Jan. 23, 2014

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team was unable to build on a strong first-half performance in falling to Wright State University, 69-64, Thursday night at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (5-12, 1-3 Horizon League) led at halftime and held the Raiders (15-5, 4-1 Horizon League) to 36 percent shooting and well-below their league-leading scoring average on the night, but fell behind at the 16-minute mark of the second half and could not battle back.

"I thought our defense really stepped up," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "All in all, our players really executed our game plan. We made them take pull-up jump shots, which is what we wanted them to do, and I think that helped us stay in the game. But, we didn't hit shots tonight. We had a lot of opportunities."

Senior Angela Rodriguez scored 13 points and handed out a game-high nine assists. Freshman Sydney Snower also tied for the team lead with a career-high 13 points, making 4-of-7 from three-point range.

Junior Ashley Green put up a double-double of 12 points and 13 rebounds, with sophomore Avyanna Young the fourth player in double-figures, finishing with 11 points and seven rebounds.

Horizon League preseason player of the year Kim Demmings paced Wright State with 21 points. Tay'ler Mingo added 19 points and a pair of key steals in the final minute to put the game away.

"This is one of the top teams in our league," Rechlicz said. "Beating Green Bay and then showing that we can play with this team, should give our players confidence going into the rest of the conference season. We've got to finish the games, we have to play for 40 minutes - not 36, not 34 - but it is doable. This league is very open this year and I feel that anyone can win it. I hope that we continue to make strides to put us in position to be one of those top teams."

Down, 63-52, with three minutes to play, the Panthers ripped off seven straight points to make it a two-possession game at 63-59 with a minute to go.

UWM's defense forced a shot by Mingo and came up with a block as the shot clock was winding down. The Raiders grabbed the rebound, threw it back out to Mingo and she hit a long two-pointer as the shot clock expired to push the WSU lead back to six and all but seal it. For good measure, Mingo then added steals on back-to-back Milwaukee possessions to close it out for good.

The Panthers led by a hoop at half and built their advantage to 40-34 on a Snower three at the 18:46 mark. From there, the Raiders used a 14-4 run to change momentum and lead by six at 50-44.

A very entertaining first half saw the Panthers grab that two-point lead at the horn on a Green layup. Both teams strung together small scoring runs during the period, turning momentum time and time again.

Wright State led, 27-22, with 4:30 to go before sophomore Sydney Howard made back-to-back layups. Green then added a jumper and her pair of free throws with 1:24 left tied the game at 30-30.

The Raiders came out strong early, holding UWM without a point through the first 4:41 of the night, forcing five missed shots and five turnovers to lead 7-0.

But, just like that, a pair of Milwaukee three's and a layup by Howard and the UWM lead was 8-7 in a span of just 94 seconds on the clock. Milwaukee eventually led, 16-15, but WSU responded with seven in a row to take a 22-16 lead.

For the game, UWM ended the night at 38.7 percent (24-for-62) from the floor and struggled at the free throw line. The Panthers made just 8-of-21 from the charity stripe on the night. Wright State came into the game first in the nation in turnover margin at over 10-per game and won that battle tonight, 18-10, leading to a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers.

Up next, the Panthers play the second of four in a row at home Saturday, welcoming Detroit to the Klotsche Center for a matinee at 2 p.m.