Lindner Scores 32 In Panther Win
Friday, March 4th, 2016 -- 10:41 AM
Neillsville native Jenny Lindner and Steph Kostowicz each scored 32 points to lead the UW-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a thrilling 98-95 win over Oakland Thursday night.The win is a huge one for UWM (18-10, 12-5 Horizon) as it secures a second-place finish in the league standings and a double-bye in next week's Horizon League tournament.
After an eighth-place finish one year ago, this year's second-place finish marks one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in league history, equaling the 2012-13 Youngstown State squad and the 1989-90 Butler team as the only others to finish in the top two in the league standings one year after finishing in the bottom two.
The 32 points apiece by Kostowicz and Lindner were significant for a variety of reasons.
? It marks the first time in program history in the Division I era two players have scored 30+ points in the same game
? Kostowicz did so on 13-14 shooting from the floor, including 2-2 from three and 4-4 from the free throw line. That shooting percentage of .929 is the highest in program history for a single game, besting Nicole Drummond's .909 (10-11) performance Feb. 11, 2006.
? Lindner got her 32 points on 14-24 shooting. That marks the second-most attempts in a game for Milwaukee, short of only Traci Edwards' 33 attempts in 2007.
? Lindner also big for Milwaukee in the clutch, scoring 16 of her 32 points in the fourth quarter.
There are quite a few other notables from Thursday's win:
? This marks the most points in a conference game in regulation since Jan. 19 2002 when UWM took down Detroit, 102-71.
? The 18 wins are the most in a season since the 2005-06 team that finished 22-9 on their way to the NCAA Tournament.
? The 12 conference wins are the most since also since the 05-06 season
? Milwaukee also now has nine wins away from home, tying the same mark done also by the 05-06 team
"We knew we were going to be able to score," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "(Steph and Jenny) stepped up huge for us really worked together as a unit to get the best shots possible. We had a lot of pride going into the game. Our focus and intensity going into the game was incredible. I knew from the start that it was going to be a tight game because of how Oakland can score."
Milwaukee closes out its regular season Saturday with a Noon Central Time game at Detroit.
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