FORT WAYNE, Ind. - Senior Ashley Green scored 20 points and junior Sydney Howard netted a career-high 14 but the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team could not overcome a late scoring run by IPFW in falling, 78-72, Sunday afternoon at Gates Sports Center.
 
"I am really proud of the effort today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I felt like we competed hard and had an incredible amount of energy from the start of the game to the finish. I wouldn't trade any player on my team, I absolutely loved coaching them this game and I know our staff had a lot of fun with this team on the court today."
 
The Panthers (4-7) battled all day and were within a point of the Mastodons (5-7) with just under four minutes to play. The team never gave up and trimmed a nine-point deficit down to a one-possession game in the final seconds before running out of time.
 
The shorthanded Panthers had just eight players suited up for the contest and were down to the five players on the court when the day ended.
 
"We knew we were very limited in the post and having Ashley and Jordyn foul out didn't help," Rechlicz said. "We were at the point where we were using 5-foot-8 Macie Dorow to play and defend in the post late in the game. That makes it very hard and puts us in a tough position. But she stepped up and came up with some big rebounds and I also thought Christina Wakeman played well and helped us stay in the game late in the day."
 
Green moved into the Top 10 on the Milwaukee all-time scoring list with her seventh game of 20-or more points in 11 tries this season. She has now upped her career total to 1,313 points.
 
Howard's career-best included a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line. Junior Jordyn Swan joined them in double-figures, finishing with 13.
 
Rachel Rinehart, who came into the game averaging 8.3 ppg, led the way for IPFW with a career-high 26 points, finishing 8-for-10 from the floor.
 
The Panthers led by two at the break and IPFW retied the game 37-37. UWM bounced back immediately, using an 8-0 spurt to build its biggest lead of the day at 45-37 with 14:16 left in the contest.
 
"I felt like the whole day was a game of runs, from the first half to the second half, and they just had a few more then we did," Rechlicz said.
 
The Mastodons used a run of their own to make it a new game, scoring 10 unanswered to grab the 47-45 edge before a pair of Green free throws tied it at 47-47.
 
IPFW continued to hit shots, eventually using an overall scoring run of 19-5 to build a 56-50 advantage.
 
The game was tied again at 59-59 and was still a one-point affair at 65-64 with 3:58 to play. Back-to-back layups and a pair of free throws gave IPFW six in a row and a 71-64 advantage that the Panthers could not overcome the rest of the way despite making things very interesting in the closing seconds.
 
"We talk a lot about family and it's a word that we don't use lightly in our program," Rechlicz said. "We really are a family. To watch those five players on the court – the only five players we had left – fight and compete and still be in the moment, that's what you want as a coach. The ball may not have bounced our way, but we played hard and fought until the end and that is our expectation as a coaching staff the rest of the season."
 
The Panthers recovered from a slow start and closed the first half with a nice stretch, scoring 16 of the final 22 points to take a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
 
UWM missed its first five shots on the day to find itself trailing, 9-2, at the first media timeout. Milwaukee righted the ship and made four field goals in a row to get within one at 12-11, but eventually trailed 29-21 with 6:50 to play.
 
From there it was all Panthers, going on a scorching 16-3 run, taking their first lead of the day on a Swan three at the 4:34 mark that made it 33-32 on the scoreboard.
 
After that 0-for-5 start, UWM made 12 of 17 field goals, capping that 16-3 run on a pair of free throws by Swan that made it 37-32 at the time. The Mastodons, who came into the game averaging 8.2 made 3's, sank 9-of-18 from distance in the first half alone.
 
Up next, the Panthers close out 2014 with the last game before conference play starts, playing at Western Illinois Tuesday. Tip time is set for 5:30 p.m.