Panthers prepare for fourth straight NCAA Tournament
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- There's a dynasty on the rise in Milwaukee. For the fourth straight year, the Horizon League champion Milwaukee Panthers are going to the NCAA Tournament.
All-Horizon League First Team defender Gaby Schwartz says their winning culture formed over time.
"You win one tournament and you want to win again, so everyone comes back hungry the next year." Gaby says the winning mentality gets imbedded in the freshmen.
Coach Troy Fabiano adds, "I think it's the culture we've created. The competitiveness of it. I look at it like holy cow. The biggest thing is as a group, we don't look back, we just move on."
That culture has led to a ridiculous record of 60-7-3 over the last four years. That's the best in the nation. This year's squad also leads the country in scoring.
"This team is special because we work hard and come in day-to-day and push each other to be the best we can be," says Horizon League Player of the Year MacKenzie Schill. "We're competitive and in and off the field we support each other and we're great friends."
The Horizon League's top defender, Rachel Phillpotts, says the squad's strength is their trust in their teammates. So what do they need to do to make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament?
"I think we just need to be ourselves. We need to go out there, compete like we do every single day in practice. We're a high energy group and when we bring that mentality and energy into the game we'll really be successful."
The 18-1 Panthers will kick off the NCAA Tournament Saturday against 11th ranked Xavier.