|
Post by skrapheap on Jun 6, 2023 6:39:58 GMT -6
Key returning players (so far): Angie Cera, Grace Crowley, Jada Donaldson, Anna Lutz, Kendall Nead, Kamy Peppler. Lutz is the only returning forward. The team lost height when Megan Walstad and Emma Wittmershaus graduated. The other returners played guard. Donaldson and Peppler were the primary ball-handlers. Peppler made the adjustment to college basketball over the course of the season and Coach Rechlicz had Donaldson and Peppler on the court together at times. Cera and Nead played a lot when they were healthy. Crowley saw most of her court time earlier in the season.
Incoming players: Jorey Buwalda, Vanessa Jurewicz, Izzy Pugh, Sophia Rampulla, Payton Rechlicz. Buwalda (6'1") and Pugh (6'3") replace losses in the front court. Buwalda (Randolph, WI) was part of a WIAA Division 5 champion her junior year. Pugh is from New Zealand, played on a championship team in high school and was a reserve for the National U-18 team. Jurewicz is a juco transfer from Stockholm, Sweden. She does a little of everything. Rampulla is another local product, from Union Grove. She has a reputation as a player who can score if called on, but who is a willing passer (among the all-time leaders in assists) and will rebound. Rechlicz is the coach's daughter. She started three years for her high school (with her junior year lost to an injury) and can play guard or forward.
That's a large number of incoming players. They will get opportunities to play, and Coach Rechlicz will start any of them if they are ready. Each of the returners had some good games, but will need to develop some consistency if the team is to compete in the Horizon League, which is getting tougher top to bottom each year.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Jul 12, 2023 0:05:33 GMT -6
I am guessing that this is Kammy Peppler's younger sister. She's from Hortonville and her first name begins with a K, as Kammy's does.
According to her Twitter bio, she will be a member of Hortonville High School's Class of 2027. Which means she will be a HS freshman this fall. I expect that means she's pretty good, and still has four years of high school in which to get better. Wow.
The usual cautions about counting chickens apply.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Sept 14, 2023 19:38:02 GMT -6
I deleted a post because I had mistakenly started a second 23-24 Women's Baskeball thread. The deleted post was along these lines: If the 2023-24 Men's Basketball schedule has disappointed some (many?) fans, the Women's non-league schedule is, possibly, more disappointing. The Women's team will play two non-D1 teams in non-league play. I don't have the records at my fingertips, but I suspect this has not often happened since the program went D1 in 1991. Perhaps someone will do the research I am too lazy to do tonight and set the record straight. The Panthers will play games with Edgewood College (of Madison, a D3 school) and Viterbo University (La Crosse, an NAIA team). Neither team is part of the WIAC, in which they play a good brand of D3 basketball. WIAC teams regularly advance in the DIII NCAA tournament; Whitewater made it to the semifinals before losing last spring. I have no idea if the possibilty of scheduling a WIAC school was broached during the scheduling process. I have no idea whether or not the Panther women's team has the same frustrations in putting together a schedule that the Men's team has. I don't find the prospect of this schedule that enticing.
|
|
|
Post by PantherU on Sept 15, 2023 12:46:34 GMT -6
I fear that Coach Rechlicz is in job preservation mode. Aside from the 2021 regular season title year, the Panthers have been playing below-.500 ball for the last five years. We had a lot of reason for optimism in the middle of the last decade and if it weren't for the 2021 title, I think we'd probably already have a new coach.
I'm looking forward to a big jump in wins so I don't have to worry about Kyle losing her job.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Sept 15, 2023 20:17:28 GMT -6
Coach Rechlicz really struck gold with two recruits in particular: Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner. They were the nucleus of her most successful teams. I don’t know whether those two were just really rare finds which the coaching staff not been able to duplicate or some other factors have contributed to the lackluster performance.
The 2021 squad benefitted largely from the extra year of eligibility allowed out as a result of the pandemic. The team had a large number of very experienced players to build on what talents they already had.
They will need some pretty serious development of current players to go with rapId development of new players to build on last years record to the level you are talking about, Jimmy. I haven’t the knowledge to guess whether that level of improvement is possible or even probable with this roster.
|
|
|
Post by ghostofdylan on Sept 15, 2023 20:38:40 GMT -6
Coach Rechlicz really struck gold with two recruits in particular: Steph Kostowicz and Jenny Lindner. They were the nucleus of her most successful teams. I don’t know whether those two were just really rare finds which the coaching staff not been able to duplicate or some other factors have contributed to the lackluster performance. The 2021 squad benefitted largely from the extra year of eligibility anllowed out as a result of the pandemic. The team had a large number of very experienced players to build on what talents they already had. They will need some pretty serious development of current players to go with rapId development of new players to build on last years record to the level you are talking about, Jimmy. I haven’t the knowledge to guess whether that level of improvement is possible or even probable with this roster. Kyle certainly didn't seem to think so at the annual picnic.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Sept 15, 2023 21:02:59 GMT -6
Meaning she’s optimistic?
She probably has forgotten more basketball than I ever knew, and she’s worked with the current roster and studied and recruited the newcomers. She has better information on which to make projections.
|
|
|
Post by ghostofdylan on Sept 15, 2023 21:15:55 GMT -6
I would say the opposite. She honestly spoke much more highly of UIC.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Oct 25, 2023 23:55:43 GMT -6
I watched the Women's Media Day, and felt like I knew less about this team's prospects than I did before. The emphasis that was repeated is focus on each day rather than overall expectations. Media day talk is usually very general and positive, but the Coach and the players declined to respond to questions about overall expectations even more than usual.
Two bits of news to me was that Hallie Majoros suffered a knee injury during the off season and will not play this season and Payton Rechlicz will be a red shirt. Majoros played more and more as last season wore on and in particular as injuries increased, and was one of the experienced players being looked to to take a step up and replace the scoring and defense lost to graduation. Now she will step into more of a coach's role. The presence of experienced back court players made it possible to give Rechlicz the red shirt year. Coach mentioned that the top four guards from last season were all back. I assume she was referring to Kamy Peppler, Jada Donaldson, Angie Cera, and Kendall Nead, although Coach talked about Nead playing on the wing as well.
Kendall Nead received second team all-league recognition in the preseason poll (in which the Panthers were ranked sixth of eleven teams). Coach Rechlicz talked about Neal's development over the course of her career and opined that Nead has the physical skills to create matchup challenges against league teams. Coach also mentioned Angie Cera's growth into an overall leader of the team, going beyond her acknowledged place as one of the team's top defenders.
One of the players at media day was redshirt freshman Jada Williams, who made a name for herself in her red shirt season by making her teammates work harder in practice. Coach Rechlicz is ready to turn her loose against the league.
The Panthers start the season with a game against the Badgers and UIC.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Nov 15, 2023 20:04:10 GMT -6
Panthers start 0-2, losing by double-digits to the Badgers (off to a 3-0 start) and three points to UIC.
Next up is the McNeese State MTE, tomorrow afternoon against Louisiana Monroe, Friday night against McNeese State, and Saturday afternoon against Mississippi Valley State. Louisiana Monroe and McNeese State are currently 1-1 on the season. Mississippi Valley State is 0-2, and gave up 100+ points in their losses.
Milwaukee has two signings for next season, one of whom is Kamy Peppler’s sister Kallie. The Panthers have already offered the younger sister, Kardyn, who has yet, I believe to play her first high school game. Kardyn has now gotten offers from Marquette and Eastern Illinois.
The other signee is a 6’2” post player from Minnesota, CeCe McNair.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Nov 18, 2023 7:43:06 GMT -6
Between injuries and red-shirts, Milwaukee had nine available players for the first two games in the McNeese State MTE, which presented a challenge. Matt Menzl said on Thursday afternoon that the Panthers were hoping Grace Crowley would be able to play in at least one game this weekend, but that has not yet happened.
Thursday afternoon, Milwaukee got out to a good start against Louisiana Monroe, but eventually lost 73-67. Kendall Nead led the Panthers with 21 points, on a 7-23 shooting performance. Angie Cera had 15 points and Kamy Peppler 11. The team did not shoot well on the whole, but the game was largely lost defensively, as the Panthers allowed 26 second chance points.
Last night, the Panthers faced host McNeese State, knowing that their strengths matched up well against the opponent. The Panthers exploded offensively to claim their first win of the season, 88-67, in a game that featured some notable performances, most notably Kendall Nead’s 38 points. The point total tied for the third highest single game total in the team’s D1 history. Nead tied Traci Edwards’s D1 record for field goals in a game with 17; Nead shot .739 on the night, including 3-5 from three-point range. The team hit 13 three-pointers in the game, on a .433 percentage, including hitting their first nine long distance shots in the second half. Menzl used his entire array of exclamations to signal made shots in the course of the game. Peppler hit 6-12 treys, tying her career high on the way to 22 points. Jada Donaldson had 12 points and a team high eight of the team’s 31 assists. Freshman Jorey Buwalda continued to earn the trust of the staff, as she had 14 rebounds, playing extensive minutes due to injuries.
Coach Rechlicz said on Media Day that Nead was poised for a strong year. Nead is averaging 23.3 points per game over the first four games of the season.
Milwaukee will finish the MTE on short rest, playing 1-3 Mississippi Valley State at 1:00 PM today.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Nov 21, 2023 21:26:35 GMT -6
Milwaukee finished the McNeese MTE with a 67-61 w in over Mississippi Valley State on Saturday, to finish 2-1. They were short-handed, as they had only nine players available for the weekend. Freshman Jorey Buwalda had to play extensively due to injuries to other post players. She justified the coaching staff's confidence in her with a double-double of 20 points and 12 rebounds, going 8-8 from the free throw line. She was joined as a double-digit scorer by Kendall Nead, who had 14. Jada Donaldson and Kamy Peppler had nine points apiece, and together accounted for 10 of the Panthers' 18 assists on a total of 22 made shots. The win was the second on the season for Milwaukee after three straight losses.
Tonight the Panthers hosted Division 3 Edgewood. Aside from a 2-0 Edgewood lead, Milwaukee led for 39:36 of the game's 40:00 and won 70-50. Nead led all scorers with 20 points, followed by Buwalda and Peppler with 12 points each and Angie Cera with 11. Donaldson had eight points and six assists (and only one turnover). The Panthers got two players back, Anna Lutz and Lior Halevi. Lutz played 19 minutes and had four points and seven rebounds.
Nead is averaging 21.2 points per game for the first six games of the season.
The last four games were played in six days. The three games in the MTE were played in just under 48 hours. Milwaukee is now off until a late morning home game on Saturday against Central Michigan, a team which Cleveland State beat by 39 points.
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Nov 23, 2023 21:16:15 GMT -6
|
|
|
Post by skrapheap on Nov 25, 2023 16:21:32 GMT -6
As expected, Milwaukee beat Central Michigan, 84-59, on the strength of a program-record 17 made three-point shots (out of 32 taken: a 531 percentage). They shot 48.1 percent overall. Anna Lutz had a career high 23 points with five three-pointers. She had hit five in the entire 2022-23 season. Angie Cera had 19 points (four treys), Kamy Peppler had 15 (three treys) and Kendall Nead had 11 (three treys). It was the sixth consecutive game in which a Panther scored 20 or more points, something that had not happened in seven seasons.
Central Michigan had two players standing at 6'5", and the height advantage played out to a 41-28 edge in rebounding. The Chippewas could not take full advantage of the difference, as they shot just 36.4 percent, including just six second chance points. They also committed 23 turnovers to 15 for the Panthers.
The win raises the Panthers' non-league record to 4-3. It was the fourth straight win following three consecutive losses to open the season. As has been the case for the past several years, the Panthers will play a couple of league games in the midst of non-League play.
Next up is a Thursday night home game with Green Bay, followed by a road game at IUPUI next Sunday, December 3rd. The Phoenix are averaging 70.3 points per game through the first six games, including wins over Creighton and Washington State, both of whom were in the Top 25 at the time. The Panthers have had some success at home against the Phoenix in recent years.
|
|
|
Post by reginaldkdwight on Dec 23, 2023 20:56:15 GMT -6
Could be time for a change on the womens side. Ill have to go check out a game this year.
|
|