MILWAUKEE, Wis. – After shaking off a sluggish start, the Milwaukee women's basketball team dominated the boards in the second half to earn a 64-52 win over Robert Morris. Milwaukee owned a 21-9 rebounding advantage after the break to propel the Panthers to their third straight win.
 
"It feels really good. That's a tough team," head coach Kyle Rechlicz stated. "They play so hard and they have a lot of aggressive players. That's the style we play so we knew it was going to match it. They sure came in with that but I am very proud that we were able to find a way to win this one with how we played."
 
The Panthers (6-1, 3-0 Horizon League) came out slow with just nine points in the first but responded to score 22 points in the second quarter. Megan Walstad led the way with 11 points as MKE matched the Colonials at 30-30 through 20 minutes of play. The Panthers knocked down a pair of three-pointers and shot 52.9 percent from the floor in the second.
 
In the third, the Panthers stepped up the defense and held Robert Morris to just five points through seven minutes of action. RMU found some space late with jumper and a three-pointer to cut the deficit to one but an Emma Wittmershaus layup and Sydney Staver triple at the buzzer gave Milwaukee some breathing room at 48-42.
 
The Colonials (0-3, 0-3 Horizon League) opened the final frame with a layup, but then it was all Panthers for the next four and a half minutes. Angie Cera stepped up and scored six points to fuel a 9-0 run as Milwaukee pulled in front 57-44.
 
RMU finally got through the Panthers' defense for five straight points but for each basket, Milwaukee had an answer. Alyssa Moore hit a pair of free throws to go up 10 and Walstad connected on another three-pointer as the shot clock was winding down for a 62-49 lead with 2:43 to play and MKE held the double-digit advantage the rest of the way.
 
"We talked about how they were going to start doubling in the post on Megan because she had just a dominant first half," Rechlicz said. "And we needed to have shooters ready I thought Angie Cera came in and knocked down some big shots in that second half and that was a huge help for us off the bench."
 
The defensive adjustments worked for Milwaukee as they forced a season-high 21 turnovers and were credited with nine steals.
 
Walstad finished with a game-high 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting while A. Cera also joined in double figures with a career-high 11.
 
"Angie had a really great week of practice. It was really nice to see her gain some confidence. I thought she was excellent in the game today," Rechlicz continued.
 
After RMU held a 18-12 advantage on the boards in the first half, Milwaukee flipped the script and finished with 33 compared to 27 for the Colonials.

Staver chipped in nine points and three rebounds while Brandi Bisping finished with seven points, six rebounds, and two assists. 
 
Milwaukee and Robert Morris will return to the Klotsche Center for game two of the series tomorrow at 12:00 pm. Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.