MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Behind a dominating inside presence and solid performance from the free throw line, the Milwaukee women's basketball team claimed a 67-56 victory over Ball State on Wednesday evening. Miquela Santoro led a group of newcomers that made impressive debuts for the Panthers, combining for 30 points and 12 rebounds.
 
The Cardinals closed the gap to just one point after three quarters before Milwaukee took care of business in the fourth, outscoring Ball State 21-11 behind nine points and eight rebounds from Megan Walstad.
 
"It's a really big win for our program. Ball State is such a quality team, head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "Coming off a season where they won 21 games and finished second in the MAC, they return a lot of players. It was really great for our upperclassmen and show some leadership and really play strong. And some of our newcomers and our underclassmen to get some quality minutes in a big-time game."
 
Santoro finished with 16 points on 5-for-6 shooting and added five rebounds, one assists, and a steal.
 
"We knew when we recruited Miquela we were getting a player that plays both ends of the court. She's not just an offensive player she's an offensive and defensive player," Rechlicz continued. "We were really excited when we got her to commit. We knew she could be someone that could be a major impact player and she really proved that tonight."
 
Out of the gate, it was Santoro from three-point range to put Milwaukee ahead 3-0 and the Panthers would not relinquish the lead until a layup from Ivet Subirats tied the game 42-42 with 3:06 in the third quarter.
 
Brandi Bisping and Kendall Nead quickly responded with back-to-back buckets before a late triple from Ball State made it 46-45 MKE through three.
 
"Brandi is one that we can't keep off the court. She provides us with so much scoring, defense, communication, and leadership," Rechlicz said. "She's an all-around player for us and we really trust her."
 
Four consecutive free throws to open the fourth quarter put the Cardinals ahead for the first time, but an offensive rebound and put-back and-one by Walstad at the 5:40 mark was the turning point for the Panthers.
 
Then the experience took over. McKaela Schmelzer and Santoro combined for five straight points before a layup and a pair of free throws from Walstad had MKE up eight. BSU's Thelma Dis Agustsdottir cut it to six with a layup but three straight free throws for Bisping and a late layup from Walstad sealed the deal.
 
In her first game back after missing all of last year with injury, Walstad finished with nine points and 12 rebounds. Bisping was nearing double-double territory with 13 points and eight rebounds after being held to just two points and one rebound in the first 20 minutes.
 
"She's been working so hard to get back and so to finally see her get that confidence" Rechlicz stated. "She hit that reverse and-one down the stretch and from then we had to get her the ball."
 
Nead showed the skill that she brings to the Panthers as the freshman knocked down a pair of triples finishing with 10 points and five rebounds.
 
As a team, Milwaukee out-rebounded Ball State 42-29 including 18-10 on the offensive end.
 
The Panthers shot just 30.8 percent in the first half but responded with a 44.8 percent clip after the break.
 
Milwaukee will hit the road for its next three non-conference contests beginning with a trip to Bradley University. Tipoff from Peoria, Ill. is scheduled for 6:00 pm with live coverage links available on MKEPanthers.com.