DETROIT, Mich. - The Milwaukee women's basketball used an eight-point run to take a 18-10 lead in the first period and never looked back, downing Detroit Mercy 63-48 at Calihan Hall. The Panthers held the Titans to 33.3 percent shooting from the floor and 13.6 percent from beyond the arc to earn their first road victory.
"I thought our team was focused coming into the game. We had a great shootaround leading up to it and I was really proud especially with our post players who demanded the ball in the paint," head coach
Kyle Rechlicz commented."
Milwaukee dominated the boards, pulling in a season-high 51 rebounds led by
Emma Wittmershaus' career-high 14 boards.
"Emma was huge - 14 rebounds in almost 20 minutes of play is amazing," Rechlicz said. "She just really commanded the paint. Detroit played exceptionally hard, but Emma cleaned it up every time she was in there."
The defense did its job all night, holding Detroit Mercy to 48 points, the lowest opponent total all season. The Titans' 33.3 percent shooting marked the second lowest this year by the opposition.
"I thought our zone really helped us. Our team really bought into that. We moved with a purpose and had a great level of intensity in the zone," Rechlicz stated. "I thought Brandi [Bisping] and Bre [Cera] really stepped up from a communications standpoint on the defensive end."
Detroit Mercy responded to the early MKE run with five straight of its own but a three-pointer for
Lizzie Odegard to open the second quarter had the Panthers back up by six. The two teams traded scores back and forth the rest of the half, but Milwaukee kept its distance until the final seconds.
The Titans had one final possession of the half to try and cut their deficit, but pressure defense helped
Jamie Reit earn a steal. The senior scooped up the loose ball, heaved a last-second shot from 55 feet, and watched the bench go wild after the attempt banked in off the glass to give Milwaukee its largest lead of the night at 33-24.
Out of the break, Reit and Odegard combined for four straight points to stretch the MKE advantage to double digits and the lead hovered right at that mark the remainder of the period. Credit to the Panthers' defense which held Detroit to just 5-for-15 from the floor and 1-for-6 from three-point range in the third.
Down double digits in the final 10 minutes, it was desperation time for Detroit Mercy and the MKE defense once again held strong. The Titans finished 5-for-14 from the field and did not connect on any of their five three-point attempts as Milwaukee held on to its largest margin of victory this year.
Odegard (14) and Bisping (13) each reached double digits in the win while combining for 15 rebounds.
"Brandi is just a competitor. She is one of our most intense players and is our communicator and vocal leader," Rechlicz said. "She hates losing and when you have that mentality, we almost have to have her on the court."
Wittmershaus added four points, three assists, and a block in the victory.
Alyssa Fischer came off the bench and knocked down a pair of triples in 11 minutes for Milwaukee.
"I thought all three of our seniors stepped up and knocked down big shots," Rechlicz said. "Lizzie demanded the ball more in the paint and this was a game where you could see that. She was huge for us from an offensive perspective. "
Next up, the Panthers take on Oakland on Saturday, January 11. Tipoff from the Athletics Center O'rena is scheduled for 2:00 pm CT. Watch live on ESPN3 or listen live with
Matt Menzl on
MKEPanthers.com.
