Cera happy to come home to UWM.
After year at Iowa, she joins Panthers
Bre Cera already feels at home.
It has only been about a week since the former Mukwonago standout officially joined the UW-Milwaukee Panthers women’s basketball program. She won’t start classes until next week and won’t officially hit the floor for the Panthers until the 2018-’19 season.
The 5-foot-10 guard, however, has already settled into her comfort zone.
“I’m excited to be closer to home,” she said. “Even though Milwaukee isn’t necessarily my hometown, it almost feels like I’m coming back to play for my home a little bit.”
The need to be closer to home played a major role in one of the state’s top 2016 prospects deciding to leave Iowa and the prominence of the Big Ten for an up-and-coming program in the Horizon League.
At Iowa, she was an immediate contributor in an up-anda down freshman season. She started the first 12 games and averaged about 20 minutes per contest then went through a 10-game stretch when she averaged about 8 minutes of action and didn’t start. She finished the season starting six of the final eight games, including the last three.
She said the experience helped her game grow and toughened her mentally. She also said she enjoyed playing in Iowa City, where the college teams take center stage.
Off the court, however, Cera said something was missing at Iowa.
“I just wasn’t finding myself to be super happy with basketball and everything,” Cera said. “I’m sure it didn’t really help that since I was so far away from home.”
Cera had been thinking about transferring since April. She went through with the switch when she decided not to return to Iowa City for summer classes earlier this month.
She averaged 2 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game for a team that reached the quarterfinals of the WNIT. She played about 15 minutes per game and expected to have larger role next season.
“My playing time was kind of up and down a lot this past year, but that’s expected. I was a freshman,” she said.
The addition of Cera is a big one for the Panthers. Cera was the 11th-ranked point guard in her class by ESPN and 83rd prospect in the country by Blue Star Basketball. Her defense and well-round offensive game helped make her the Journal Sentinel’s area player of the year in 2016.
Cera’s commitment to the school was aided by what was already a good relationship that her family has with Panthers coach Kyle Rechlicz. She recruited Cera in high school and is currently recruiting Cera’s sister, Angela, who will be a sophomore next year at Mukwonago. Angela was offered a scholarship to UWM last year.
“When I first arrived here five years ago, she was the player I wanted in Panther black and gold,” Rechlicz said in the news release announcing Cera’s signing.
“Fortunately, things have come full circle and we, as a staff, are going to get the opportunity to build her into the player she has dreamed of becoming.”