Women's Basketball January 12, 2019

Panthers Go 2-0 On Homestand Behind Cera’s Big Game

Defense sparks another home win for MKE

Box Score MILWAUKEE – Bre Cera was clutch all game and finished with a career-high 13 points to help lead the Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 59-53 win over Cleveland State Saturday afternoon from the Klotsche Center.

Down by three at the break, the Panthers (7-9, 2-3 Horizon) put together an incredible defensive performance over the final 20 minutes, holding CSU (6-11, 3-3 Horizon) to just five made field goals in the entire second half.

"This wasn't the prettiest of wins for us, but I'm really proud of the effort that we gave to find a way today," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We started strong and then, credit to Cleveland State, they were able to do some things that got us out of that early rhythm. We needed some people to step up and it was great to see Bre Cera be one of those people and come through with some big baskets for us."

Cera led all players with her career-high 13 points to go with six assists and five steals – also career highs – and four rebounds.

Megan Walstad finished with 12 points – half coming in the final quarter – two rebounds, two steals and a block.

Brandi Bisping chipped in with eight points, while Jamie Reit and McKaela Schmelzer each added seven. Schmelzer stuffed the stat sheet by adding six assists, five rebounds and a pair of steals.

Ryaen Johnson once again turned in a strong defensive performance with another three blocks to go with her five points, four rebounds and one steal.

Senior Rachel Slaney led the way for Cleveland State with 11 points and 10 rebounds in front of a big group of fans for the Barneveld, Wis., native.

Milwaukee blitzed CSU right out of the gates. Walstad started the game with a jumper on the first possession before a pair of early three pointers from Johnson and Cera. Cera then jumped a pass for the steal and easy bucket on the ensuing possession and just like that, MKE led 10-0.

A three from Reit and another basket by Walstad and Milwaukee led 15-3 just over three minutes into the game.

From there, the Vikings switched things up defensively and were able to slow Milwaukee's offense down while getting hot themselves to take a 36-33 lead into the halftime locker room.

The Panthers came out of the break locked in defensively, holding CSU to just 17 second-half points and 16.7 percent shooting (5-30), while forcing 11 of the Vikings' 20 turnovers after the break.

"It took a team effort today," Rechlicz said. "I credit our post players for their work today. Savanna Crockett and Mariah Miller have been eating people up in our league in the paint. They played well, but we were able to contest almost every one of their shots."

Despite that outstanding defense, CSU still held a 44-43 edge with 2:14 left in the third. MKE then put together a number of impressive high-low plays to get close-range buckets from Lizzie Odegard, Bisping and Walstad to jump ahead 49-44 just 30 seconds into the fourth quarter.

After three Viking free throws, Milwaukee held a 54-53 lead late. Cera then hit a big jumper before drawing the defense to her and finding a wide-open Walstad for the easy layup to ice the game away and make it a perfect 2-0 homestand.

The Panthers dominated down low Saturday, finishing with a 32-12 edge in points in the paint. Milwaukee also finished with a 14-9 edge in points off turnovers and once again had the nod in points off the bench, 15-8.

Next week brings a trip across the Big Lake for a pair of contests in Detroit, starting Friday with a 6 pm Central contest at Oakland.

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Players Mentioned

#13 Brandi Bisping: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#23 Bre Cera: G; 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore

#25 Ryaen Johnson: F; 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior

#45 Lizzie Odegard: F; 6' 0"; Junior

#10 Jamie Reit: G; 5' 9"; Junior

#3 McKaela Schmelzer: G; 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore

#33 Megan Walstad: F; 6' 2"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

#13 Brandi Bisping
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#23 Bre Cera
: 5' 10"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#25 Ryaen Johnson
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Senior
: F

#45 Lizzie Odegard
: 6' 0"; Junior
: F

#10 Jamie Reit
: 5' 9"; Junior
: G

#3 McKaela Schmelzer
: 5' 7"; Redshirt Sophomore
: G

#33 Megan Walstad
: 6' 2"; Freshman
: F