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Post by TonyTuba on Nov 14, 2018 10:46:12 GMT -6
Did anyone go to last nights game? for us, in the band, it must have been the single most exciting nontournry game to be at. I wanted to know how did it get that way, what made that game so full of energy. I know we're playing Madison, the big fish in out state pond. Or maybe because we were leading in the first half, and thought we could win? The reason with this is to try and recreate the atmosphere in the future. I want the fans to be hyped to sit and watch our Milwaukee basketball team's play. Thanks all or any.
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Nov 19, 2018 8:56:50 GMT -6
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 19, 2018 11:44:29 GMT -6
Did anyone go to last nights game? for us, in the band, it must have been the single most exciting nontournry game to be at. I wanted to know how did it get that way, what made that game so full of energy. I know we're playing Madison, the big fish in out state pond. Or maybe because we were leading in the first half, and thought we could win? The reason with this is to try and recreate the atmosphere in the future. I want the fans to be hyped to sit and watch our Milwaukee basketball team's play. Thanks all or any. Going into that game, the Panthers had defeated the Badgers twice in a row, and had won pretty comfortably. Those Panther teams were fairly experienced and talented. The Panthers graduated four seniors who were major contributors to the program's recent success, so this year's team is much younger, and the result was more predictable (the Badgers had a long winning streak in the series until two years ago). So the game is much more of a rivalry game for women's basketball than it is for other UWM athletics programs.
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Post by skrapheap on Nov 29, 2018 1:09:21 GMT -6
Lots to build on from tonight’s game with a top-25 ranked Marquette team.
Marquette beat UIC by 64 points and limited the Flames to 32 points for the entire game. Milwaukee put up more than double UIC’s output (74 points, the highest total this season against Marquette’s defense) and lost by only eleven.
The Panthers got strong performances from newcomers: Freshman Sydney Levy led with 19 points (she made five of eight three-point shots); Freshman Megan Walstad and redshirt sophomore Bre Cera added 11 points each.
The Panthers got the lead down to seven points in the fourth quarter. They couldn’t fully overcome their 24 turnovers (which led to Marquette 32 points, to only 14 points off turnovers for the Panthers) in the end.
The Panthers out-rebounded the Golden Eagles overall, though Marquette had more offensive rebounds.
Up next is a Saturday home game with Purdue Fort Wayne.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 1, 2018 16:40:34 GMT -6
Nice win for the Panthers today, 70-48 over a depleted Purdue Fort Wayne squad. The Mastadons had eight players able to play. The Panthers improved their record to 3-5.
i missed the first quarter, but when I tuned in, the Panthers led after one by a 22-3 score. The Mastadons did not hit a shot from the field in the first ten minutes, scoring all three of their points at the free throw line.
Purdue Fort Wayne heated up considerably in the second quarter, shaving thirteen points off the first quarter lead to get to six points down at 28-22 with 2:55 left in the half. But the Panthers scored the last five points in the 2nd, to lead by 11 at the half, 33-22.
Milwaukee took full control of the game in the third quarter. Purdue Fort Wayne scored the first basket of the half, but the Panthers responded with 11 consecutive points to push the lead to 20. Four points in the run came from Megan Walstad (who scored 10 points in the second half); The run ended with an Akaylah Hayes three-point shot (her second of the season but only the third of her career). A late layup by Brandi Bisping made the lead 53-31 at quarter's end.
The Panthers matched the Mastadons' scoring in the final quarter for the final score of 70-48.
Only two Panthers, Walstad and Sydney Levy, scored in double figures, with 12 points and 11 points respectively. 13 Panthers played in the game, and 11 scored, with nine players accounting for the 47 points not scored by Walstad and Levy.
Three games remain on the Panthers's non league schedule: road games against North Dakota and North Dakota State and a home game against Florida State before Milwaukee opens league play at home against Green Bay.
Elsewhere in the league, the Phoenix went 0-2 on a road trip to South Dakota, losing to both South Dakota State and the University of South Dakota, to fall to 3-4 in the non-league season. Youngstown State (6-2), IUPUI (5-2) and Wright State (4-3) are the only HL teams with winning records in non-league play.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 8, 2018 7:28:29 GMT -6
Milwaukee won on the road yesterday 64-46, beating North Dakota. Coach Rechlicz was really pleased with the performance of the defense; it was the second consecutive game in which the opponent made less than 25 percent of their shots. The Panthers held the Fighting Hawks’s top scorer, who came into the game ranked in the top twenty in points per game at 22.1, to 14 points, only two points from the floor.
There were 50 free throws shot, as the game was called closely, and the Panthers didn’t shoot as well from the line as they usually do, but in the end it didn’t matter. Milwaukee continued its pattern of getting scoring from a wide number of players. 14 played, and 10 scored. Freshman Megan Walstad and senior Jamie Reit were the only Panthers to score in double figures, at 15 and 12 points, respectively. Walstad has been ready to play from the start, which is good because so much of last season’s offensive output graduated.
Next up for the 4-5 Panthers is a Sunday afternoon game with North Dakota State. After that, they have a long break (11 days) for final exams until they host Florida State, and then another eight days before they open league play against Green Bay. The Seminoles are currently 8-1 on the season, and are receiving votes in the Top 25 rankings. Green Bay is 3-4 on the season, and their next two games are at home against Wisconsin and on the road against Marquette; they might enter league play with a losing non-league record. I’m pretty sure it’s been a few years since that happened, but everyone still expects them to finish league play on top of the standings.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 16, 2018 9:35:43 GMT -6
The Panthers finished their road trip to North Dakota with a 57-55 win over North Dakota State last Sunday. A last second three-point shot by the Bison cut a five-point margin to two.
Bre Cera and Lizzie Odegard had nine points each to lead Milwaukee. The Panthers got off to a slow start, and the Bison led 16-15 after one quarter. It took the first two minutes of the second quarter for the first points to be scored, as Odegard hit the first of her three three-point shots of the afternoon to give Milwaukee the lead. The Panthers and Bison traded the lead, but the Panthers eventually took a four point lead into halftime.
Neither team shot well in the third quarter. ND State outscored Milwaukee 10-7, narrowing the lead to one point at 36-25. Both teams shot much better in the final quarter. The Panthers hit four three-point shots to build a 57-52 lead going into the final seconds.
The final non-league game will be a challenge, as a 9-1 Florida State team comes to the Klotsche Center on Thursday night. The Seminoles are not in either Top 25 list, but are getting votes in both polls. After that, Milwaukee has another week off before opening league play at home against Green Bay.
Last weekend, the Phoenix pulled away late at home from a Wisconsin team that beat the Panthers by eleven points, but yesterday they traveled to Milwaukee to play nationally ranked Marquette and lost by 26. The Panthers lost to Marquette by 11 earlier this season. Green Bay plays Parkside this week, and then has 10 days off before playing the Panthers.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 20, 2018 23:35:18 GMT -6
The first half of the game with Florida State was exciting. The Panthers battled back from an early first quarter lead by the Seminoles, and finished the quarter up one point. The Panthers shot well and were winning the rebound battle. Florida State kept the score close by hitting five of their first seven three-loint shots. The second quarter finished with the score tied at 35-all.
FSU took control of the game in the latter part of the third quarter, and ran away with the game in the fourth quarter to win by 25, 87-62. The Panthers went cold from the field, and gave the Seminoles plenty of opportunities to shoot free throws. FSU hit 16 of 29 attempts. The Panthers hit eight of the 15 free throws they shot.
The real difference in the game was behind the three-point line. The Seminoles hit almost as many three-pointers (15) as the Panthers attempted (18) and shot 60% from distance.
The loss breaks a three-game winning streak, and gives the Panthers a 5-6 record heading into league play. They host a 6-5 Green Bay team who, in their last two non-league games lost big to Marquette and won even bigger over Division 2 Parkside.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 28, 2018 11:48:02 GMT -6
The start of league play is hours away. The Panthers host the Green Bay Phoenix tonight.
i don't have the savvy to get a good read on this game. Green Bay's non-league record is 6-5, including a beat-down of Division 2 Parkside (the Panthers played and beat Parkside, but in an exhibition game, so it doesn't count in the record). Not gaudy, but i don't know whether or not it's unusual. The Phoenix are ranked #12 in the College Insider Mid-Major poll; they are not getting any votes in the regular D1 Top 25 polling. The best Green Bay teams have had really strong non-league records, and are usually at least getting votes in the regular Top 25. The latest RPI rating at ncaa.com has Green Bay at #35; Milwaukee is at #178. i know the Phoenix lost a lot of scoring to graduation last Spring.
In contrast, i know that the Panthers have been playing pretty good defense so far this season: their per-game opponent scoring average (64.7 pts/game) is inflated by losses to Marquette and Florida State. They are allowing an average of 58 pts/game in their other games so far.
As is usually the case, I expect the Panthers will go as far in this game as their defense takes them. They have beaten Green Bay on occasion by shooting the lights out, but more commonly, the Green Bay defense makes scoring difficult. A strong defensive showing against the Phoenix will keep the score close. The Panthers's depth will help, as well.
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Post by skrapheap on Dec 28, 2018 19:50:21 GMT -6
Regardless of how the game with Green Bay turns out, I would, for once, like to see the refs call fouls against the Phoenix based on what actually happens on court, and not based on Green Bay's reputation or the whining of Coach Borseth.
Later: as hard as it was to for me to believe, the refs actually called an "unsportsmanlike" foul on a Phoenix player, who threw Ryaen Johnson to the floor trying to wrestle the ball away. The Panthers made the technical free throws, but were unable to score in the ensuing possession. Johnson didnot play for the rest of the game. i hope she gets checked out, because she went down hard. Of course Coach Borseth expressed disbelief when the refs went to the monitor to see whether the Phoenix player’s conduct deserved a foul call.
The Phoenix were not called for a foul in quarter two after they were whistled for five or more in quarter one. The rest of the way, the refs called fouls on the Phoenix only at the ends of quarters, while getting the Phoenix to the bonus quickly.
The Phoenix pulled away in the fourth quarter after the Panthers got within two points. They had a chance to tie or take a lead, but turned the ball over, and Green Bay wasn't seriously threatened afterwards. The final was 76-62, Jamie Reit had 24 points, but didn't get much help from her teammates. Only Megan Walstad got to double digits in scoring with eleven.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 11, 2019 11:55:22 GMT -6
After the Green Bay game, the Panthers lost two more games, both on the road and both of which they could have won.
The Panthers lost to NKU by one point. They had a one point lead with nine seconds left. All they had to do was play good defense without fouling, and they hang on for the victory. They fouled an NKU shooter with two seconds left, and she hit both free throws. Predictably, the Panthers were not able to get a good shot in two seconds, and the Norse won. But Milwaukee could have avoided the whole issue by hitting free throws. They went 7-16 for the game.
The Panthers next played Wright State. This turned out to be a much closer game than i expected. The Panther defense played much better, holding the high-scoring Raiders to 61 points. Again, missed free-throws made the game more difficult than it should be. The final score, 61-57, was largely the result of having to foul the Raiders and hope they missed their free-throws. As usual, this strategy did not work.
The Panthers returned home to play Youngstown State yesterday. YSU entered the game undefeated in league play and tied with Wright State for first place in the standings. They had generally handled the opposition so far this season, having an overall record of 12-3. Given the Panthers's recent struggles, i hoped the game would be close, but was prepared for a blowout. It was the annual School Day game, and 2000+ kids were there to cheer the Panthers on (the total announced attendance was 3089, the fifth highest in School history for Women's basketball). Matt Menzel commented during the broadcast that he thought the enthusiasm of the kids had figured quite a bit in the Panther's success in School Day games (4-1 at home, having won the last four straight). Perhaps he is right.
The Panthers took an early 3-2 lead, only to see the Penguins reel off nine straight points to take an 11-3 lead. The Panthers settled in, and gradually reduced the lead. The quarter ended with the Penguins up 16-12. The second quarter saw even more improvement in the Panthers's play, as they held YSU to six points for the quarter, outscoring them 15-6, and taking a 27-22 lead into halftime.
The Panthers exploded for 23 points in the third quarter, expanding their lead to as high as 16 at 40-24 with 5:35 left in the quarter. In that stretch beginning the quarter, the Panthers scored the first eight points on the quarter before YSU got their first two points at the free-throw line. The Panthers responded with a three-point shot by Jamie Reit and a layup by Megan Walstad to get the lead to 16. YSU had to call a couple of time-outs to regroup, and they did start working on reducing the lead, reducing it to 10 on a three-point shot with 25 seconds left in the quarter. The Panthers pushed the lead back to 13 on a McKaela Schmelzer three-point shot with five seconds remaining.
The Penguins showed why they are one of the best teams in the league in the fourth quarter. They outscored the Panthers 19-7 over the first nine minutes of the quarter, to reduce the Panther lead to 57-56 with 1:09 left. But instead of folding, the Panthers got a clutch three-point shot from Akaylah Hayes with the shot clock running down and 47 seconds remaining in the quarter, to push the lead to 60-56. YSU had been getting to the free throw line all game, so the Panthers had to be careful on defense to not give the Penguins chances for and-ones. The Penguins did manage to score four points in the remaining time to force OT.
In OT, the Penguins got out to a three-point lead on three occasions, the last being 68-65 with 2:15 left. That was the last points they scored in the game. The Panthers closed out the game by scoring the last six points, but especially by locking in on defense. They got blocks from Hayes and Johnson (her fifth, making it consecutive games with five blocks for her) and three rebounds and a steal from Walstad. The steal clinched the victory: Walstad managed to get the ball to Reit before getting tied up, and Reit was fouled with 0.2 seconds left. Reit hit two free-throws and the score was 71-68. There wasn't enough time left for the Penguins to get an effective shot (they were out of time-outs), and the Panthers had a 71-68 upset win.
Walstad had a double double (the first of her career) with 20 points and 10 rebounds (both career bests), to lead the Panthers. Reit had 17 points on 3-4 shooting from distance. Hayes finished with 11 points and three rebounds.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 12, 2019 16:39:09 GMT -6
It wasn't pretty, but it was a win.
Milwaukee beat Cleveland State 59-53, but the game was closer than the score indicated. The Vikings were aggressive, out rebounding the Panthers by 12. and led 11-3 in offensive rebounds and 6-0 in second chance points. For large stretches of the game, it looked like the Panthers weren't running plays, so tough was the Viking pressure. For long stretches in the second quarter especially, the Panthers settled for three-point shots with the shot clock running down, which they were missing (they shot 5-21 for the game), and which the Viking were grabbing the rebounds.
Where the Panthers were able to control was the high-low game, which contributed to a 20 point advantage in points in the paint. Megan Walstad was a frequent beneficiary of that high-low game, scoring all 12 of her points from close in, on 6-10 shooting. She didn't even attempt a three-point shot.
Bre Cera led the Panthers with 13 points, many of her makes from close-in (she did make her only three-point attempt). Cera also contributed four rebounds and five assists.
The story of the game was the story of the two halves. The Panthers came out on fire, scoring the first 10 points of the game, including three point shots by Ryaen Johnson and Cera. The lead reached 12 before the Viking got on track. They cut the lead to four with 2:37 in the guarter, but a poor shooting by the Vikings for the next minute and a half allowed the Panthers to rebuild the lead to 10. The quarter ended up 23-13 Panthers.
In quarter number two, the roles were reversed, as the Vikings outscored the Panthers 23-10 to take three point lead at the end of the half. The Panthers missed 13 shots in the quarter, seven of which were from behind the three-point line, which coupled with a lack of rebounding gave the Vikings their openings to reduce the Panther lead and then take the lead themselves.
The Panthers took control in the second half, outscoring the Vikings 26-17, leading to a six point differential in the final score. The Panthers zeroed in on scoring from close-in, as 11 or their twelve made shots were two point shots. The Vikings, by contrast, shot poorly, missing their last 10 shots, of the game, and turning the ball over four times and not scoring a point in the last 3:35 of the game.
The Vikings lost one of their best players when Jade Ely injured a knee playing defense against a driving Brandi Bisping in the first quarter.
The Panthers won both of their games this week, and are now 2-3 in league play, good for a seventh place tie with Northern Kentucky.
Next weekend, the Panthers will be playing on Friday and Sunday, in Michigan, playing Oakland and then Detroit Mercy, teams below them in the standings.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 14, 2019 13:31:04 GMT -6
Megan Walstad received her second Freshman of the Week honor from the Horizon League. She had a double-double of 20 points and 10 rebounds against Youngstown State, and was a clutch scorer in the deciding fourth quarter against Cleveland State.
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Post by BBFran on Jan 14, 2019 17:58:42 GMT -6
Skrap, thanks for these reports. In your opinion, is the program making any real move forward? It’s tough being in a league dominated by one school, but have we at least broken into the next tier after the Phoenix, or is that overstating it? From afar it doesn’t seem like much has really changed.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 14, 2019 18:58:50 GMT -6
There was a time, during Sandy Botham’s best years, when there was Green Bay on a much higher level, and Milwaukee had separated itself from the rest of the pack, but wasn’t consistently challenging Green Bay’s position. Those years included Milwaukee’s two trips to the NCAA, and even in those years the Panthers didn’t win the regular season title outright. The Panthers earned the bids by beating the Phoenix in the conference tournament. That’s no small thing. The 2005-06 team beat Green Bay three times, probably the only time that has happened. The Panthers beat the Phoenix by two in Green Bay, and by 10 at home. I remember watching that home game from the stands, and thinking, as Milwaukee withstood the everything Green Bay had, and led comfortably to the final 10 point margin of victory, that this team had Green Bay’s number. But even with that, Green Bay finished with the same regular season record. The losses to the Panthers were Green Bay’s only league losses. The Panthers got the top seed in the League tournament on the tie-breaker, but there was still a tie to be broken.
A Botham-led, low-seeded team made the improbable run (a few seasons after the 2005-06 season) to the conference tournament title game, winning three road games in five days to get to the title game, where the top-seeded Phoenix team crushed them. The program wasn’t close to contending again until the third year of Coach Rechlicz’s tenure.
The rest of the time it’s been Green Bay and a race for second place. The fact remains that Green Bay has at least a share of the last 19 regular season titles. It’s true that they haven’t gone to the NCAA tournament in every one of those years, but in every one of those seasons, the Phoenix have figured as the top team in the league, the team the others have to beat.
i feel it won’t be appropriate to say the Phoenix have clear rivals for the title until some other league team breaks that string of titles. I thought during the 2018 non-league season that some other teams might be emerging as rivals. Wright State, Youngstown State, and IUPUI all had strong performances. But when it has come to league play, Green Bay has still proven to be a tough opponent. The Phoenix have one league loss, so they aren’t in first place, but they’re not far out of first, either. YSU started their Wisconsin road trip undefeated and in first place. After losses to Milwaukee and Green Bay, they’re in second place. And they never really threatened the Phoenix at the Kress Center. The Panthers had to battle to beat the Penguins. Green Bay led their game pretty much the entire game, if not the entire game.
This season’s ultimate regular season champs may have more losses than has been the case due to a stronger league, but so far there has been little reason to think that Green Bay won’t be at the top of the standings. The league season is only about one third complete, so there is time for one or more teams to emerge. But if I were a betting man, I would still wait for that emergence to happen before betting against the Phoenix.
Wright State has been a strong program for at least the last four seasons, but they’ve not managed to unseat the Phoenix completely. Other programs have had good seasons, usually on the strength of the play of one particular player, but they haven’t done so consistently. (Phoenix players frequently make the first team in the all-league honors, but they don’t win the Player of the Year honor all that frequently. Make of that what you will.)
To get back to Fran’s question, i do think Milwaukee has been on an upward trajectory since Coach Rechlicz took over. She had some really awful seasons to start with, but since the roster has been filled with players she recruited the results have been much better. (She would need a strong winning season this season to reach .500 for her career; that’s how much of a building job she had to accomplish.) This season will tell fans a lot about her coaching, as the veteran players she had last year (the winningest class in program history) graduated. If the team continues to improve as the younger players adjust to basketball at this level, and if the team is able to make a strong run, fans can conclude what many think: she is a very good coach.
But that upward trajectory has been masked by improvements in the rest of the league. If the rest of the league is still all in a race for second place, or in good years able to tie the Phoenix for the regular season title, it means that Milwaukeehas legitimate rivals, but i still think it will take beating Green Bay consistently for any program to be a true rival to the Phoenix.
Part of the Panthers’s improvement, and that of the other program in the league, must be due to the general improvement in player quality. The best players from the Botham years would still make Coach Rechlicz’s roster, but the skills of the other players have improved vastly. Jen Greger, for example, was one of the best players on any Panther team. I remember thinking, watching her throw or bounce so many passes that would have led to easy buckets if only her teammates were expecting those passes and capable of handling them, that she could have done so much more if everybody else on her teams were closer to her skill level. She had to dial back her passing game a lot, because her teammates weren’t ready for those passes. Many of today’s players can handle those kinds of passes, but those players are from the next generation. The increase in skill level gives Coach Rechlicz some extra tools, and she has put those tools to work.
Those generational improvements are benefiting all the teams in the league, though. The Panthers may emerge as a consistent challenger to Green Bay’s dominance. I am cautiously optimistic that they will emerge, though it may or may not happen this season. They have won two league games at home after losing their first three. Two of those games they might have won; i hope that with more experience the younger players will learn to win those kind of games. There are glimpses of potential; i hope the coaches can develop that potential and turn it into winning play.
But as they emerge they may have company, and that would mean the Horizon League as a whole is stronger, which would be a good thing for fans, and for the league. The League hasn’t achieved multiple NCAA bids, but for the last few years league teams have gotten multiple bids in other post-season tournaments, which is progress. I won’t speculate on the likelihood of the HL becoming a multi-bid league in Men’s Basketball, but there are signs that it could grow into a multi-bid league in Women’s Basketball. At least, the future looks significantly more hopeful on the Women’s side than on the Men’s side.
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