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recap uc riverside
54
UC Riverside UCR 2-5
56
Winner Milwaukee MKE 2-4
UC Riverside UCR
2-5
54
Final
56
Milwaukee MKE
2-4
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
UC Riverside UCR 12 24 6 12 54
Milwaukee MKE 15 13 13 15 56

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Johnson’s Buzzer Beater Sends MKE Home With A Win

Milwaukee plays at Marquette Wednesday

MORAGA, Calif. – Ryaen Johnson's put back beat the buzzer to give the Milwaukee women's basketball team a thrilling 56-54 win over UC Riverside Saturday in the Panthers' final game of the Saint Mary's Thanksgiving Classic from McKeon Pavilion.
 
Johnson grabbed the rebound underneath the basket and went right back up, just getting the ball out of her hand before time expired. The ball sat on the rim for a brief second before falling through as Johnson's teammates rushed to the court to join her in celebration.
 
"That was really exciting," Rechlicz said. "We had subbed Ryaen in for defensive purposes and she ended up scoring our last four points – hitting two really big free throws and then stepping up big and doing her job. We keep talking about roles with our team and one of her jobs is to get offensive rebounds. She got such a massive offensive rebound and put it right back up understanding that the time was running out. It was pretty exciting for our team."
 
Johnson finished the game with eight points, six rebounds and two blocks.
 
Jamie Reit led Milwaukee with a game-high 18 points – connecting on four three-pointers on the day.
 
Megan Walstad added 14 points, four rebounds, two assists and a block.
 
McKaela Schmelzer tied her career high with nine rebounds to go with six assists, while Akaylah Hayes also hauled in nine rebounds – also a career high.
 
Malou De Kergret led the way for UC Riverside with a season-high 18 points.
 
After a strong start to the game for Milwaukee, the Highlanders responded with a 10-0 run in the second to take a 36-28 lead at the break. Needing a big response, the Panthers were up to the task – holding UCR to just six third-quarter points to get right back in it.
 
"We didn't have our best game today," Rechlicz said. "I got on them at halftime and then we locked down defensively. We held them to just six in the third quarter, and that's a proud moment for me as a coach. We're not always going to have our best game offensively on the road – especially after a long week. So, to know that we can get it done on the defensive end, just really says a lot about who we can be as a team."
 
A back-and-forth fourth quarter came down to some clutch shooting late. Reit hit a three with 2:35 left to pull Milwaukee within 51-50 before a lay in by Schmelzer with 1:26 left put MKE up 52-21.
 
After a basket by UCR, Johnson took over. She hauled in an offensive board with 27 seconds left and got fouled on her put-back attempt, sinking both shots from the line to go back ahead, 54-53.
 
The Highlanders got the line on their next possession and went 1-for-2 to tie things up and set up the final play.
 
Milwaukee's initial attempt with two seconds left on the clock was just off, but Johnson was there for the rebound and the put back before the big celebration. The officials would take a look and confirmed the ball left Johnson's hands before time expired as MKE improved to 2-4 on the young season.
 
The Panthers won the rebounding battle, 45-33, had 30 points in the paint and 14 second-chance points Saturday.
 
Milwaukee will finally return home this week but will still play on the road, starting things off with a Wednesday night contest against cross-town rival Marquette at 7 pm from the Al McGuire Center.
 
 
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