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recap wright state
57
Milwaukee MKE 5-9, 0-3 HL
61
Winner Wright State WSUW 12-4, 4-0 HL
Milwaukee MKE
5-9, 0-3 HL
57
Final
61
Wright State WSUW
12-4, 4-0 HL
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Milwaukee MKE 11 17 10 19 57
Wright State WSUW 11 21 14 15 61

Game Recap: Women's Basketball |

League-Leading WSU Squeaks Past MKE

Johnson notches first career double-double

DAYTON, Ohio – Ryaen Johnson turned in a career performance in another incredibly close contest for the Milwaukee women's basketball team Saturday afternoon as Wright State - ranked No. 10 in this week's Mid-Major poll - did just enough down the stretch to hold off MKE in a 61-57 contest from the Nutter Center.
 
The Panthers (5-9, 0-3 Horizon) took the league leaders to the brink, having a response for every Wright State (12-4, 4-0 Horizon) run but just couldn't get their shot to fall in the final two possessions before the Raiders hit their free throws late to pull away over the final seconds.
 
"I think our inexperience – both in minutes and youth – has put us in these incredible positions to be close because we're fighters and we're hungry for a win, but in the same sense we're not finishing," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "And we're right there. I can't wait to see us turn the corner.
 
"I thought we played our tails off today. Our defense was outstanding. We got production from all over the court. We just need to work on having this consistency from game to game and play like this all the time."
 
Johnson was the leader of the pack for MKE Saturday, finishing with a career-high 11 points and 11 rebounds for her first-career double-double. 10 of her rebounds were on the defensive side of the ball, as Johnson also tied her career high with five blocks in an outstanding all-around showing.
 
"Ryaen was just being a senior," Rechlicz said. "Our guards did an excellent job of containing on the perimeter, which put her (Johnson) in a position where she could play a lot of one-on-one, and that led her to all those blocked shots and all those defensive rebounds. I love where she's at mentally. She's really the catalyst for our defense."
 
Megan Walstad finished with a team-high 15 points to go with three rebounds, one assist and one block.
 
Fellow freshman Sydney Levy chipped in with seven points. Akaylah Hayes added six points and five rebounds, while Jamie Reit also netted six and tied her career-high with five assists.
 
Senior guard Mackenzie Taylor led the way for WSU with 14 points and six rebounds.
 
Coming off an 18-point win over Green Bay just two days earlier, Wright State came out firing with a quick 9-2 lead in the first. But, the Panthers responded with a big run of their own and a pair of Walstad free throws left things knotted at 11-11 after one.
 
The Raiders inched ahead by four at the break and tallied their largest lead of the day with 7:21 left in the game with a 55-45 edge.
 
Milwaukee once again didn't blink, responding with an 11-2 run.
 
Hayes started the push by getting to the free throw line before a huge three from Levy. Hayes then drove to the bucket for a nice lay in to make it a three-point game and a jumper from Walstad made it 57-56 with 1:04 to play.
 
MKE was unable to connect on its next two possessions, however, and was forced to send Wright State to the line as the salted the game away from the line.
 
Milwaukee finished with a 22-16 edge on points in the paint and got another 19 points off the bench in this one. WSU finished with the slightest of edges in shooting percentage (40 percent [23-58] to Milwaukee's 39 percent [22-57]).
 
Up next, the Panthers return home for their annual School Day game Thursday against Youngstown State with an 11 am start from the Klotsche Center.
 
 
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