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Post by skrapheap on Jan 18, 2019 21:49:16 GMT -6
I was unable to watch the Women’s game with Oakland live, but looking at the box score, it appears that it was an easy victory. The Panthers won by 27 points, and only a good game from behind the three-point line by Oakland kept the margin below 35 points.
After the last game, Coach Rechlicz was cautious about the game. The Grizzlies have, apparently, not performed as well as anybody expected going into the season. She said specifically that she hoped Oakland would not choose this game to start performing up to their talent-level. The results suggest that that did not happen.
Six games into league play, it’s pretty clear that the Panthers will continue to use nearly the entire bench in games, and not just when winning big. There has been alot of players in and out of the starting lineup, and the Panthers have played nine or ten players each game.
Megan Walstad led the Panthers with 18 points. Akaylah Hayes (14) and Brandi Bisping (10) joined her in double-digit scoring, accounting for 42 of the 79 points Milwaukee scored. Hayes and Bisping were leading contributors to the 44 points scored by the bench.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 19, 2019 16:12:32 GMT -6
Standings as of today: SCHOOL | LEAGUE | OVERALL3 | STREAK | Wright State | 5-1 | 13-5 | L1 | Green Bay | 5-1 | 10-6 | W4 | Youngstown State | 5-2 | 13-5 | W1 | IUPUI | 5-2 | 11-7 | W3 | Cleveland State | 4-3 | 7-11 | W1 | Milwaukee | 3-3 | 8-9 | W3 | Northern Kentucky | 2-4 | 3-13 | L3 | Oakland | 1-5 | 4-13 | L3 | Detroit Mercy | 1-5 | 3-14 | L1 | UIC | 1-6 | 3-15 | L2 |
Tomorrow, Milwaukee plays at Detroit, Green Bay plays at Oakland, Northern Kentucky plays at Youngstown State, and Wright State at Cleveland State. Wins by Milwaukee and Wright State would move the Panthers into fifth place, half a game ahead of Cleveland State.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 20, 2019 14:36:07 GMT -6
Sydney Levy was recruited, at least in part, for her prowess in three-point shooting. That prowess was largely responsible for Milwaukee's 62-44 win over Detroit Mercy. Levy was 7-12 from three-point range, and finished with a game high 23 points.
The game was an offensive struggle in the first half. The Panthers led after one quarter 11-10, and at half 22-21. Akaylah Hayes was the offense in the first half, scoring 10 of the Panthers 22 points. Levy had two of her three pointers in the half. Milwaukee had a scare when Megan Walstad hurt her knee in the second quarter, but after a brief stay on the bench, was able to return to the game. Walstad finished the game with six points, and Ryaen Johnson finished with eight points, as the Titan zone was fairly effective at keeping scoring opportunities in the paint down. The Panthers went more than eight minutes without scoring in the latter half of the first quarter and into the second.
The second half was a different story. The Panthers scored just one point less in the third quarter than they managed in the first half, and scored 20 points again in the fourth quarter to pull away from the Titans. The Panthers scored six of the first seven points of the third quarter, on their way to building a 13 point lead at 42-29 with a minute left in the quarter. The Titans scored two points before the third quarter finished, then scores eight more in the first four plus minutes of the fourth quarter to cut the lead to three, at which point Levy took over the game. She hit four three pointers and a two-point shot the rest of the way, to push to lead out of reach. Until Jamie Reit hit a three-point shot with 2:32 left in the game, Levy was the only Panther to hit a three-point shot.
The Panthers have now won four league games in a row after losing three, and are back to .500 for the entire season at 9-9. Up next is a hame game Thursday night against IUPUI, who is tied with Youngstown State with a 5-2 league record for third place in the standings, one game ahead of Milwaukee.
Another note: for the third time in league play, an opponent was called for an unsportsmanlike foul. The Panthers have done well on the free throws, but not so well on the possession after the free throws; they’ve scored once out of the three opportunities.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 24, 2019 21:49:54 GMT -6
Coach Rechlicz tweeted earlier this week that the next two home games would define the season. So far, the definition is mixed.
The Panthers needed to beat IUPUI tonight. A win would have pulled Milwaukee into a tie for fourth place with the Jaguars, and of course, given the Panthers a leg up in head to head competition. A fourth place or higher finish earns a home game in the opening round of the league tournament under the revised format. Instead, the Panthers lost another game they had a decent chance of winning on a last second foul in overtime, 67-66.
The Panthers started very slowly, shooting 18% for the first quarter and scoring only six points. Milwaukee was as hot in the second quarter as they were cold in the first, scoring 24 points to change a nine point deficit to a four point half time lead, and then getting a fast start after halftime to expand their lead to as high as 14 points at 43-29. The Jaguars then went on a 15 point run to take a one point lead as the Panthers went cold again. The fourth quarter was nip and tuck, but Milwaukee could not separate itself again. A Megan Walstad put back with three seconds left tied the score at 61-all and the defense held on to force overtime.
The Panthers struggled to put the ball in the basket late in the fourth quarter and in overtime, regressing to their first quarter level of play, settling for late long range shots that were no longer going in. Their defense kept them in the game, and making even one shot late could have won them the game in regulation. The Panthers tied the score at 66-all with about eight seconds remaining, and looked like they would take the game to double overtime, but committed a foul with 0.7 seconds left. The Jaguars’s player hit one of two free throws, and the Panthers did not have time to get a decent shot off.
Walstad (21 points), McKaela Schmelzer (14 points), and Sydney Staver (10 points) all reached career highs in scoring for Milwaukee.
Milwaukee has an opportunity to bounce back when they host a UIC team that has won just three games all season and one league game on Saturday afternoon. IUPUI has a tougher challenge ahead as they travel to Green Bay to play a Phoenix team that appears to have found its stride, having won six consecutive league games.
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Post by Pounce Needs Pals on Jan 25, 2019 18:34:15 GMT -6
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Post by TonyTuba on Jan 26, 2019 14:50:11 GMT -6
Uic doesn't seem to have any backups and its showing half time the scores 42-Uwm 23-Uic
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 26, 2019 16:19:37 GMT -6
Uic doesn't seem to have any backups and its showing half time the scores 42-Uwm 23-Uic That's correct. The Flames dressed seven for the game. Milwaukee had an easy time of it; Coach Rechlicz got all 14 active players into the game in the first half. All but one of the Panthers players scored in a 72-53 victory. Two Panthers, Jamie Reit (10) and Brandi Bisping (12, a career high), scored in double-figures; the other eleven Panthers accounted for 50 of 72 total points. No starter played more than 23 minutes, as the Panthers led the entire game except for brief time in the first quarter. As Coach Rechlicz observed in the post-game show, that kind of depth means the Panthers are hard to scout. I listened to the game on the Black and Gold network while i watched the IUPUI-Green Bay game on ESPN+. The Jaguars won, 67-63 in overtime, and should have won the game in regulation, if they could have hit some free throws in the last minute of the fourth quarter. They managed to do so in overtime, fending off a determined Phoenix team. This weekend, the HL women's basketball race has gotten really interesting. Youngstown State and IUPUI, who were tied for third place, both won today, so they now have 7-2 records at the season's mid-point. Green Bay's loss puts them into a tie with YSU and IUPUI. Wright State will take a 7-1 record into a home game tomorrow afternoon with Detroit Mercy (currently 1-7). Oakland (1-7) plays at Northern Kentucky (3-5). If Detroit pulls off an extremely unlikely upset. there would be four teams tied at the top with 7-2 records. More likely the Raiders hold serve on their home court, and finish the first half of the league season alone in first place. If the games tomorrow play out as I expect, Wright State would be in first place at 8-1, a full game ahead of Green Bay, IUPUI, and Youngstown State. The Panthers are in fifth place (two full games out of second place) no matter what happens tomorrow. Cleveland State is tied with NKU for sixth place, followed by a three-way tie for last among Oakland, Detroit Mercy and UIC. If Oakland pulls off an upset, they are in eighth place alone, with UC and Detroit Mercy tied for last. Cleveland State (sixth place) would be ahead of NKU by a game. Either way, Wright State has the inside track to win the regular season title. They do have to play Green Bay in Green Bay, but their games against the other top teams in the league are mostly at home. i expect Green Bay to be in the thick of the race, but i can't write off YSU or IUPUI. It's not wishful thinking, however, that the Phoenix's streak of 20 consecutive regular season titles could end. The Phoenix probably won't fall far, but their run as the pre-eminent HL women's basketball power may be coming to an end. The Panthers as the mid-point of the league season are where the pre-season poll predicted they would finish. They could have been 7-2, if they had managed to beat NKU and IUPUI. If a young squad can learn from the first half of the league season, they could finish in the top four, and host a first round HL tournament game. Unless one or more of the teams in the cellar turn things around in a major way and the Panthers collapse completely, the Panthers should have no trouble being one of the eight teams in the tournament.
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Post by skrapheap on Jan 31, 2019 20:49:23 GMT -6
Megan Walstad has claimed her third Freshman of the Week award this season, and her second in three weeks: www.horizonleague.org/news/2019/1/28/womens-basketball-nike-hlwbb-players-of-the-week-january-28.aspxSavannah Crockett of Cleveland State has won the award four times so far this season, Walstad three, and Angel Baker from Wright State twice. Neither Crockett nor Baker has won since league play began in late December. The Panthers have one game this weekend: a road trip to Green Bay to play a Phoenix team who lost at home to IUPUI in overtime last weekend. It's going to be a real challenge. The Panthers will have to take a step upward that i have been waiting for them to make all season in order to win. The game will be Green Bay's only game of the weekend as well. The other eight teams were in action tonight. There was one upset; in the other three games the team with the better record won. Northern Kentucky pulled off the upset tonight at home, beating IUPUI 60-57. The Jaguars had about six seconds left after an NKU player hit two free-throws to put the lead back at three points, and the tying three-point shot rimmed out and was rebounded by a Norse player as time expired. That made the race a little more interesting. Wright State won easily tonight, so they are at 9-1 in league play. Youngstown State, Green Bay and IUPUI entered the evening tied for second. YSU won, and IUPUI lost, so the Penguins are in second at 8-2, followed by the Phoenix at 7-2, and then the Jaguars at 7-3. Cleveland State won, so they and Northern Kentucky are at 5-5, half a game behind Milwaukee. Oakland, UIC and Detroit are all at 1-9 in last place. One of those three teams will probably wind up making the HL tournament with a losing record, possibly on a tie-breaker, and the other two will miss the tournament. A win for the Panthers on Saturday would put them at 6-4, one game behind Green Bay. All the other league teams will also be playing on Saturday this weekend, so the Panthers and the Phoenix will have played one less game than the rest of the league by the close of play Saturday night. The spotlight will be on IUPUI at Wright State on Saturday afternoon. The first game between the two teams was won by Wright State in OT.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 1, 2019 18:41:55 GMT -6
In my comments on the 2018-19 League season so far, i've underestimated Youngstown State. They have two league losses, to Milwaukee and Green Bay in consecutive games. Their league wins have been in winning streaks. More impressively, they've given Wright State their only loss so far in league play, and beaten IUPUI.
Wright State continues to look tough. They've beaten everyone in the league except Youngstown State. But YSU appears to be emerging as a contender this year at least.
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Post by nickpanther on Feb 2, 2019 22:43:12 GMT -6
Panthers ladies fall to GB 59-45. they led after the first quarter 9-4, but Gb outscored them 33-14 over the next 2 quarters and cruised from there. Panthers are 5-5 now in conference good for 7th place in the conference ahead of 3 1-10 teams, one of which is going to get that 8th and final spot.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 3, 2019 14:45:26 GMT -6
Panthers ladies fall to GB 59-45. they led after the first quarter 9-4, but Gb outscored them 33-14 over the next 2 quarters and cruised from there. Panthers are 5-5 now in conference good for 7th place in the conference ahead of 3 1-10 teams, one of which is going to get that 8th and final spot. That’s probably the bright spot to the season so far. The team has struggled all season with consistency, which is something they will need if they will have any chance to finish in the top four and host an opening round game in the tournament. This next weeks games will be a real challenge, hosting League leader Wright State and Northern Kentucky. Both teams have been on winning streaks. The Panthers lost close games to both on the road. They should have beaten the Norse. They were in the game with the Raiders at the end.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 8, 2019 20:14:56 GMT -6
The Panthers game with Wright State Thursday night was a higher-scoring copy of the first game between the teams this season. Both teams scored 12 more points in the second game, and the Raiders's margin of victory was the same: four points.
In both games, the Panthers were susceptible to Raider scoring runs. In both games, the Panthers responded to those runs, but never quite managed to get control of the the game. In Thursday night's game, the Panthers never led, and got the deficit down to one point on two occasions, the last one in the last minutes of the fourth quarter. Wright State was always able to hang on to the lead, and to increase it when the Panthers got close. Jamie Reit and Lizzie Odegard led Milwaukee with 16 points apiece. Megan Walstad had foul trouble and was held to seven points.
Akaylah Hayes was benched for the first half due to a team rule violation. In her second half she had five points, four rebounds, a blocked shot and three steals. The Panthers could have used her in the first half, but I'm not sure she would necessarily have made the difference.
At this point in the season, the pre-season prediction of the Panthers as finishing in the middle of the league standings is looking to be pretty accurate. This is a team that usually beats the teams below them in the standings, and usually loses to the teams above them in the standings. The exceptions so far have been a loss to Northern Kentucky and a win over Youngstown State.
Next up for Milwaukee is Northern Kentucky, who had been riding a four game winning streak until they went up to Green Bay and were beaten by 18 points. The Norse are currently half a game ahead of the Panthers, with a 6-6 record to Miwaukee's 5-6. A Panther win would get them back to .500 in league play and just below .500 overall.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 9, 2019 18:44:51 GMT -6
The Panthers bounced back nicely from Thursday night's loss. It wasn't a great offensive performance, but it was a solid win nonetheless, a 59-39 win over Northern Kentucky, the 100th victory of Coach Rechlicz's tenure. The victory makes her the third Panther coach (after MA Kellling and Sandy Botham) in history to reach 100 wins (the second, after Botham, in the program's D1 history).
it took nearly two and one-half minutes for either team to score. NKU got a post basket, and that was their only lead of the game. The Panthers scored the next nine points, the first five by Megan Walstad. McKaela Schmelzer contributed four points int the quarter, which finished with the Panthers ahead 15-10. The Norse shot 29% from the field in the first quarter, which was their high-water mark for the game.
In the second quarter, the Norse were 0-10 from the field; they got two points for the quarter from the free-throw line. Indeed, the only aspect of the game Coach Rechlicz should really be disappointed in was the foul calls against the Panthers. The Norse made more free-throws than the Panthers attempted, even though the Norse missed almost half of their 24 total attempts. The Panthers scored 16 points in the quarter, and took a 19 point lead into half-time.
The Norse continued to struggle on offense in the third quarter. It took them the first 7:25 of the quarter to score from the field. The Panthers used the cold spell to increase their lead to 22 points before the Norse got the first basket, then scored seven consecutive points to push the lead to 47-20 before two Norse free-thows cut the lead to 25.
The lead reached 27 again twice in the fourth quarter, as the Panthers emptied their bench. All fourteen active players played, and eleven of them scored.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 15, 2019 23:43:13 GMT -6
Megan Walstad played 26 minutes tonight against Cleveland State in Cleveland. She scored 27 points (a career high) to lead all scorers as the Panthers beat the Vikings, 78-60. Lizzie Odegard had 13 points (in 13 minutes) and Jame Reit scored 11.
The Panthers scored first, and after the Vikings tied the score, the Panthers retook the lead and never looked back. The best scoring runs by the Vikings only got the lead back to single digits.
Milwaukee was very efficient on offense, shooting 51.7% from the field. They had 20 assists on 30 made shots. McKaela Schmelzer had a great night, tallying eight assists to one turnover.
The win moves the Panthers from one-half game behind the Vikings to one-half game ahead of them for fifth place in the HL standings.
Next for Milwaukee is a Sunday afternoon game in Youngstown against the Penguins. YSU won at home tonight, handing Green Bay their third league loss. The 70-49 win moved the Penguins one-half game ahead of the Phoenix, in second place in the league.
In the earlier game at Milwaukee, the Panthers edged the Penguins, 71-68. Now would be a good time for the Panthers to display the consistency they have so far lacked.
Three of the remaining five league games are on the road. Two of those road games are against teams ahead of the Panthers in the standings; after Sunday’s game versus Youngstown State, Milwaukee has a road game in Indianapolis against IUPUI, with their last two home games (Oakland and Detroit Mercy) and a road trip to Chicago to face UIC in between. That game with the Jaguars could be very important for seeding in the league tournament.
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Post by skrapheap on Feb 16, 2019 9:45:14 GMT -6
After Today’s games, here are the league standings: 1. Wright State, 12-2 2. Youngstown State, 11-3 3. Green Bay, 10-3 4. IUPUI, 11-4 5. Milwaukee, 7-6 6. Cleveland State, 7-7 7. Northern Kentucky, 6-8 8. Oakland, 3-11 9. Detroit Mercy, 2-11 10.UIC, 1-14
Milwaukee plays at YSU on Sunday. Green Bay plays at Cleveland State. As easily as Milwaukee beat the Vikings last night, I have some hope that CSU can beat Green Bay on their home court. The Phoenix are still one of the best teams in the league, but they don’t appear to be the prohibitive favorite to win the regular season.
The top four teams have separated themselves from the others. Milwaukee is in fifth place, two and one-half games behind IUPUI.
The last game of the season is between these two teams. Milwaukee has five games remaining, IUPUI has three. The Jaguars have a road game at UIC, then finish at home against Green Bay and Milwaukee. The Panthers finish with Youngstown State tomorrow, then have two winnable home games with Oakland and Detroit Mercy, then a road trip to play UIC and IUPUI to finish the regular season.. The best possible results would have Milwaukee finish 12-6, and IUPUI finish 11-7.
Not a bet i’d take at the moment, but the possibility is intriguing. The only team of their five remaining opponents to whom the Panthers have lost is....IUPUI, and the Jaguars beat the Panthers by one on a last second bucket. It won’t be easy to beat YSU on their home court, but the Panthers held off a determined Penguin team in OT at home. YSU has not lost a home game in league play this season, but the Panthers have played some good defense lately, and when the offense is on track, as it was Friday night, they can challenge the best teams in the league. Plus, the Panthers have a much better record all time against YSU (28-15) than they have against, say, Green Bay (the Phoenix are something like +50 all time against the Panthers). So there is a possibility. If the Panthers can’t beat YSU, they could still finish 11-7.
IUPUI has lost games at home. UIC beating IUPUI is a long shot, admittedly, but if the Panthers and the Jaguars finish with identical records, i’m sure the Panthers would like their chances in the tiebreaker, especially if they manage to sweep YSU.
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