The Milwaukee women’s basketball team kept rolling Wednesday evening, as they blew out visiting Chicago State 71-49 at the Klotsche Center. They are now 8-2 on the season.
All in all, nine different players scored for the Panthers and nobody played for more than 25 minutes.
Things began sluggish for Milwaukee as the first quarter featured a nip-and-tuck game. After 10 minutes, the Panthers only clung to a one-point lead. However, it did not take long for the offense to start brewing for the home team, as Milwaukee stampeded to a 16-o run to begin the second quarter. They would never look back.
Jenny Lindner got things started by driving for an easy layup. Sierra Ford-Washington then forced a turnover and fed Bailey Farley to push the Panthers lead to 27-17. That stanza was then followed by five-straight points from Lizzie Odegard, providing Milwaukee a 34-17 advantage with 6:01 remaining in the second quarter. The Panthers would head to the locker room at break with a 15-point lead.
The offensive firepower continued in the second half, as a 3-pointer from Farley pushed the Black & Gold’s lead to 48-24. The junior guard then forced a steal and took it in for two more points.
Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz discussed how it was imperative that the Panthers wanted to play the game with their style.
“We talked a lot at the break about what we wanted to do defensively and how much better we needed to play on that end of the court, and also pick our pace up,” said Rechlicz. “I thought in the second quarter we really did that. It was really nice to see our starters take ownership of that — hold them scoreless for a while, while also going on a big run on the offensive end.”
The domination from the Panthers was also apparent in the stat boxes as well. Milwaukee shot nearly 47 percent on the night, while holding Chicago State to just 33 percent after they began the night going 47 percent from the floor.
Rebounding also produced a major advantage to the Panthers, as they padded that category with a 48-29 tally. They also generated 17 assists on 30 made field goals.
The 49 points allowed by Milwaukee marks the fourth time this season they have held its opponent to 50 or fewer points through ten games on the season.
For Milwaukee, Steph Kostowicz was one of the four Panthers who found double-digit scoring on the night. She finished with 12 points, 10 rebounds, five assists and two blocks. It is her seventh double-double in just 10 games this season.
Sierra Ford-Washington put up 11 points paired with eight rebounds, while Jenny Lindner and Bailey Farley also put forth 11-point efforts.
Rechlicz said she is confident about where her team currently stands.
“I feel really good about our team,” Rechlicz said. “If you think about it, we’re four or five points away from being undefeated in the non-conference. That says a lot about where we are at as a program and where we’ve come from.”
The Panthers head into a cross-town clash against Marquette next this Sunday. Tip off is scheduled for 3 p.m.