MILWAUKEE – The 2025-26 Milwaukee women's basketball season gets underway on Monday evening, as the Panthers will host the Loyola Chicago Ramblers at 6:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Matt Menzl on the air to call all the action. Live stats of Monday's contest can also be found on MKEPanthers.com.
 
THE MATCHUP & GAME LINKS
Monday, Nov. 3 – Loyola Chicago at Milwaukee | Klotsche Center | Milwaukee, Wis. | 6:00 p.m. | ESPN+ / Live Stats | Tickets | Follow Along (on X)
 
QUICK NOTES
» The 36th Division I season for Milwaukee women's basketball gets underway on Monday evening as the Panthers welcome the Loyola Chicago Ramblers to the Klotsche Center for a 6:00 p.m. tip.
» Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz returns for her 14th season at the helm of the program, as she enters the season as the longest tenured head coach in the Horizon League.
» Rechlicz welcomes four new coaches to the staff, joining herself and Fletcher Brown as the returning coaches. John Pfaffl joins the staff as Associate Head Coach, while Lanyce Williams, Hannah Whitish, and AJ Ediger all join the staff for their first seasons.
» The Panthers are comprised of 15 student-athletes, including eight returners, four true freshmen, and three transfers. Among the returners are three players that started at least one game a season ago including Payton Rechlicz, Jorey Buwalda, and Izzy Pugh. Grace Lomen, Sophia Rampulla, and Jada Williams are also among the returners to have seen time on the court a season ago.
» Back for their second seasons with the programs are Kendall Barnes and Cece McNair, who both redshirted a season ago, while the duo are joined by Lizzy Favret, Madison Fitzgibbon, Tierney Madigan, and Olivia Olson, to be on freshman status in 2025-26.
» Among Milwaukee's newcomers are transfers Valerie Cassidy-De Falco, who played at Eastern Washington as a freshman a year ago, while Rita Gomes and Micayla Silas join the team after All-American sophomore seasons at their respective Arizona-based junior colleges last season.
» The Panthers will welcome the Loyola Chicago Ramblers to the Klotsche Center on Monday, the Ramblers' first visit to 'The K' since the 2022-23 season. Milwaukee boasts a 20-3 all-time record at home as Division I opponents.
» In all-time meetings, the Panthers are 33-14 against Loyola Chicago, including a 27-11 mark in league games before the Ram-blers left the Horizon League for the Atlantic 10 Conference.

QUICK LOOK AT LOYOLA CHICAGO
Loyola Chicago was selected 13th in the 14-team Atlantic 10 Conference garnering 43 points overall, trailing La Salle by 13 points, and clear of St. Bonaventure by 21 points out of last place. The Ramblers did not place a player on the three Preseason All-League Teams, nor the Preseason All-Defensive Team.

LOYOLA CHICAGO – PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kira Chivers – 28 Games/25 Starts in 2024-25, 29.6 Minutes/Game, 5.5 Points/Game, 1.6 Rebounds/Game, 82 Assists, 31 Steals.
Rosalie Mercille – 20 Games/1 Start in 2024-25, 15.9 Minutes/Game, 5/1 Points/Game, 1.7 Rebounds/Game, 21 Assists, 12 Steals.
Alexus Mobley – 30 Games/21 Starts at Akron in 2024-25, 28.6 Minutes/Game, 12.1 Points/Game, 4.9 Rebounds/Game, 61 Assists, 39 Steals, 14 Blocks.

LAST MEETING
The Panthers and Ramblers last met on Dec. 9, 2023, a 60-47 win for the Ramblers at Gentile Arena in Chicago. The Panthers were led by Kendall Nead with 16 points in the effort, while Jorey Buwalda scored seven points among the current Milwaukee players. Jada Williams also saw seven minutes off the bench for the Panthers in the game.

As a team, Milwaukee shot 45.0 percent from the field, including 42.9 percent from beyond the arc. Turnovers were extremely costly as the Panthers committed 27 giveaways, with the Ramblers taking advantage with 19 points off turnovers.

UP NEXT
After Monday's game, Milwaukee will face its first road test of the season on Friday evening in DeKalb, Illinois, when the Panthers face off against future Horizon League member Northern Illinois at 7:00 p.m. at the Convocation Center. NIU will join the Horizon League as full members beginning in the 2026-27 season.

OPENING NIGHT
Milwaukee is 12-23 in season openers dating back to its first Division I season in 1990-91, the team is also 5-7 in season openers that take place at home. The last time the Panthers opened a season at the Klotsche Center was the 2022-23 season against Wisconsin.

Throughout the years in home openers, Milwaukee is 19-16, including a win in last year's home opener over Carroll. Milwaukee has opened the home slate once against Loyola Chicago and won on Nov. 21, 2017, however, the Panthers have never opener a season against the Ramblers.

THE NON-CON SLATE
Milwaukee plays 11 non-conference matchups this season in preparation for the long haul of Horizon League play. The Panthers will take on four former conference opponents with Loyola Chicago at home (Nov. 3), at Northern Illinois (Nov. 7), at Valparaiso (Nov. 16), and at Butler (Nov. 23).

The team will also take on in-state foes with Wisconsin in Madison on Nov. 10, and Marquette at home on Nov. 19. MKE will take on Western Michigan for the first time since the 2012-13 season, but a familiar face will be at the helm with Kate Achter taking over after having been the head coach at Detroit Mercy for the past three seasons.

There will also be four first-time opponents in regular season play this year with Milwaukee taking on host Pacific as well as UC Davis on Nov. 28-29 at the Tiger Turkey Tip-Off in Stockton, Calif. While the team will also host Division III opponents Ripon (Dec. 14) and Wisconsin Lutheran (Dec. 20) to wrap-up non-conference play

THE RETURNING CORE
Milwaukee brings back eight players from a season ago, including six that logged minutes on the court for the Black & Gold. Junior Jorey Buwalda has the most playing experience at Milwaukee having played in 62 games entering her third season with the program. Redshirt-junior Jada Williams is just off Buwalda's pace having played in 57 contests.

Payton Rechlicz appeared in all 32 games for the Panthers last season and earned a spot on the Horizon League All-Freshman team, while fellow redshirt-sophomores Izzy Pugh played in 30 games, and Sophia Rampulla appeared in 14 games in 2024-25. Grace Lomen is the team's lone senior and recorded minutes in 22 contests during her first season with Milwaukee after transferring from Parkside.

After redshirting a season ago, Kendall Barnes and Cece McNair are looking to contribute in their first seasons on the court.

THE TRANSFERS
The team welcomes three transfers to the roster in 2025-26, with NJCAA All-Americans Rita Gomes and Micayla Silas making their way to Milwaukee after two seasons in Arizona. Valerie Cassidy-De Falco also transferred to the Cream City following a season at Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Conference.

Gomes scored 579 points in two seasons at Arizona Western, where she honed her skill as a three-point sharpshooter with 146 makes while connecting on better than 37 percent from beyond the arc. Silas scored 691 points in two seasons at Cochise and had over 100 assists as a sophomore in 2024-25. Cassidy-De Falco, was limited to just three games as a freshman at EWU, scoring two points in 10 minutes of action.

THE NEW FACES
Milwaukee's incoming freshman class will feature three from the State of Wisconsin, and a fourth with many ties to the state.

Lizzy Favret hails from Shaker Heights, Ohio, and has connections to the Badger State as her father played football and mother played basketball at the University of Wisconsin. Meanwhile, her older sister Cecilia plays soccer at Marquette.

Madison Fitzgibbon scored nearly 2,000 points in high school at nearby Homestead, where she was a part of three North Shore Conference Championship teams. Tierney Madigan played prep ball at Laconia High School, where she helped the team to over 100 wins and four appearances at the WIAA State Championship. Olivia Olson comes from Cuba City, Wis., and was a part of the 2025 WIAA Division 4 State Championship team this past March.

YEAR 14 FOR RECHLICZ
Head coach Kyle Rechlicz enters year 14 as the head coach of the Milwaukee women's basketball team, the longest tenured coach in the 11-team Horizon League. During that span, Rechlicz has 189 overall wins and 120 wins in Horizon League matches.

NEW FACES ON THE BENCH
Kyle Rechlicz and Fletcher Brown are back on the bench from last year's coaching staff, with the staff also welcoming four newcomers. John Pfaffl takes over as Associate Head Coach, following a lengthy tenure as the head women's basketball coach at Cardinal Stritch University, and having most recently served as the Director of Athletics at Pius XI high school.

Also joining the staff are Lanyce Williams, who played and coached at Memphis before coaching at Cincinnati the past two season. Hannah Whitish recently played overseas in Germany and Sweden and was previously a Ms. Basketball in the State of Wisconsin before playing at Nebraska. AJ Ediger steps off the court and into her first coaching role, having played at the University of Iowa the past four seasons.

HAPPY TRAILS, COACH STACY
After 27 seasons of coaching collegiate basketball, Stacy Cantley retired from her role as Associate Head Coach in May. Cantley was a part of the staff for seven seasons, beginning as an assistant coach in 2018-19, before being elevated to Associate Head Coach before the 2021-22 season. The Panthers won exactly 100 games during her time with the program.

REMEMBERING AN ICON
On March 1, Milwaukee athletics learned of the passing of Milwaukee Hall of Famer Erika Sander, who served as the first coach in Milwaukee women's basketball history beginning in 1971-72. In addition to being an assistant professor in the department of physical education, Sander coached the basketball team for five years while also essentially working as the women's athletic director, as the Panthers added gymnastics, fast-pitch softball, field hockey, and volleyball under Title IX.

CLOSING IN ON 500
Milwaukee currently has with 495 wins at the Division I level, dating back to its inaugural DI season in 1990-91. MA Kelling led the team with 57 wins over the first five year, while Jenny Sell won four games in 1995-96. Sandy Botham had 245 wins, while current head coach Kyle Rechlicz has added 189 to the all-time total.

PANTHERS FOR THREE
In January 2025, Iowa State had its NCAA Division I record-setting streak of 945 consecutive games with a three-point basket stopped by Texas Tech. With the Cyclones failing to convert, Milwaukee now has the third longest active streak in Division I.

All-Time Streaks
1. Iowa State – 945 (1995-2025)
2. Chattanooga – 806 (1999-Present) *
3. South Alabama – 757 (2000-Present) *
4. Milwaukee – 701 (2002-Present) *
5. Dayton – 697 (2001-2024)
* - Active Streak (through Mar. 11, 2025)

TEN FOR THREE
After just three games with at least 10-three point makes in 2023-24, the Panthers rebounded by doing so on eight occasions in 2024-25, including the postseason game against Detroit Mercy.

Since taking over the program, Kyle Rechlicz has seen her team record at least 10 three-point baskets in a game on 71 occasions.

MAGIC NUMBER
In college basketball, there is no perfect recipe for a win but for Milwaukee, field goal percentage has been a pretty good baseline. Since 2016-17, Milwaukee is 116-44 (.725) when hitting at least 40 percent from the field. Bump that field goal percentage to 43 percent and the Panthers are 99-24 (.805). When shooting under 40 percent, Milwaukee is 26-94 (.217).

KEEPING THE FOULS DOWN
Since the 2022-23 season, when Milwaukee has committed 11 fouls or fewer, the Panthers are 12-2. On the contrary, the Panthers are 9-29 when they have committed 18 or more fouls in a contest.

OFFENSIVE BOARDS TURNING INTO POINTS
Dating back to the 2022-23 season, the Panthers have pulled down double-digits in offensive rebounds in 36 of their 78 games and scored 722 second-chance points.

IN THE PAINT
Over the past two seasons, when Milwaukee scored more than 25 points in the paint the Panthers had a 19-16 record, while the team was 5-25 when scoring fewer than 25 points in the paint.

The Panthers picked up one win in 2024-25 while scoring just 24 points in the paint, in a 75-50 win over Wright State on Jan. 2.

BALANCING THE FIRST AND SECOND HALVES
Last season Milwaukee was consistent in its shooting by making 39.6 percent (354-for-896) of its shots in the first half and 39.3 percent (338-for-862) in the second half. In overtime, the Panthers are 7-for-30 (23.3 percent).

CLOSE GAMES
Last season, Milwaukee finished the season with a 3-14 record in games decided by nine points or fewer and will look to finish games off at a better clip in 2025-26. The Panthers' three wins decided by nine or fewer points came in both home and road wins over IU Indy, as well as the home win over Youngstown State.

IN OVERTIME
Last season, Milwaukee set a program record with appearances in four overtime games and now has a record of 21-27 in games to go beyond 40 minutes since joining Division I prior to the 1990-91 season. The Panthers have gone to overtime on three occasions in season openers, winning over Parkside in 2019-20, before falling to Ball State in 2021-22, and St. Thomas in 2024-25.