The Panthers lost to the Cleveland State Vikings at the Klotsche Center on Saturday, despite having the lead almost the entire first half.
Cleveland State improved to 18-5 overall and 9-3 in Horizon League play, while Milwaukee now sits at 5-19 on the year and 2-11 in the conference.
The Panthers snapped a six-game losing streak at IU Indy last Wednesday beating the Jaguars 66-62 but could not carry the success back to Milwaukee against the Vikings.
The Horizon League leader in points per game Mickayla Perdue scored 30 points for Cleveland State, 10 above her average of 20.4 points per game.
Kacee Baumhower scored 21 points off the bench for the Panthers, leading the squad. Baumhower surpassed the 1,000 career points threshold in the win against IU Indy.
Anna Lutz and Jorey Buwalda also achieved double figures, scoring 14 and 12 points respectively. Kamy Peppler dished out a game-high eight assists.
The free throw difference between the teams played a big role in the result. The Vikings made 18 more free throws than the Panthers on the day. Both teams only missed one attempt at the line with Milwaukee having 11 attempts to Cleveland State’s 29.
Panthers’ Strong Start
The Panthers started the contest with a strong offensive burst and had the advantage after one quarter, 26-21. Milwaukee’s hot shooting carried over into the start of the second frame.
Milwaukee had a nine-point lead at the 7:47 mark in the second, but the Vikings rallied late in the quarter to knot things at 44 going into halftime.
At the half, the Panthers shot an efficient 15-31 from the field and a scorching 9-16 from three.
The Vikings outshot Milwaukee from the field going 15-27, but didn’t have the same production from behind the arc connecting on 3-6 attempts.
Izzy Pugh had nine points in just under seven minutes of action in the half for the Panthers.
Vikings Gain the Lead
Cleveland State took the lead for the first time in the game at the 8:14 mark in the third quarter and never gave it back.
An energetic first half followed by a subpar finish to games has been a recurring theme this season for Milwaukee.
“Our energy just needs to stay up, even when a team goes on a run we can’t have any lulls,” said Kallie Peppler, who finished with a team-high +9 plus/minus off the bench. “We just need to push back.”
The Vikings outscored the Panthers by five points in the third quarter, taking a 64-59 lead into the last 10 minutes.
The Vikings got to the free throw line the most in the 4th quarter where they had 14 of their 29 attempts. They rode their production at the line to victory.
After four quarters, Cleveland State held firm to win 89-81.
Cleveland State ended up shooting 50% from both the field and three-point range. Milwaukee cooled off from their red-hot start and finished with 45.3% and 41.9% splits.
Despite the rough season so far, head coach Kyle Rechlicz said the team’s morale is still high.
“Even though we’re losing, nobody has been sulking,” said Rechlicz. “That’s partially because the games have been so close.”
With the eight-point loss, the Panthers are now 1-12 in games decided by less than 10 points.
The Panthers sported pink jerseys for their annual Pink Out game. The student-athlete’s jerseys were auctioned off and the proceeds will go to a charitable cause that has not been released yet.
The matchup was the first of a three-game homestand at the Klotsche Center.
The next match will be against Robert Morris on Feb. 6 at 6:00 p.m. Two days later Milwaukee welcomes Youngstown State to a battle at 2:00 p.m. Robert Morris currently sits 6th in the Horizon League while Youngstown State is 8th.