Thursday, January 31, 2013

Postgame Report: Milwaukee vs. Loyola

Game #17 – Milwaukee 74, Loyola 84

Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Game: With four players in double-figures, it provides plenty of choices. Sami Tucker had a nice double-double - the 11th of her career - finishing with 16 points and 13 rebounds. Emily Decorah had a nice night, setting a career-high with 17 points. But my selection goes to Janna Swopshire. Off the bench, she set a career-high with 13 points (previous was 11) on 5-8 shooting, while adding 3 rebounds and 4 assists in just 19 minutes of action.

Play of the Game: The contest was a game of runs, but Loyola's at the end was the difference. The Ramblers scored the final 15 points of the game after Milwaukee had taken a 74-69 lead with about three minutes to play. Loyola made all 5 field goals and 6 free throws it attempted over the final 3:09.

Key Stats: Plenty of positives with the career-highs by Decorah and Swopshire. With two players recording double-doubles, it marks the first time UWM has accomplished that feat on the same night since February 12 of 2011 - a span of 53 games. Milwaukee also recorded a dominant advantage on the boards, winning that battle 42-30. The team also made 11 3's to once again finish with 10 or more.

Up Next: The team continues Horizon League play Saturday, welcoming Detroit in a 2 p.m. tipoff.

Thursday, January 24, 2013

Postgame Report: Milwaukee vs. Valparaiso

Game #16 – Milwaukee 72, Valparaiso 84

Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Game: Not only did Ashley Green pace the Panthers with 21 points, but she became the 33rd player in school history to top 500 points. After just a year and a half in a UWM uniform, she already has 508 points. She added 6 boards and was 8-8 from the line.

And then, on the other side of the court, Valpo's Tabitha Gerardot had 22 points by the half and finished with a career-high 33.

Play of the Game: The play of the game was a series of them, as Valpo got hot and UWM went cold at the wrong time. The Crusaders closed the first half on a big run that ended up being a 27-5 streak after the scored the first 9 points in the second.

Key Stats: Valpo outscored UWM 42-16 in the paint. Huge difference. And, oh yeah, it shot 50.9% from the floor for the game, it's second-highest of the season.

Up Next: The team is off for a week, hosting Loyola next week Thursday.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

Panthers and Valparaiso on TWC Sports 32

With the Milwaukee/Valparaiso game set to air this week, be sure and catch it live if you can't be at the Klotsche Center or the replay of the game on Time Warner Cable Sports 32 over the next few days.

Thursday, January 24th at 7:00 p.m. (LIVE)
Friday, January 25th at 10:00 a.m. (Replay)

Sports 32 will also be airing the next edition of the "Kyle Rechlicz Show" this week as well, starting with Thursday before the Valpo tip-off.

Here is the full schedule:
Thursday, January 24th at 6:30 p.m.
Thursday, January 24th at 11:00 p.m.
Friday, January 25th at 9:30 a.m.
Friday, January 25th at 9:00 p.m.

Sunday, January 20, 2013

Postgame Notebook - Panthers vs. Cleveland State/Youngstown State

The Panthers split two home league games this weekend. Thursday was an uplifting 69-57 win over Cleveland State. Saturday it felt like Milwaukee let an opportunity slip away. UWM led by as many as seven in the first half and had plenty of chances in the second half before falling, 75-72.

Player Of The Weekend: It was a very nice coming out party for freshman Austin Arians this weekend. He started by tallying 19 points and nine rebounds in the win over Cleveland State Thursday and then came right back with 15 points and six boards Saturday against Youngstown State. Arians had a pair of double-figure scoring outings early in the season but then had played just two minutes in the first three league games of the year.

Turning Point: Thursday night, the Panthers had an answer when Cleveland State surged. The Vikings cut an 18-point Milwaukee lead down to six but the Panthers quickly rebuilt a double-digit edge and never looked back. Saturday, the game really seemed to turn late in the first half. Milwaukee went up seven on two occasions and seemed poised to build the lead even further. But YSU was the one that built its own seven-point lead and Milwaukee would never lead by more than three points the rest of the way.

News and Notes: After doing it both games this weekend, Milwaukee has now been in double figures in offensive rebounds in 13 of the first 19 games of the season. Opponents have also hit double-digits 13 times … J.J. Panoske is now averaging 8.0 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in his last seven outings … the Panthers have now had 11 double-figure efforts off the bench this season. UWM had three this weekend, with Austin Arians doing it twice and Ryan Haggerty once … Thursday also marked the third time this year the Panthers had two players reach double figures off the bench in the same game … Milwaukee had 34 assists in two games over the weekend after collecting just 18 in its first three games combined … Jordan Aaron averaged 9.5 assists per contest in the two games … Aaron and Paris Gulley each played all 40 minutes Saturday after Gulley also played all 40 minutes Thursday … Cleveland State shot just 33.8 percent from the field Thursday, becoming just the fifth Panther opponent this season to shoot less than 40 percent from the field.

Up Next: UWM is at UIC Wednesday before hosting Green Bay Friday.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Postgame Report: Women’s Basketball In Ohio

Game #15 – Milwaukee 63, Cleveland State 60

Full Recap and Stats

Game #14 – Milwaukee 50, Youngstown State 67

Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Game: Tough to pick just one as so many people played key roles in the win over Cleveland State. You could give it to Angela Rodriguez and her team-high 19 points and six assists. Or you could go with Emily Decorah and her 5 threes. Sammy Theut and her 9 points – including the final go-ahead bucket – would also be a worthwhile nominee. I would argue you could even give it to Jordyn Swan – who played less than a few seconds but changed the end of the game and secured the victory.

Well, it was the senior Theut who joined radio play-by-play announcer Scott Warras after the game as his player of the game. Listen to her comments HERE.

On Thursday, Decorah was the only player in double-figures, leading the team in points (14) and rebounds (5).

1,000: Sami Tucker scored her 1,000th point on a free throw late in the YSU game to become the 17th player to do so in Milwaukee program history. Look for her to be honored pregame in an upcoming home contest.

See her 1,000th point HERE.

Play of the Game: It was a back-and-forth all afternoon, so the turning point did not happen until late – and it almost didn’t happen. Down one with under 30 seconds remaining, Rodriguez dribbled into the lane and nearly lost the ball. It just happened to go to Theut – the right place at the right time, they say – for the game-winner. Angela even got extra-credit of an assist on the play in the box score.

At YSU, Milwaukee led early but it was a stretch of 3-point makes by the Penguins in the middle of the first half that opened things up. They just continued to build from there in the second half.

News and Notes: Kimee Chandler had a career-high 5 assists at Youngstown. The team had two long streaks come to an end on the trip – one bad, one good. They lost to YSU to snap what was a 15-game winning streak in the series, but also won at the Wolstein Center in Cleveland for the first time since January of 2006. Ashley Green grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds despite playing only 23 minutes due to foul trouble. That marks the third game of her career with 10 or more boards.

Up Next: It’s back to the Klotsche Center for a tilt with Valparaiso, scheduled to start at 7 p.m. Thursday. If you can’t get there, don’t worry, it will also be on Time Warner Cable Sports 32.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Postgame Report: Milwaukee vs. Wright State

Game #13 – Milwaukee 61, Wright State 71

Full Recap and Stats

Player Of The Game: An easy one on UWM's side, as Sami Tucker turned in one of her best performances of the season. She finished with a double-double of 17 points and a season-high 13 rebounds. The double-double was the first of the season for her and the 10th of her career. She had an outside chance of scoring #1,000 at home, finishing the night at 993.

And then, on the other side of the court, Horizon League preseason Player of the Year Kim Demmings showed off her game, finishing with a season-high 35 points.

Play of the Game: The play of the game was a span of 42 seconds. In the final 42 ticks of the first half, WSU broke open a close game and built a 10-point halftime cushion by scoring the final 7 in a row, including Demmings impressive 3-pointer at the intermission buzzer. That 10-point margin was the same at the end.

Key Stats: It's hard to complain about 11 turnovers in a game, but those 11 miscues somehow led to a 22-5 advantage for Wright State in points off turnovers. Also, UWM made five 3's in the first half, but went cold from distance in the second, sinking just 1-of-11.

News and Notes: The five UWM starters all played at least 30 minutes, with totals of 36 (Tucker, Rodriguez), 34 (Decorah) and 30 (Green and Theut) all adding up. Theut's 6 rebounds tied her career-high.

Up Next: The team is off for a week, heading to Ohio for a clash with Youngstown State next week Thursday.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Postgame Report - Detroit and Wright State

The Panthers dropped their first two league road games of the season this past weekend but actually showed some positive signs in the contests. Milwaukee led by as many as six points against Detroit before being overwhelmed by a 21-4 run in the second half. Saturday in Dayton, the Panthers led most of the way before a late Wright State surge allowed the Raiders to pull out the win.

Player Of The Game(s): Two different guys share the honors for the weekend. Paris Gulley was the star of Thursday night, knocking in six 3-pointers on his way to 22 points. Then Saturday it was Demetrius Harris playing perhaps his best game as a Panther. He tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds and three steals and was extremely active on both ends of the floor.

Turning Point: Thursday night, the Panthers had a 37-36 lead and were still tied 40-all before scoring only four points in the next eight-plus minutes. Then Saturday, the Panthers had a number of opportunities to extend their advantage late in the second half but a combination of some missed free throws and untimely turnovers kept Milwaukee from building more of a cushion.

News and Notes: Demetrius Harris tallied his second double-double of the season Saturday with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers now have six double-doubles this year … Paris Gulley has now had 20 or more points four times … UWM used just seven players Thursday night, its smallest rotation of the season. And, Milwaukee played at least eight guys in every game a season ago. Twelve players have played at least 10 of the 16 games this year … UWM held Wright State to just 41.5 percent shooting from the field, the lowest for an opponent since Northern Illinois shot 39.7 percent in early December … the Panthers saw a five-game winning streak in league openers snapped in the loss to Detroit but is still 10-3 in its last 13 openers … the Panthers had 16 offensive rebounds Thursday night and have had 16 or more in three of their last five games. UWM added 10 offensive rebounds Saturday and has been in double figures in offensive rebounds in 11 of the first 16 games of the season … Milwaukee has now lost eight-straight times in Dayton … the Panthers are now 0-8 in true road games and 0-10 in contests outside of Milwaukee this season.

Up Next: UWM gets a full week of before hosting Valparaiso Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.