MILWAUKEE - Senior Ashley Green played the role of hero in the final seconds of regulation and overtime Saturday, leading the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 64-63 victory over UIC this afternoon at the Klotsche Center.
 
"I couldn't have scripted a better game," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "It was exciting for the crowd to watch and exciting for our team to be able to play against such a high-caliber opponent and really lock into a defensive game plan and be successful with it. I love this team – I love their energy, I love how much they trust each other and our coaching staff and am really excited about us continuing this conference run."
 
Green scored 28 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, the final one deciding the outcome in overtime. Her offensive board and layup put the Panthers (7-11, 3-3 Horizon League) back ahead with 5.2 seconds on the clock and the Flames (12-6, 2-3 Horizon League) came up empty on their final possession to give Milwaukee the thrilling one-point victory on what was the 13^th lead change of the day.
 
"I split the prior two free throws, so I knew I had to make those at the end of regulation to redeem myself on that one," Green said. "It [the final rebound] hit off the backboard and Coach Goldsberry always talks about crashing and I was in the right place at the right time. I put it back up and was like 'don't miss, don't embarrass yourself'. It's a huge win. We are 3-3 now and getting these two wins at home is huge for us."
 
Green went 11-18 from the floor and added three assists and two steals to go along with her fifth double-double of the season. She played the final 6:07 of regulation and all of OT with four fouls.
 
"She is the leader," Rechlicz said. "She is somebody that we just have to have on the court. I thought even more important was her not getting her fifth foul. She had four fouls and played a very long stretch with four fouls. Where Campbell (UIC's Ruvanna Campbell) fouled out, she stayed in the game and played very, very smart. It's nice when you have a player like Ashley Green on the floor."
 
Junior Jordyn Swan was also in double-figures with 10 points, adding four rebounds. Junior Jaleesa Armstrong added eight of her own as UWM finished at 52.1 percent (25-of-48) from the floor on the afternoon. Freshman Jenny Lindner chipped in seven points and seven rebounds.
 
Campbell paced UIC with a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds prior to fouling out at the end of regulation.
 
The UWM defense crowded the post and passing lanes and made the Flames work hard all day, forcing numerous close-range misses. UIC finished at 39.1 percent (27-of-69) from the floor and just 5.3 percent (1-of-19) from three-point range, missing its final 17 attempts on the day from distance.
 
"We were locked in. Our game plan was to pack it in the paint," Rechlicz said. "They have very good players and that is a credit to who UIC is. We knew that if they were going to win the game, it was by beating us from the outside. We were going to do everything we could to take away the paint presence. And we did that. We locked in for 40 minutes and we played big today."
 
Imani Moore's steal and layup gave UIC a 63-62 lead and what looked like a possible heartbreaking victory with 25 seconds left. After a timeout with 15 seconds remaining, Armstrong drove to the basket but over-layed the attempt. Green was there to save the day with the putback for the victory.
 
Armstrong's pair of free throws gave UWM its last lead of regulation, going ahead at 52-51 with 1:18 to play. A three-point play gave UIC back the two-point cushion and Green managed one of two to trim the deficit to 54-53 with 37 seconds left.
 
The Flames also made one of two from the charity stripe to restore a two-point advantage. UWM used a timeout to set up its last play in regulation, with Green cutting perfectly to the basket before getting fouled and calmly sinking the pair with 5.2 on the clock.
 
The Panthers accomplished the victory despite 28 turnovers and a stretch of 10:28 on the clock where they did not score, stuck on 32 points on the scoreboard. The drought saw UWM go 0-for-9 from the floor with 10 turnovers, with a jumper by Lindner finally snapping the streak at the 11:11 mark of the second.
 
"I think our defense was great during that time period," Rechlicz said. "I think we only gave up six points in that stretch. I just kept telling them at timeouts, 'we're fine, we're fine', and they believed it. You could see it in their eyes."
 
A back-and-forth first half saw Milwaukee take a 32-29 lead into the locker room after hitting five of its final six shots of the period. Turnovers hurt both team's chances, but 61 percent shooting (14-of-23) paced the Panthers to the advantage.
 
UIC built a 20-15 lead. A 7-2 UWM spurt forced a tie on an Armstrong swished three at the 6:04 mark. It was 24-24 on a Swan layup and the lead crept to 26-24 on a pair of Swan free throws after a foul. The Panthers eventually led 30-26, capping a 15-6 spurt that turned the game around at the time.
 
Milwaukee closes the month of January with a two-game road swing through the state of Ohio next. Up first is a matchup with Cleveland State Jan. 29, tipping at 6 p.m. CST.