The Milwaukee women’s basketball team got a swift 80-35 win over Cornell College in an exhibition game on Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center on campus.
“The most thing I’m proud of is our defense right now,” Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. “To be able to hold them to 35 points in the game is a terrific accomplishment for us and really shows the work we put into the post season in the Summer and shows our young ladies are ready to defend. Another thing would be our pace. I think we had tremendous pace during the game and bringing the ball up the court. We were very selfless with sharing the basketball. Everybody got opportunities tonight, and it was very fun to be a part of a game like that.”
The Panthers found different ways to score big. All 12 players on the roster got on the scoreboard.
Ryaen Johnson, who sat out all last season due to NCAA transfer rules, led with 15 points and six rebounds in 16 minutes of action.
Other newcomers Sydney Staver and McKaela Schmelzer scored 11 apiece.
Milwaukee played efficient, leading in several major categories of the game. The Panthers scored 47 bench points, 42 points in the paint, 25 points off turnovers, and 24 second-chance points.
Major plays were made out of the gate that went to the final buzzer to contain the Rams. Milwaukee went on a 6-0 run at the start and held the Rams to single-digits until the second quarter.
“If we can win every game like this, that would be very fun,” Rechlicz said. “We’ve got a really tough schedule and some really good teams that we’re going to play against. We’re starting in the Preseason WNIT, and that’s going to be really, really tough for our young women, but I think if we continue to play with confidence and the passion that we’ve been playing with, anything is possible.”
The Panthers head to Des Moines, Iowa to begin the regular season against Drake on Friday, Nov. 10. Tipoff is at 7 p.m.