I wanted to wait until the women’s basketball season was done to do an added wrap-up on some things of note from the 2010-11 season.
Tough Schedule
Most notably, Milwaukee played 17 games against 12 teams that played in post-season tournaments (out of 20 different opponents). It underscores the difficulty of the team’s schedule, both non-conference and in league play. Four of the team’s 12 wins this season came against post-season teams, with some strong performances in losses. Those 12 teams combined to go 20-10 in post-season tournaments with six of those losses coming to other Milwaukee opponents. And, Toledo, a team the Panthers played tough on the road in December, won the WNIT.
National Rankings
Lindsay Laur finished second in the nation with her school-record 92.8 percent free throw percentage. She trailed only Emily London from Samford and her 93.6 percent shooting clip. Laur was also 47th in rebounding (9.4/g) and 52nd in scoring (17.3/g).
Angela Rodriguez finished 14th in three-point percentage (.421). That figure was second among freshmen.
Milwaukee, as a team, finished second in the country in free throw percentage, 19th in three-point percentage and 30th in three-pointers made. The Panthers shot a school-record 79 percent at the free throw line and 36.4 percent from three-point range. They also hit a school-record 212 threes on the season (7.1/g).
Incoming Panther Update
The Panthers signed five high school seniors to National Letters of Intent in November. The group had eventful senior seasons…
Ashley Green won a Wisconsin Division 1 title with Nicolet and was a unanimous All-State First-Team selection.
Kiki Wilson helped her Montini Catholic team in Naperville, Ill., to a second-straight Class 3A state title. She was named All-State Special Mention.
The Swopshire twins out of Fort Zumwalt West High School in Missouri helped their team to a 25-5 record and a No. 6 state ranking. The team fell in the Class 5 quarterfinals to the eventual state champs, 48-45. Jasmine was an All-Conference First-Team selection and Janna was named to the second team.
Lastly, Macie Dorow wrapped up her career at Duluth East (Minn.) with a strong all-around senior season, averaging 10.2 points, 4.6 assists, 5.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game. (DEHS does not play in a conference)
Supporting Information
Here are UWM’s opponents that played in the post-season (Milwaukee’s record against the team in parenthesis)…
- Green Bay (0-2) – The Phoenix made a run to the Sweet 16 before falling to No. 1 seed Baylor by just 10.
- Oklahoma and Michigan State (Both 0-1) – The Panthers hung with both nationally-ranked teams. UWM was within five after 35 minutes against OU In the season-opener. Against the Spartans on the road, Milwaukee cut a 14-point second half to just two with 3:09 to play before falling by seven. Both teams flirted with the top-10 of the national polls for much of the season.
In the NCAA Tournament, the No. 4 seed Spartans beat Northern Iowa (another Panther opponent) before falling to Green Bay in the second round). The Sooners were a No. 6 seed and advanced to the Sweet 16 before falling to Notre Dame, which was national runner-up.
- Northern Iowa (0-1) – The Panthers lost to MSU as a 13 seed.
- Toledo (0-1) – Milwaukee overcame an 18-point second-half deficit to lead the Rockets late, but fell. UT then got a bid to the WNIT and knocked off USC for the WNIT Championship.
- Illinois State (0-1) – The Redbirds made the WNIT, knocking off, among others, Wisconsin, Arkansas on their way to the final four of the event.
- Wisconsin (0-1) – The Badgers defeated Butler in the first round of the WNIT before falling to Illinois State, which advanced to the final four of the event.
- Butler (1-1) – The Bulldogs got the Horizon League’s automatic bid to the WNIT and fell to Wisconsin in the first round.
- Chicago State (1-0) – Milwaukee topped the Cougars in Chicago early in the season behind Courtney Lindfors’ 35 points and 13 rebounds. CSU then went on to the final four of the Women’s Basketball Invitational. The team won two games in the tourney, including against Cleveland State, before falling to eventual WBI champ Cal State Bakersfield in the semifinals.
- Cleveland State (1-1) and Wright State (0-3) – Both Horizon League schools got bids to the Women’s Basketball Invitational and were the tourney’s two No. 1 seeds. Cleveland beat IPFW in the first round before falling to Chicago State. Wright State also won a game, beating Buffalo, before falling to Manhattan in the second round.
- South Dakota (1-0) – USD is another team the Panthers defeated in the regular season that turned up in the Women’s Basketball Invitational and won a post-season game. The Coyotes went out in the second round against Cal State Bakersfield.
