UWM will look to continue its amazing run through the second half of the season when it squares off with Cleveland State in the Horizon League Tournament title match here in Cleveland this afternoon. The match will get underway at 1 p.m. EST/12 p.m. CST.
I will again have a live blog – internet connection permitting! – and you can follow via both gametracker and live video on the Horizon League Network.
This should be a very entertaining match between what have proven to be the two best teams in the league. Both teams have followed a similar path a year apart. CSU was the big favorite last year, only to stumble during the regular season but come on during the tournament. UWM was the big favorite this year but had to dig out of a big hole at the midway point of the season to get to this point.
Now, a few additional pregame (and postmatch from yesterday) notes …
- Milwaukee is seeking its sixth league tournament title and its eighth NCAA Tournament berth.
- The Panthers are making their eighth appearance in the tournament title match.
- UWM enters the contest with a 10-match winning streak. The Panthers have had a winning streak of seven or more matches in 13-straight season.
- UWM and Cleveland State split their two regular season matches, with each team winning on its homecourt. The Panthers were swept in Cleveland before claiming a four-set win at the Klotsche Center.
- Overall, UWM owns a 34-7 edge in the series with wins in 30 of the last 33 meetings between the two teams.
- Lauren Felsing had 15 digs to move past Becky Peters atop UWM’s all-time digs list. Felsing now has 1,889 digs, giving her a great chance to become the first-ever Panther to collect 1,900 digs in a Division I career.
- Natalie Schmitting’s 11 blocks Saturday marked a collegiate-high.
- The 17 total blocks were the best in a three-set match this season for the Panthers. UWM actually had 16 blocks in a four-set win over Valpo a week ago and 15 in the five-set loss at Valpo in October.
