GREEN BAY, Wis. – Down one entering the final 10 minutes, the Milwaukee women's basketball team caught fire early in the fourth, rattling off a 17-2 run to help seal a 59-51 victory over Green Bay on Sunday afternoon. The Panthers completed the season series sweep of Green Bay for the first time since 2005-06.
 
"We were very tight at the beginning of the game trying to figure out rhythm. They really packed it in on us," head coach Kyle Rechlicz stated. "I thought their defensive plan for a second-round game was exceptional and they took our paint. We told them to keep shooting, be confident. We just played with a lot of confidence down the stretch."
 
The Panthers (5-1, 2-0 Horizon League) did exactly that and found rhythm offensively, shooting 53.8 percent in the second half including a 6-for-11 performance from three-point range.
 
Still, Green Bay (1-4, 0-2 Horizon League) kept pace and scored seven late points in the third quarter to pull ahead by one going into the final frame.
 
Green Bay's Caitlyn Hibner knocked down a three-pointer on the first possession of the fourth quarter, but Kendall Nead responded to kickstart Milwaukee's offense.
 
Bre Cera and Sydney Staver then combined for nine points to fuel Milwaukee's run that lasted just over six minutes, giving the Panthers a 55-44 lead with 2:20 to play.
 
The Phoenix would respond with a quick six points but were forced to foul down five points with under a minute to play and Schmelzer and Brandi Bisping were perfect from the line to seal the win.
 
The shots were not falling for either team in the first half as Green Bay was just 7-for-32 (21.9 percent) from the floor while Milwaukee was 7-for-28 (25 percent). Both teams had multiple scoring droughts over five minutes before coming alive in the second half.
 
Cera finished the game with nine points, a career-high six assists, and two rebounds for a plus/minus of 17 in the win.
 
"Bre is our intangible player. When she puts points on the board, it's just becomes an extra bonus for us," Rechlicz continued. "I thought she had an outstanding weekend overall, I thought she was the difference maker in us being able to win these two games. She was incredible."
 
Megan Walstad continued her solid play as she totaled a game-high 19 points and 13 rebounds for her second double-double of the season.

Schemlzer also stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, three assists, five rebounds, and three steals.
 
Milwaukee moves to 2-0 in Horizon League play for the first time since the 2006-07 season.
 
After five games on the road, Milwaukee returns to the Klotsche Center for a weekend series with new Horizon League member, Robert Morris. Game one is set for Saturday, December 19 with tipoff at 12:00 pm. Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.