MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Eleven different players scored for the Milwaukee women's basketball team as the Panthers shot 64.5 percent in a 106-43 victory over Viterbo in MKE's lone exhibition game of the year.
 
"We've been really focused on our offense this offseason," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "We have a multitude of options – we can go inside, and we've got shooters on the outside. We wanted to get the ball in the paint, and I was really proud of our guards for doing that consistently."
 
The teams traded baskets through the first five minutes of the first period before a triple from Sydney Levy sparked a 9-4 run to end the quarter and put Milwaukee up 23-18.
 
The Panthers took care of business from there, holding the V-Hawks to single digits in each of the remaining periods. Milwaukee kept up the hot shooting, hitting at least 60 percent of its shots from floor in the final three quarters.  
 
Milwaukee got a big contribution from Emma Wittmershaus as she poured in 22 points on 10-for-11 shooting. The redshirt freshman also pulled down the final board of the night to solidify her double-double with 10 boards. The Panthers dominated the paint, outscoring Viterbo 54-12 in the lane, led by Wittmershaus and Sydney Staver, who tacked on 13 points.
 
"Emma put an incredible amount of work in last year. We know she has the range and we wanted to perfect her inside game," Rechlicz said about her redshirt freshman. "She put the work in and deserves to have a moment like this."
 
After missing their first free throw of the night, the Panthers were nearly perfect at the line, hitting 20 of 21 shots the rest of the way. Freshman Tadri Heard connected on all four of her attempts.
 
In just over 14 minutes of play, Alyssa Moore stuffed the stat sheet with a team-high four assists, four points, and a pair of steals.
 
Up 48-27 at the break, Milwaukee continued to step on the gas, outscoring the V-Hawks 58-16 in the second half.
 
Jamie Reit carried the load after the break, netting all 12 of her points on 5-for-7 shooting.
 
Joining in double digits was Lizzie Odegard and Alyssa Fisher, who cashed in for 12 and 11 points, respectively.
 
As a team, the Panthers finished with 25 assists with all 12 players who checked in notching at least one in the book.
 
"It shows how unselfish we are. I'm really excited about the options we have," Rechlicz commented. "It makes it tough on other teams defensively."
 
The Panthers also forced 25 turnovers and turned that into 25 points with an aggressive defense. For the game, Milwaukee held Viterbo to 30.9 percent shooting from the floor.
 
Milwaukee will gear up for the regular season opener next Wednesday, November 6 as they host Parkside. Tickets, live stats, and live video on ESPN+ can all be found on MKEPanthers.com.