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62
Winner Youngstown State YSU 16-14
58
Milwaukee UWM 20-11
Winner
Youngstown State YSU
16-14
62
Final
58
Milwaukee UWM
20-11
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Youngstown State YSU 16 17 15 14 62
Milwaukee UWM 11 11 11 25 58

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

Comeback Effort Falls Short In Motor City Madness Quarterfinal

Cunningham helps spark 20-0 fourth-quarter run

DETROIT – In the end, the opposing team finally had an answer for another Milwaukee comeback.
 
As they have done so many times this season, the Milwaukee women's basketball team erased a 17-point second-half deficit only to see Youngstown State answer back to win 62-58 in the Little Caesars Horizon League Championships quarterfinal showdown.
 
In a rematch of a pair of one-point games earlier this season, the Penguins (16-14) frustrated Milwaukee's (20-11) attack for the first three quarters to build a 48-31 lead late into the third.
 
The Panthers scored the next 20 points – including 10 straight from senior Kelsey Cunningham to start the fourth quarter – to storm back and take a 51-48 lead after a three-pointer from Jamie Reit with 3:36 to play.
 
From there the game went back-and-forth, with Milwaukee showing its fight all the way to the end only to fall just four points shy.
 
"When we came into this matchup, I knew it was going to be a (close) game," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "I didn't think it would take us until the fourth quarter to, in essence, make it a game, but (I give) a lot of credit to Youngstown State. They're an incredible team, and we knew that coming in.
 
"We've been really relying on our senior class all year and it just goes to show you when we went on our run, it was with the four of them on the court together, making an impact for one another. I thought we had some people really step up. Kelsey Cunningham was incredible – especially in the fourth quarter. She was our catalyst for the comeback that fell just a little bit short.
 
"I'm really proud of our team. They fought hard. I thought we played inspired. We just didn't have the offense today in the first three quarters."
 
Jenny Lindner led Milwaukee with 14 points and 15 rebounds for her 21st career double-double.
 
Cunningham tied her career high with 12 points – all coming in the fourth quarter.
 
Steph Kostowicz again stuffed the stat sheet with seven points, six rebounds, six assists and three blocks – breaking the program record for career blocks (170) and blocks in a single season (57).
 
Jamie Reit added eight points and four boards, while Bailey Farley finished with five rebounds, four points, four assists and two blocks.
 
Sarah Cash led YSU with 24 points and nine rebounds, while Natalie Myers had 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting from three off the bench.
 
After starting the game making their first four shots from the floor to take a 9-4 lead just 2:31 into the game, Milwaukee went ice cold and finished the first half shooting just 27.8 percent (10-for-36) and a surprising 1-for-12 performance from three.
 
The third quarter didn't prove any better for UWM until Lindner closed things out with a pair of free throws in what proved to be the start of Milwaukee's 20-0 run.
 
Cunningham was the big spark though. The senior, playing in likely her final collegiate game, opened the fourth quarter with 10 consecutive points.
 
With Cunningham's hot hand, the Panther defense also cranked up the pressure to cut away at YSU's big lead. Her jumper with 5:25 left to play closed the gap to 48-43 before Lindner got in on the run to make it a three-point game and force a Penguin timeout.
 
"We played our hearts out," Cunningham said. "We have the best posts in the conference, and Youngstown was double teaming them and leaving me open. I just gave it my all."
 
UWM kept right on rolling after the break in the action and finally got going from behind the arc, starting with a triple from Kostowicz before a Lindner steal led to a three ball from Reit and suddenly the Panthers claimed a 51-48 lead with 3:36 to play.
 
Unlike so many of Milwaukee's comeback performances earlier this year, YSU answered back. Myers hit a three to tie things right back up and end the drought for the Penguins and Chelsea Olson and Indiya Benjamin each hit big threes for an 8-0 spurt of their own to go back on top 59-53 with 1:09 to play.
 
The Panthers still had more left in the tank as Lindner got a steal and a fast-break lay in to close the gap to four. After a pair of missed free throws by YSU, Reit hit another clutch three and it back down to 59-58 with 13.5 left.
 
The Penguins went 1-for-2 from the line and Milwaukee called a timeout to draw up one final play. Cunningham got the ball and found a cutting Kostowicz whose jumper in the lane somehow rimmed out. YSU got the rebound and hit their final two from the line to close things out.
 
"I said in the locker room after the game, I would run that play one thousand times and get Steph the ball in that situation," Rechlicz said. "I was as shocked as she was when it didn't go in. She's been our catalyst in the post…we were just trying to get a good luck in the post to go for the tie, and we thought we had the momentum if we could get it to overtime."
 
After shooting below 30 percent for the first three quarters, UWM went 10-for-16 from the floor in the fourth to finish shooting 35.4 percent for the game.
 
Milwaukee finishes the season with 20 wins for the second-straight year and only the fourth time in the program's Division-I history.
 
This year's senior class of Cunningham, Farley, Kostowicz and Lindner finish with 71 wins over their four-year careers – tied for the most wins by a graduating class in program history.
 
 
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