HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - The Milwaukee women's basketball team had a hard time finding a rhythm offensively in the second half on Thursday night, scoring just 15 points after the break in a 60-37 loss to Northern Kentucky. The Panthers shot 16 percent (4-for-25) in the final 20 minutes at the BB&T Arena.
 
"They kept switching back and forth between man and zone and we didn't have any flow in our offense. A lot of credit goes to NKU for that," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "We weren't executing what we were calling from the bench. We had a lot of people trying to do their own thing which is not who we are. We don't score well individually one-one-one. We are much more of a team-oriented team."
 
Milwaukee (7-14, 4-6 Horizon League) was clicking early on, going 6-for-12 in the opening frame to keep pace with Northern Kentucky (12-9, 6-4 Horizon League), but the offense had difficulty breaking through from there. The Panthers combined to shoot just 18 percent (7-for-38) in the last three periods.
 
Jamie Reit was a spark for Milwaukee in the first half, scoring seven points on 3-for-6 shooting from the floor. The senior ended the game with a team-high 11 points, her first time in double digits since also scoring 11 against Green Bay on January 4.
 
After trading baskets back and forth in the first quarter and each shooting over 42 percent, both offenses had a hard time converting in the second.
 
Emma Wittmershaus knocked down a pair of free throws to give Milwaukee its largest lead at 17-14 with 8:56 left in the half, but NKU followed with an 11-2 run to take a 25-19 advantage. The Panthers went just 1-for-11 and had a six-minute scoreless stretch during the Norse run.
 
After forcing a turnover on the final NKU possession of the half, Sydney Levy snapped the drought with a triple at the buzzer to pull the Panthers within 25-22 at the break.
 
McKaela Schmelzer cut the Milwaukee deficit to one point with a layup on the Panthers' first possession out of the locker room, but MKE then went over four minutes without a field goal. Reit hit a jumper at the 5:13 mark to make it 33-28 NKU, but another field goal drought allowed the Norse to pull ahead by double digits through three periods.
 
Nothing fell for Milwaukee in the fourth as Northern Kentucky continued to add to its lead. The Panthers converted three free throws but didn't see their first field goal until Anaiah Moore scored a fastbreak layup with 32 seconds to go.
 
The Panthers were held to their lowest point output this year, hitting just 26 percent from the field in the loss.
 
In four minutes off the bench An. Moore scored two points and added a rebound and a pair of steals.
 
Lizzie Odegard and Sydney Staver each pulled down five rebounds to lead the team.
 
"We had quite a few opportunities in the paint, but we just missed them," Rechlicz said. "We didn't have the toughness we needed tonight against a very tough team."
 
The Panthers next gear up for another matchup with Wright State. Milwaukee will take on the Raiders on Saturday, February 1 at 1:00 pm CT from the Nutter Center. Live coverage links for the afternoon contest can be found on MKEPanthers.com.