Milwaukee didn’t score a field goal until the second quarter of its Horizon League opener against Youngstown State. Madison Fitzgibbon finally hit a three at the 8:52 mark in the second period.

The slow start meant the Panthers had to chase the game from behind.

Milwaukee stayed within striking distance the whole night but ultimately fell short to open conference action 68-56 against the Penguins Friday night at the Klotsche Center.

Milwaukee’s tough start continues as they fall to 2-8 on the season, while Youngstown State improved to 6-2.

Top Performer: Tierney Madigan

Freshman Tierney Madigan led all scorers with 17 points in 24 minutes off the bench for Milwaukee.

The slasher brought the ability to create her own shot, something few Panthers have done consistently this season.

“I feel like just figured out my role, getting to the basket and stuff,” said Madigan. “The better I do with that, the more minutes I’ll get, and then hopefully the better the team plays all together.”

Since getting limited action to start the season, her recent production has warranted more playtime.

“Tierney is really proving to be a powerful player in this league, and she’s somebody that we’re going to a lot more regularly,” said head coach Kyle Rechlicz.

Rita Gomes

Transfer guard Rita Gomes scored 10 points in her first start as a Panther. Rechlicz cited her willingness to shoot as the reason she started.

“We really need a shooter, somebody that is confident to come in and just shoot their shot, and you know Rita is that person for us,” said Rechlicz. “You need somebody like that on the floor to help expand the defense and help get the ball into the post a bit more for us offensively.”

The Portugal product attempted eight three-pointers on the night, making two.

Milwaukee shot 3-17 from distance, a clip that’s well short of where they’d like.

Forward Jorey Buwalda contributed 11 points, joining Gomes and Madigan with double figures.

Game Flow

The first half was defensive to say the least.

In total, Milwaukee shot 5-for-27 from the field in the first half and finished with 18 points. The Penguins shot an efficient 12-24 from the field but took only a 10-point lead into the break.

The Panthers came out of halftime with buckets on four straight possessions. They found their offense, but so did the Penguins.

Milwaukee shot a much better 16-29 in the second half. They were able to cut the deficit to 5-6 points multiple times, but each time Youngstown State responded.

“We were on a run at one point, and then we had some back-to-back mistakes, turnovers that put us in a position where we had cut it to five, and then we turn it over two times in a row, and all of a sudden it was back to nine,” said Rechlicz.

A better start to games is a must for Milwaukee to get back into the win column.

“We just need to start off the game better, I feel like that’s been the key to every single game,” said Madigan. “We always play better the second half, and that’s when we stay in the game, and [it] would help us a lot more if we played a better first half.”

Milwaukee heads to Purdue Fort Wayne next on Dec. 10. The 6-4 Mastodons beat IU Indy and Wright State to open their Horizon League campaign.

“Every game in the league right now is close, and again if we had had any sort of first quarter, this would have been one of those, coming down to the finish [games],” said Rechlicz.