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Kelsey Cunningham, motor city madness
Kelsey Cunningham
82
Winner Milwaukee UWM 20-10
60
Oakland OAK 18-12
Winner
Milwaukee UWM
20-10
82
Final
60
Oakland OAK
18-12
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Milwaukee UWM 23 18 24 17 82
Oakland OAK 16 16 17 11 60

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Panthers Cruise To Tournament Semifinal After 22-Point Win

Panthers reach 20-win plateau for just third time in program history

DETROIT – All five starters scored in double figures as the Milwaukee women's basketball team led from nearly start to finish in a complete victory over Oakland, 82-60, in the Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal Sunday afternoon from Joe Louis Arena.
 
The Panthers (20-10) – who had lost both regular season games against Oakland (18-12) – had great ball movement all game long and committed a season-low eight turnovers. That total ranks tied as the second fewest in program history and is even more impressive considering Oakland came into Sunday's contest ranked 11th in the nation in steals while averaging nearly 12 per game.
 
"I think Oakland is an incredibly talented team," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I think they have great coaching and they were the hottest team in the league coming in on a five-game winning streak.
 
"In this game, we knew we had to get back in transition and we knew we had to take care of the basketball. Those were our two goals to start the game…for us to only have eight turnovers against a team that is ranked (seventh) in steals in the country is pretty impressive.
 
"We played with toughness, we played as a team and our focus was great from start to finish."
 
Jenny Lindner had a solid game with 16 points on just 6-10 shooting while adding a game-high 14 rebounds – just one shy of her career high. Steph Kostowicz also added 16 points to go with her 10 rebounds. That marks the third time this season two Panthers have posted a double-double in the same game.
 
Bailey Farley was on fire to start the game and finished with 14 points on 4-7 shooting from behind the arc.
 
Alexis Lindstrom added another 12 points, while Sierra Ford-Washington chipped in for another 10 as all five starters scored in double figures.
 
The Panthers also had quite a few big performances off the bench. Kelsey Cunningham scored seven points to go with a pair of steals. Lizzie Odegard returned to action for the first time in two weeks and finished with four points, while Akaylah Hayes had three points and three rebounds in just four minutes.
 
Taylor Jones led the Golden Grizzlies in the loss, finishing with 16 points, while Sha'Keya Graves added another 15.
 
Despite not playing a game for a full week, the Panthers came out of the gates completely in rhythm and firing on all cylinders. Lindner started things off with a bucket before two deep-range threes from Farley as UWM jumped out to a 9-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
 
Oakland quickly followed suit, with four of its first five made field goals coming from behind the arc.
 
The three-point barrage continued as Hayes got in on the mix near the end of the first to make it 21-14 before Milwaukee carried a 23-16 lead into the first break.
 
The Golden Grizzlies opened the second quarter with a 9-0 run to claim their first lead of the game at 25-23 at the 7:57 mark and posted its largest lead of the game shortly after at 29-25 after a Hannah Little free throw.
 
UWM responded with a triple from Lindstrom to cut the deficit to just one and another three from Farley gave the Panthers a lead that they would never relinquish the rest of the way. In fact, Milwaukee finished the first half on a 16-0 run and carried a 41-32 lead into the locker room at the break.
 
In the second half, Oakland tried to speed the Panthers up and break their rhythm. But Milwaukee had an answer at every turn, hitting countless big shots to squelch any thought of an OU comeback in this one en route to the 22-point win.
 
UWM once again dominated the boards, outrebounding Oakland 46-34. The Panthers were also nearly flawless from the charity stripe Sunday, going 16-17 from the line.
 
The 82 points mark the second-most for Milwaukee in league tournament history – just one shy of an 83-79 overtime win over Wright State in the 2007 quarterfinals.
 
This also marks the first time the Panthers have won while playing as the fifth seed in the league tournament, previously going 0-2 at that slot.
 
Also notable, UWM now has 20 wins on the season, marking just third time in program history the program has reached that win total and last doing so back when the 2005-06 team recorded a program record 22 victories.
 
Milwaukee now advances to the tournament semifinal and will take on top-seeded Green Bay at Noon Central Monday again from Joe Louis Arena. That game – a rematch of last year's tournament final – will again be streamed live on ESPN3.
 
 
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