The Panthers women’s basketball team (3-2) jumped out to a 12-to-0 lead to start the game against the NIU Huskies (3-3) and never looked back, winning 73-58 Tuesday, Dec. 3 at the Panther Arena.
It was a tale of two halves for the Panthers offensively. In the first half, the team shot 7-for-12 (58.3 percent) from beyond the arc to help them take a 37-22 lead into halftime. In the second half, Milwaukee consistently got into the paint and reached the free-throw line 15 times.
“We had to make an adjustment based off of their defense,” said Head Coach Kyle Rechlicz. “Alexis Lindstrom started off outstanding and hit those four threes in the first half. They started almost face-guard denying her and it was almost impossible to get her a shot on the perimeter. We knew that would open up things in the paint.”
Steph Kostowicz’s 20 rebounds on the night came up just two short of tying the school record held by two-time Horizon League Player of the Year and recent Milwaukee Athletics Hall of Fame inductee Traci Edwards.
“When your name is being used in the likeness of Traci Edwards for a game, you know you did your job pretty well,” Rechlicz said. “For Steph to be able to get close to that, as a sophomore, I think that that’s just even going to help fuel her for more games and understanding that she can really compete with anyone in our league; anyone in the country when it comes to rebounding.”
Alexis Lindstrom led the way offensively, scoring 16 points on 4-for-6 shooting from downtown. Sierra Ford-Washington also made a large contribution, knocking down three from beyond the arc and finishing with 15 points. In all, four Panthers finished the game in double figures for scoring.
Milwaukee plays the 15th ranked Northwestern Wildcats in Chicago on Sunday, Dec. 6. The game at the Welsh-Ryan Arena tips off at 2 p.m.