MILWAUKEE, Wis. – A hot start and composure down the stretch helped the Milwaukee women's basketball team take down cross-town rival Marquette University 64-55 on Wednesday afternoon. The Panthers finished 12-for-12 from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to fend off a Golden Eagles comeback and moved to 3-0 for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
 
"This team believes so much in what we are doing at Milwaukee and what we are trying to accomplish. They are fully bought in to being resilient and fighting for every possession," head coach Kyle Rechlicz stated. "They are playing with so much heart. It is so fun to coach this team. I can't tell you how much pride and excitement I have every single time I get to walk into practice or into a game with them."

The win over Marquette marks the first for Milwaukee since December 31, 2008. 
 
The Panthers (3-0) built a big lead at the midway break 30-12, holding Marquette (1-1) to just 20.7 percent shooting from the floor, but the Golden Eagles stormed back in the second half.
 
Marquette chipped into the lead in the third and scored 24 fourth-quarter points including 12 second chance points, but MKE was unflappable down the stretch. The Panthers hit all 12 free throw attempts in the fourth quarter and made smart decisions in the final minutes to seal the win.
 
"I give a lot of credit to Marquette," Rechlicz commented. "Down the stretch they were kicking us on the boards, and we had to find different people to get the rebound. We were getting the initial stop; we just weren't getting the secondary stop."
 
In the first half after a pair of Marquette baskets to open the game, McKaela Schmelzer hit her first of three first half triples to spark the offense. The Panthers rattled off a 13-0 run and continued to pile it on for a 17-8 lead through 10 minutes.
 
"I loved our strong start and a lot of that came down to McKaela. She put us on her back and hit some really big threes at the start," Rechlicz said. "If she can continue to do that at the beginning of games, it's going to open driving and lanes later on."
 
The strong defense continued in the second half for MKE who held Marquette to just 2-for-12 shooting as it built the lead to 30-12 at halftime.
 
Megan Walstad played arguably her best complete game of the season, as she took care of business on the offensive end, boards, and dominated on defense. The redshirt sophomore finished the afternoon with a line of 14 points, 11 rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a pair of blocks.
 
"Megan was everywhere tonight. The stat sheet doesn't even show what she did in her 38 minutes of play," Rechlicz commented. "Anytime she was driving, she was there walling them up. Anytime she was guarding the post, she was there."
 
Schmelzer led MKE with 15 points on 5-for-9 shooting and was joined in double digits by Walstad (14) and Syndey Staver, who scored 12 in her season debut. Staver finished 5-for-10 from the floor and added an assist in the win.
 
Milwaukee showed how deep it can go as the Panthers totaled 27 bench points to just five for Marquette.
 
The Panthers look to finish the non-conference season undefeated with one more road game at Bowling Green on Sunday, December 6. Tipoff is scheduled for 11:00 am from Ohio with live coverage links on MKEPanthers.com.