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The No. 10 Milwaukee Panthers (8-24) dropped a heartbreaker to the No. 11 Detroit Mercy Titans (7-23) in the 2026 Barbasol Horizon League Basketball Championship Play-In round, 69-67, from The Klotsche Center on the UWM campus.
After not playing on Saturday, freshman Tierney Madigan had an outstanding performance offensively, leading all scorers with 22 points on 9-of-11 from the field, including a pair from beyond the arc. Junior Jorey Buwalda finished with a double-double, scoring 19 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Senior Grace Lomen finished with eight points – wrapping up her collegiate career. Redshirt Sophomore Payton Rechlicz – yes the daughter of head coach Kyle Rechlicz – finished with seven points, and Redshirt Junior Jada Williams finished with four points. True Freshman Madison Fitzgibbon finished with two points, along with Micayla Silas and Izzy Pugh. To round out the scoring, Sophia Rampulla finished with one point.
After trailing 37-31 at halftime, the Panthers played an outstanding third quarter and took a 55-53 lead heading into the final 10 minutes.
UWM held a 64-61 lead with 6:20 remaining in the game, but the offense went cold the rest of the way.
10 of the 15 players on the roster are either freshman or sophomore’s and so many games this season, the inexperience reared its ugly head in games and the inability to close out and win games.
Despite the 8-24 record, it was an enjoyable season as a fan, but it sure was frustrating at times.
The only player whose eligibility has expired is Grace Lomen, meaning 14 of the 15 players on this roster have eligibility to return. But who knows what will happen given this day and age of collegiate athletics.
I like Kyle Rechlicz as the head coach, so I hope she returns. Rechlicz just wrapped up year number 14 at the helm of the program and has compiled a 197-237 (.454) record, including 124-136 (.477) Horizon League record. However, she’s just 7-14 (.333) in the Horizon League Tournament.
Only reason I make the comment “I hope she returns” is because the Athletic Director Amanda Braun was at the game, sitting courtside with a member of the UWM Foundation. Obviously this is pure speculation on my part, but that could mean a variety of different things …
Personally, I’d like Kyle Rechlicz to return as head coach and all 14 players with eligibility to return to the UWM team and run it back. They’ll have more experience and hopefully these women take that jump this offseason to get the program back on track after consecutive 8-24 seasons.