Kacee Baumhower’s career-high 28 points led UWM women’s basketball to victory vs. Valparaiso 90-79 at the Klotsche Center on Thursday. The Panthers improved to an even 2-2 record while Valparaiso dropped to 1-3.
Baumhower, a transfer from Wright State, finished her career night shooting an efficient 8-15 from the field, 5-11 from three and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line. This was her second time setting a new career-high mark in points.
Valparaiso was in the Horizon League from 2007-2017 and has competed in the Missouri Valley Conference since then. This was the first matchup between the teams since 2017.
Productive Start
After Baumhower opened by scoring Milwaukee’s initial seven points, triples from guards Kamy Peppler, Jada Donaldson and Baumhower carried them an early lead.
“We knew our skips, cross-court [passes] at the three-point line were going to be open,” said guard Jada Donaldson. “It was just about knocking them down.”
After a timeout at the 4:30 mark in the first, the Panthers took control and went into the second quarter up 26-13. Valparaiso started the second frame with a high press. The Beacons forced 14 Panther turnovers on the night.
“Having only 14 turnovers against a team that’s pressuring and pressing was really good for us,” said Rechlicz.
Beacon guard Raeven Raye-Redmond scored seven points to help cut into the deficit. Redmond tallied 15 points and three steals on the evening. The Panther lead was trimmed down to six with 4:41 to go in the quarter.
Both teams found themselves getting to the free throw line a lot near the end of the quarter. From the 4:41 mark, both teams shot a combined 16 free throws with 10 coming from the Panthers.
Milwaukee went into halftime with a 47-36 advantage.
Baumhower’s 10 first-quarter points led the Panthers going into the half. Buwalda had seven of her own and featured a team-high +13 plus/minus after one half.
The Beacons were led by Layla Gold who had 10.
The Panthers shot 13-26 from the field and 6-13 from three at the break, while Valparaiso shot 12-29 on field goals and 3-9 from behind the arc.
The third quarter saw both teams struggling to get going offensively. At the 5:48 point in the third, the score was 49-40. Baumhower and Payton Rechlicz broke the dry spell with back-to-back threes. The shot was Rechlicz’s first collegiate three-pointer.
After three quarters, the Panthers held a 65-56 lead.
The Panthers and Beacons both got off to a hot shooting start to start the final quarter. Baumhower scored on the first two possessions for the Panthers. She scored 13 of her 28 points in the fourth. Gold made two shots behind the arc early in the frame keeping Valparaiso within striking distance.
The Beacons got within seven points of the Panthers with six minutes left to play, but the Panthers would stave off any further comeback.
The game ended 90-79 after 40 minutes of game time.
Fouls were commonplace throughout the game, with 48 in total. The Panthers ended with 37 free throw attempts, making 29 of them. The Beacons made 15 of their 23 foul shots.
Forwards Anna Lutz and Jorey Buwalda joined Baumhower in double digits for scoring. Lutz had 11 while Buwalda scored 17. Lutz and Buwalda also led the team in rebounds, with 10 and 9 respectively. It only took Buwalda less than 15 minutes to reach those totals.
“It’s been awesome having her back,” said Donaldson on Buwalda’s performance off the bench. “We know what she can do in there… she goes to work every time.”
Buwalda was one of the five Panthers to feature off the bench.
“I would like to get our bench in more,” said Rechlicz. “It’s really hard to do when you have such complete players.”
Peppler finished with a team-high eight assists. She is nationally ranked in assists at the Division I level to start the season, averaging 7.5 dimes a contest.
The Panthers finished the night shooting 47.2% from the field and 44% from three. The Beacons shot 46.7% in total and 38.1% behind the three-point line.
Valparaiso had four players who scored double figures. The leaders were Gold who put up 23 and Leah Earnest who added 16.
Panthers Learning to Close Games
The Panthers’ two losses on the season both came in overtime. The first came in the season opener at St. Thomas, while their second came against the Big East’s Butler Bulldogs. The Panthers had leads in the 4th quarter of both games but couldn’t hold on.
Rechlicz mentioned how the Panthers became less aggressive in the St. Thomas game and played “not to lose.”
Milwaukee didn’t fall into the same habit against Valparaiso.
“I felt like tonight we played to win, we stayed aggressive,” said head coach Kyle Rechlicz. “We were even taking some quick shots down the stretch.”
In-State Battle
Up next, the Panthers head over to the state capital to play Wisconsin for their 27th all-time meeting. The Badgers will come into that contest with a 3-0 record.
“It’s a great opportunity playing in our home state against a great opponent,” said Donaldson. “We’ll get back to work tomorrow with practice and scout and be ready to bring our best.”
That game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. CT on Sunday, Nov. 11.