MILWAUKEE, Wis. – In front of the fifth largest crowd at the Klotsche Center of 3,485 fans, the Milwaukee women's basketball team used a strong first half to create separation and down UIC 71-55. The Panthers improved to 6-1 on the annual School Day Game, presented by Prairie Farms.
 
Milwaukee has now won six straight home School Day games dating back to the 2014-15 season.
 
"A lot of credit goes to our marketing department. They do an excellent job of getting these schools to come out," head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "I'm proud of all the other sports teams that came out and helped. A huge thank you to them because we can't run it without them."
 
Offensively, Milwaukee (6-11, 3-3 Horizon League) was clicking on all cylinders in the first half as it connected on 51.7 percent of its shots including a 7-for-13 (53.8 percent) from three-point range.
 
The Panthers dished out 11 assists on 15 made field goals as they broke the Flames' press time after time and converted easy baskets.
 
The Milwaukee lead reached 17 points with 3:08 to play in the half, but UIC (2-16, 1-6 Horizon League) continued to claw back and rattled off seven straight points to cut it to 37-27 with 1:53 left. Later, a UIC triple had the visitors within nine but Bre Cera knocked down a free throw to keep the lead in double digits heading into the locker room.
 
Defense was solid for the Panthers in the first quarter but UIC hit 61.5 percent of its shots in the second, including six of its last seven shots, to cut into the lead.
 
"I was really proud of our first half because we made the extra pass. Our ball movement was outstanding," Rechlicz commented.
 
Back-to-back UIC jumpers quickly had the Panthers' lead down to six but a pair of layups from Lizzie Odegard and McKaela Schmelzer helped MKE respond.
 
Over the next three minutes, neither team could find the bottom of the net until Emma Wittmershaus scored five straight for the Panthers. The redshirt freshman went to work inside and added two more free throws before a Bre Cera layup at the buzzer made it 57-44 Milwaukee.
 
In the final frame, UIC again cut the deficit to nine, but it was as close as the Flames would get as Cera converted an and-one and Milwaukee never looked back.
 
"Bre and I had good communication today and whenever she said she was ready, I put her back in," Rechlicz said. "She makes so much happen on both ends. She can do it all and I trust the ball in her hands."
 
Cera finished plus-23 with 10 points and six rebounds.
 
Milwaukee shot just 32.3 percent in the second half but knocked down seven of eight free throws to hold off UIC.
 
"We were getting a lot of opportunities in the second half, but we were just not knocking them down," Rechlicz stated. "We started pounding the paint and looking for Lizzie inside. She did a good job of owning the paint for us and then I thought Emma Wittmershaus came in and knocked down some big shots."
 
The Panthers dominated the rebounding column 41-27 and scored 28 points in the paint. Odegard led the way with 15 points and added five rebounds. Wittmershaus scored eight points on 2-for-3 shooting and hit all four free throw attempts.
 
Sydney Staver played her best game since returning from injury on December 30. The junior played 22 minutes and scored nine points on 4-for-9 shooting while adding four rebounds, two assists, and a pair of steals.
 
"Sydney is huge for us because she has the ability to score in the post, off the dribble, and shoot the three," Rechlicz commented. "Now that we are getting her pace back, she played with so much confidence and was really proud of her game today."
 
From the point, Schmelzer commanded the floor and finished with nine points, five assists, and three rebounds.
 
"McKaela is dynamic for us. When she plays well, we play well," Rechlicz said. "I thought Alyssa Moore did a great job coming off the bench too. They did a great job playing off each other as point guards. Sydney Levy's three-pointer wasn't falling but she found another way to make a difference and that's what mattered. We were really great at finding the open opportunities."
 
Milwaukee will next host IUPUI on Sunday, January 19 looking to move to 4-3 in Horizon League play. Tipoff for Pride Day is scheduled for 2:00 pm from the Klotsche Center with tickets and live coverage links on MKEPanthers.com.