MILWAUKEE, Wis. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team turned up the pressure and rallied in the second half, but fell short, dropping a 78-56 decision against Marquette on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers shot 53.8 percent in the final frame and cut their deficit in half, but the Golden Eagles responded with a run to halt the MKE rally.
 
"I thought we played exceptionally hard. We were diving for loose balls and we were physical. Overall, I thought we were the aggressors but just didn't put the ball in the basket," head coach Kyle Rechlicz stated.
 
Marquette flew out of the gates on Sunday, hitting its first four three-point attempts to grab a 22-13 lead after the first. The Golden Eagles converted on 57.1 percent of their shots from the floor to gain control.
 
Milwaukee had a hard time cutting into the deficit as it was held without a field goal until the 3:17 mark of the second quarter. Emma Wittmershaus knocked down two free throws on the first possession, but the Panthers failed to find more points until Lizzie Odegard hit a jumper with just over three minutes to play in the half.
 
Meanwhile, the Golden Eagles continued to knock down shots, building their lead to 18. A layup from Sydney Staver had Milwaukee closer but MU's Jordan King responded with a basket to put the Panthers on their heels.
 
Marquette attacked early to add to its lead out of the break, but the Panthers turned up the effort and aggressiveness in the back half of the third quarter. Tadri Heard came off the bench to give Milwaukee a spark, knocking down a jumper and following with a three-pointer, giving the Panthers some momentum heading into the fourth.
 
Heard added another personal 5-0 run to help the offense find rhythm in the fourth and on the other side of the ball, the Panthers forced five early turnovers. Down 60-44, Sydney Levy put together seven straight points to bring Milwaukee within 12 but that was as close as MKE would get as Marquette halted the run with another triple.
 
The Panthers shot nearly 54 percent in the fourth quarter, but Marquette converted shots at a 61.5 percent clip to keep pace.
 
Milwaukee forced a season-high 22 turnovers on Sunday, recording 16 steals, the most in a game since November 2011.
 
Heard led the Panthers with 16 points on 6-for-10 shooting, hitting four of her five three-point attempts. The freshman added a team-high four assists.
 
Following her career-high, Levy joined in double digits with 10 including seven in the second half.
Marquette used its size to its advantage, holding a 36-21 advantage in the rebounding column and totaling 38 points in the paint.
 
The Panthers will be off during the week before hosting Bowling Green on Saturday, December 14. Tipoff from the Klotsche Center will be at 1:00 pm. Tickets and live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.