career-high seven three-pointers in just 21 minutes of action. The seven three's in one game now ties the Appleton North grad for third in program history.

While Levy was the hot hand late, Hayes was the steady leader early. Going up against Detroit Mercy's high-pressure defense, Hayes made the most of her third career start and finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, three assists and one steal.

Jamie Reit added seven points and a career-high seven assists, while Ryaen Johnson continued to stuff the stat sheet with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocks to up her season total to 43.

MILESTONE MARK FOR COACH RECHLICZ
Kyle Rechlicz is quickly closing in on a significant coaching milestone - win No. 100 as a head coach. After three years of turning the culture back around at MKE, Rechlicz has rattled off an incredible 62 wins over the last three seasons - the most for a Panther coach over a three-year span - and heads into Thursday's game with 98 wins to her name. She will be just the third coach in program history to reach the century mark, joining M.A. Kelling (1978-95) and Sandy Botham (1996-2012).

GOING STREAKING
The Panthers have rattled off a season-best four consecutive wins and will look to make it five straight Thursday against IUPUI. Milwaukee has made a habit of notable win streaks over the past few seasons under head coach Kyle Rechlicz, tallying five such runs over the past three season - including a string of eight straight W's early last season.

A CASE OF THE RUNS
Milwaukee has proven all season long that its capable of scoring in a variety of ways and - coupled with its strong defense - can quickly make a big run against its opponents.

That was never was extremely evident on the Panthers most recent road trip. Starting in their win at Oakland Jan. 18, Milwaukee rattled off runs of 18-0, 15-6, 10-0 and 15-3 en route to a 79-52 victory. Then, just two days later, MKE put Detroit Mercy away with a 20-5 run to end the game for an 18-point road win.

DEFENSE IN LEAGUE PLAY
It is no secret that Milwaukee has been consistently playing strong defense once again this season. The Panthers have held their opponents under 60 points eight times already this season while conceding 70-plus points just three times - two of which came against nationally-ranked Florida State and Marquette.

But, since the start of conference play, Milwaukee's defense has been locked in - holding opponents to just 58.4 points/game. In fact, over the last three games, MKE is averaging allowing less than 50 points - with two of those three wins coming on the road.

WE OVER ME
The Panthers have taken pride in sharing the basketball this season. Thus far, MKE has handed out an average of 14.4 assists/game on the season - third most in the Horizon League. Their 21 assists at Oakland on Jan. 18 equaled a new season high and marked the most in a game for Milwaukee since they dropped 24 dimes in the Postseason WNIT win at UNI last March. MKE has had 15 or more assists in its last five contests.

SECOND-HALF SHUT DOWN
After trailing by three at the break against Cleveland State Jan. 12, Milwaukee turned in another outstanding defensive performance to flip the script for a 59-53 win over the Vikings. The Panthers held CSU to just five made field goals over the final 20 minutes, limiting their opponent to just 5-30 overall shooting (16.7 percent), while forcing a season-best 20 turnovers to go with 14 steals and another seven blocks.

DROVE THE CHEVY TO THE LEVY
Sydney Levy has turned in a number of head-turning performances thus far during her freshman campaign - with the most recent coming just last weekend at Detroit Mercy. After a Titans run closed MKE's lead to just three midway through the fourth quarter, Levy erupted with 11 points over the final six minutes to help the Panthers to an 18-point win. The freshman finished that game with a season-high 23 points on 8-13 shooting, including seven three-pointers. That ties Alyssa Fischer for the team high in made threes this season, ranking them both tied for third in program history for a single game performance.

QUE CERA CERA
After sitting out last year due to NCAA transfer regulations, Bre Cera has made the most of her time on the court this season. In fact, the redshirt-sophomore is the lone Panther to start every game on the year and had a career performance just last week. The 5-10 defensive specialist finished with career highs in points (13), steals (5) and assists (5) to go with four rebounds to help spark MKE to a 59-53 win over Cleveland State.

AWFULLY EFFICIENT
Freshman Megan Walstad has been quickly making a name for herself at the college ranks - specifically for her impressive shot selection in the early going of her career. The 6-2 forward has used her soft-touch shot to connect on 56.3 percent (90-160) of her attempts on the season - good for 30th best in the country going into Thursday's game. In fact, in league-only play, her numbers have gotten even better with a 60.0 clip (39-65) - ranking her fourth in the conference.

SCHOOL DAY SUCCESS
MKE put together yet another memorable performance during its School Day game against Youngstown State Jan. 10. The Panthers handed the YSU its first league loss of the season with a 71-68 OT win, led by freshman Megan Walstad first double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds in front of 3,089 area students and fans.

That adds to the long list of dramatic finishes for MKE in recent School Day games. Last season, the Panthers erased a 15-point deficit for a 79-72 win over Cleveland State. That came one year after the Panthers finished the game on a 26-10 run to take down Detroit Mercy and again erased a fourth-quarter deficit at the Klotsche Center. In 2015-16, Sierra Ford-Washington's runner in the lane with 6.7 seconds left again sent UWM past Cleveland State.

It's not just home success in front of the youthful crowds as Milwaukee stormed back from down 13 at Cleveland State last year before Steph Kostowicz beat the buzzer to send the Panthers home with yet another school day win.

In all, the Panthers have now won their last seven School Day contests, home or away.

RISING RYAEN
After playing a supporting role off the bench in her first year on the court for Milwaukee last year, Ryaen Johnson has taken a big step for the Black & Gold this year. The redshirt senior notched her first career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds Jan. 5 at Wright State, while also registering five blocks. Johnson ranks second in the Horizon League with 43 blocks so far this season - already 15 more than all of last year - and has scored 95 points (compared to 44 last season) and hauled in 93 rebounds (53 last season).

PANTHERS VS. TOP 25
The Jan. 10 win over Youngstown State was just another in recent history of Milwaukee taking down a team ranked in the Mid-Major Top-25 poll. YSU entered the week sitting at No. 24 after winning 12 of its first 15 contests.

Milwaukee has taken on three other teams ranked in this year's poll at the time of their game, dropping close road games at Saint Mary's (73-71) and Wright State (61-57).

Last season, MKE posted six wins over teams that were either ranked or receiving votes in the Mid-Major poll (Western Illinois, Cleveland State [twice], Wright State, IUPUI & Northern Iowa.

STARTING FIVE
MKE head coach Kyle Rechlicz has already shown how deep her team can be - using nine different starting lineups through the first 18 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 10 different starting lineups through their first 19 times on the court this season.

OH SO CLOSE
The Panthers sit at 9-9 heading into the Thursday's game but have had a number of close contests go just the other way. Right out of the gates, MKE had the ball for the final shot at Indiana but couldn't find the winner in a two-point loss at Indiana. The Panthers also have had a shot at the buzzer in one-possession losses to Saint Mary's and Northern Kentucky. And, at Wright State Jan. 5, the Panthers were within one with under a minute to go before WSU earned a four-point win after sinking its free throws late.

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.

THE REIT STUFF
Jamie Reit has put together a number of outstanding offensive performances thus far in her junior season. In the season opener, Reit went off for 21 points on 8-13 shooting - including a red-hot 4-5 performance from behind the arc on the road at Indiana. The 5-foot-9 guard added another 18 against UC Riverside before exploding for six triples and a career-high 24 points against defending champ Green Bay in the conference opener. In all, Reit has upped her scoring average to over 10.0 points/game this season for the first time in her career despite being more of a focal point for opposing defenses.

EARLY HONORS
After her career performance against Florida State, junior Lizzie Odegard was named the Horizon League Player of the Week Dec. 23. Odegard finished with a career-high 20 points on 8-15 (.533 percent) shooting in a career-high 29 minutes off the bench.

Newcomer Megan Walstad also has a pair of early honors from the league office. The Apple Valley, Minn., native first 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. The newcomer was again honored as the league's top freshman Jan. 14 after helping MKE to a pair of home wins after averaging 16 and 6 while recording her first collegiate double-double.

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 Thursday's contest averaging 7.7 threes per game - a total that ranks 60th 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 three threes so far.

As a team, MKE is shooting 33.7 percent from behind the arc - good for 80th best in the NCAA and tops in the Horizon League.

Additionally, Milwaukee has three of the top 10 deep-ball shooters percentage-wise in the conference (Alyssa Fischer - 2nd at .419 [18-43], Sydney Levy - 3rd at .418 [28-67] and Jamie Reit - 9th at .356 [36-101] heading into Thursday.

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 43 swats on the young season, with Akaylah Hayes (14) and Megan Walstad (13) not far behind, with Johnson's 2.4 blocks/game ranking her 22nd nationally heading into the game against IUPUI. In all, MKE has already racked up 86 blocks on the season for an average of 4.8/game - which would shatter the school record of 3.8/game, set last just 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 4.1 assists/game thus far - ranking her tied for first in the Horizon League and 137th nationally.

BENCH PLAY
The Panthers have shown great depth so far this season and have proven to have an awfully deep bench. In fact, thus far Milwaukee's bench is outscoring the opposition by a whopping 514-276. MKE has scored at least 20 points off the bench in 14 of its first 18 games, with the season high so far coming against Columbia when 47 points came from non-starters.

NOW THAT'S WHAT I CALL BALANCE
Right around the midway point of the season, the Panthers have proven to be an incredibly balanced squad this season. Seven different players (Jamie Reit, Sydney Levy, Megan Walstad, Alyssa Fischer, Bre Cera, Akaylah Hayes and Lizzie Odegard) have led the team in scoring in at least one game. Even more impressively, eight different Panthers (Ryaen Johnson, Brandi Bisping, McKaela Schmelzer, Hayes, Odegard, Cera, Fischer & Walstad) have led the team in rebounding in at least one game on the season.

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.

500 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 506 games in a row heading into the game against the Jaguars.

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).

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

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

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

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

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

Players Mentioned

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

#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

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

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

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