Milwaukee Panthers women’s basketball looks for a bounce back year after finishing bottom of the Horizon League last season.
The Panthers went 8-24 overall (5-15 HL) on their 2024-25 campaign, totals well below their standards.
“Last year was a bit of a disappointment for our program,” said head coach Kyle Rechlicz. “We aren’t used to losing.”
A lot of Milwaukee’s losses were by fine margins. Nine were decided by five points or less.
A new system on offense, coupled with a youth rejuvenation, may be the recipe for a Panthers revival.
Key Departures
The top four minutes leaders from a year ago are no longer on the roster.
Kacee Baumhower (leading scorer), Anna Lutz (leading rebounder), Kamy Peppler (leading assister) and Jada Donaldson (leading minutes played) are all gone.
Sisters Kamy and Kallie Peppler both transferred to in-state rival Green Bay.
“[Kamy Peppler] went into the portal very late, which was a little bit unfortunate,” said Rechlicz. “It was like two days before the portal closed, from everything I had known, we thought we were keeping her.”
Change of Style
Last season’s team featured a lot of on-ball actions with guards Peppler and Baumhower as the playmakers.
This year, the Panthers will look to run more off-ball actions to generate points.
“Now we’re doing a lot of pass and movement,” said Rechlicz. “Some of its off the dribble, but a lot more of it’s off the pass.”
Rechlicz said Peppler’s departure was a big reason for the style change.
“I felt like a lot of our stuff was manufactured last year, versus it coming off of quick screen action plays where somebody’s cutting to the basket and just gets a layup,” said Rechlicz. “We’re getting a lot more of those opportunities, plus with the shooters we have, it really opens up the court to be able for us to get some attacks to the rim.”
Another key feature of the Panthers’ offense will be spacing the floor effectively.
“We’ve also added some depth at shooting positions,” said Rechlicz. “We’ll be hitting close to 10 threes, if not a little bit more game to game.”
Young Team/Returners
Guard Grace Lomen is the lone senior on Milwaukee’s roster. She will get more opportunities to contribute and be a leader after playing in 22 of 32 games last year.
Rechlicz highlighted Sophia Rampulla as a player ready to take a leap.
“Sophia Rampulla has really stepped up her game and worked her way into the starting lineup for us,” said Rechlicz. “She plays a lot like Kendall Nead did, and she’s gotten bigger, faster, stronger, so that’ll help us.”
Another player ready for a big year is the coach’s daughter, Payton Rechlicz. She made the Horizon League All-Freshman team a year ago after averaging 4.2 points and 3.0 rebounds per game, paired with stellar defense.
“I’m a lot stronger now than I have been in the past,” said Rechlicz. “With the team that we have and the way that we’re playing, I have a lot of confidence going into the season.”
Coach Rechlicz said her daughter has grown as a scorer this year.
The Panthers will lean heavily on Jorey Buwalda and Izzy Pugh in their frontcourt. Buwalda is the highest returning scorer from 2024-25, where she averaged 7.5 ppg.
Pugh averaged 4.0 ppg while playing just over nine minutes a game, a number that is sure to increase this season.
Defensive-minded wing Jada Williams should also have a bigger role.
Guard Kendall Barnes and center Cece McNair will get their first minutes as Panthers after redshirting last year.
Newcomers: 4 Freshmen
The Panthers gain the talents of four freshmen and three transfers.
Three of the four freshmen hail from the Badger state. Forward Lizzy Favret is the exception, coming from Shaker Heights, Ohio.
The Wisconsin-based freshmen include slasher Tierney Madigan from Rosendale, sharpshooter Madison Fitzgibbon from Mequon and playmaker Olivia Olson from Cuba City.
Newcomers: 3 Transfers
Junior guards Micayla Silas and Rita Gomes both transferred to Milwaukee after two seasons in the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference.
Silas transferred from Cochise Community College, while Gomes joined from Arizona Western College.
Silas is originally from Oneida, Wis., contributing to the eight players on the roster who stem from Wisconsin.
Gomes is a 3-point specialist from Lisbon, Portugal.
Sophomore guard Valerie Cassidy-De Falco transfers from Eastern Washington after playing just three games for the Eagles in 2024-25. De-Falco doesn’t have the most college experience, but she has played internationally at the U18 and 3×3 U17 levels for Great Britain’s Youth National Team.
Schedule
All home games will be played at the Klotsche Center on UWM’s campus.
The season tips off on Monday, Nov. 3, at 6:00 p.m. against Loyola Chicago.
Big non-conference games include a contest at Wisconsin on Nov. 10 and a home game against Marquette on Nov. 19.
The team heads west to Stockton, Calif., for two games against Pacific and UC Davis in the “Tiger Turkey Tip-Off” on Nov. 28 and Nov. 29.
Horizon League action begins Dec. 5 vs. Youngstown State.
The Peppler sisters return to Milwaukee on Jan. 17, where the Phoenix come to town.
“Kamy was a huge part of our program for three years,” said Rechlicz. “I have a lot of respect for her, her family, and for her game and everything that she gave us.”
The season wraps up at home against IU Indy on Feb. 28.
Season Outlook
The Panthers were projected to finish 9th in the conference by the Horizon League preseason poll.
Going from last place in the conference to making the NCAA Tournament may be asking too much, but a jump from last place is reasonable.
Milwaukee will lean on its 3-point shooting even more this season after averaging over 22 attempts per game last year.
Another key to success will be having the ability to close out games.
“We started playing not to lose instead of playing to win,” said coach Rechlicz on last year’s team. “We’ve been trying to not coach them as much at the end of games and let them play through some of that stuff, and with the leadership we have, that’s been easier, because we have people who have scoring mindsets.”
If Milwaukee’s new offense can produce and the team’s inexperience doesn’t show too much, the Panthers should improve from last year.