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wbb recap drake
73
Milwaukee UWM 0-1
77
Winner Drake DU 1-0
Milwaukee UWM
0-1
73
Final
77
Drake DU
1-0
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Milwaukee UWM 18 16 21 18 73
Drake DU 13 26 26 12 77

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Drake Outlasts Milwaukee, 77-73, In WNIT Opener

Kostowicz turns in 26 points, 12 rebounds in loss

DES MOINES, Iowa – Bailey Farley hit a three-pointer with 5.5 seconds left to cut the deficit to two, but Drake hit a pair of free throws in the closing second to ice away a very close 77-73 win over the Milwaukee women's basketball team Friday evening from the Knapp Center in the opening round of the Preseason WNIT.
 
The Panthers (0-1) – coming off another postseason berth a season ago – nearly pulled off the road upset against a Drake (1-0) squad that went 28-5 last year - including a perfect 13-0 mark at home - and is ranked third in the mid-major poll.
 
"I thought we played with an incredible amount of effort tonight and the level of pride that we stepped out on the court with was tremendous," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "The team was really locked in from the start, which was something we needed in a game like this.
 
"The biggest thing is that we have to stop turning the basketball over. That's a huge part of what we talk about in practice and the details of the game, and we're just not there yet. We're making a number of mistakes on the offensive end. But, I do think we can learn from something like this and apply it to the next practice and the next game and hopefully it will propel us to getting more wins."
 
Steph Kostowicz was huge all night for Milwaukee, finishing with a double-double of 26 points and 12 rebounds to go with two assists, two blocks and one steal in 31 minutes. Kostowicz was awfully efficient in her performance, as well, going 9-14 from the floor and a perfect 8-8 from the free throw line.
 
"Steph really owned the game tonight," Rechlicz said. "She was the best player on the floor and it was fun to see her leadership skills take a really high-level role in this game."
 
Farley finished the night with 12 points. Jamie Reit chipped in with seven points and six rebounds, while Lizzie Odegard also had seven points. Jenny Lindner stuffed the stat sheet with five points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals.
 
Sara Rhine finished with 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the way for DU.

Milwaukee – starting a pair of freshman for the first time in program history in the season opener – came out strong. Farley got things rolling early with a big three, followed by a driving layup from Kelsey Cunningham and another lay in by Odegard to claim a 13-12 edge. Brandi Bisping connected on her first collegiate shot on the next possession, followed by a three in the corner from Reit late in the first to hold an 18-13 lead after one.
 
Drake battled back in the second quarter and capitalized on what seemed like every possible opportunity to inch forward with a 39-34 lead at the break.
 
A highly spirited game the rest of the way in front of a crowd of 2,658, Milwaukee kept the game close the entire way.
 
Just when it looked like the Bulldogs – the two-time defending Missouri Valley Conference champs – might pull away with a 67-55 lead, UWM answered right back with a 10-2 run to cut the gap to just four.
 
Lindner hit a layup with 3:39 left to make it 70-67 and it would be close the rest of the way, before Drake's free throws would seal it in the closing seconds.
 
Milwaukee finished the game shooting just under 40 percent from the floor and claimed an impressive 44-30 rebounding edge over the Bulldogs.
 
The Panthers will now move into one of the two "consolation bracket quads" in the WNIT, and will play a pair of contests most likely next Friday and Saturday, with opponents, times and location still to be determined. Stay tuned to MKEPanthers.com for further updates.
 
 
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