NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team couldn't get in a rhythm offensively on Saturday afternoon, falling to Columbia University 74-46. Seeing their fifth different arena in the month of November, the Panthers shot just 34.5 percent in New York.
 
Milwaukee did get rolling early in the paint as Sydney Staver and Lizzie Odegard put Milwaukee on top 4-0. Columbia's Hannah Pratt responded with a pair of three-pointers to fuel an 11-2 run before Jamie Reit knocked down a triple to pull the Panthers within 11-9 with 5:42 to play.
 
From there, Milwaukee struggled to convert as it was held scoreless the remainder of the quarter. Meanwhile, the Lions closed the first on an 8-0 run to grab a 19-9 advantage, hitting over 50 percent of their shots in the first.
 
The Panthers tightened up the defense early on after the first break, forcing three Columbia turnovers and holding the Lions to 1-for-5 shooting while three straight MKE baskets had Milwaukee within four at 22-18.
 
Columbia began to find its stroke from range, however, hitting a trio of three-pointers over the next two and a half minutes in a 13-0 run to pull ahead 35-18. Bre Cera helped Milwaukee halt the run as she found Reit for a layup, but it was the Lions on top 35-20 at the half.
 
Brandi Bisping found Cera on the opening possession of the third period to get the scoring started in the second half, but Columbia seemed to have an answer for every Milwaukee basket. Reit knocked down a pair of free throws and Bisping and Staver followed with back-to-back scores but another Lions there-pointer helped Columbia keep pace to the first media timeout.
 
Columbia continued to add to its lead after the timeout, closing the period on an 11-2 run to pull ahead 55-30. Through three periods, the Lions were converting 53.3 percent of their triples.
 
After trading baskets to start the fourth, Tadri Heard got into the mix with her first points of the game with 7:18 to play. Just under 30 seconds later, Heard found the bottom of the net with a triple before Alyssa More added a steal and a layup to pull the Panthers closer.
 
Bisping scored a pair of baskets around two Columbia free throws but any momentum the Panthers could get was quickly erased by a Lions score.
 
As a team, Milwaukee finished just 3-for-25 (12.0 percent) from long range. The Panthers also struggled to knock down their free throws, going 5-for-11 from the free throw line.
 
The Panthers held a 30-28 advantage in the paint, but nine Columbia three-pointers continued to keep the pressure on.
 
Cera finished 5-for-9 from the floor to lead the Panthers with 12 points and added three assists and three rebounds. 
 
Reit added seven points while Bisping and Staver each tallied six.
 
The Panthers next return home to the Klotsche Center where they host six straight contests throughout December. Milwaukee kicks it off with a 7:00 pm tip against Northern Illinois on Thursday, December 5. Tickets and live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.