INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Milwaukee women's basketball rallied back from a 20-point deficit but came up just short, falling to league-leading IUPUI 60-53 on Friday night. The Panthers scored the first 13 points of the fourth quarter and pulled it as close as two points, but the Jaguars hit free throws down the stretch to hang on.
 
"We were not going to quit. We are not built to quit," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "It's not in our make-up and it's not in our players' make-up."
 
Following a pair of free throws by IUPUI (20-7, 14-2 Horizon League) to make it 50-30 with 15 seconds left in the third quarter, the Jaguars looked like they would roll to an easy victory, but the Panthers (11-15, 8-7 Horizon League) had other plans.
 
"We talked a lot about changing out pace and looking up the court more," Rechlicz stated. "We also had some people off the bench step up to make some outstanding plays."
 
After Alyssa Moore scored the final basket of the third period, Alyssa Fischer and Brandi Bisping combined for the first 13 points of the fourth quarter to pull Milwaukee within five.
 
IUPUI finally got a shot to fall with 4:27 left on the clock, but then Sydney Staver stepped in and knocked down a jumper followed by back-to-back three-pointers to pull MKE within 55-53.
 
The Jaguars answered with a layup to go up four with 1:30 to play and Milwaukee had a few looks to close the gap but couldn't get another basket to fall. Down four with just 22 seconds remaining, the Panthers were forced to foul and IUPUI knocked down its free throws to seal the win.
 
After a tight back-and-forth first quarter, IUPUI took control in the second, using a 19-0 run to turn a two-point deficit into a 17-point advantage.
 
The Panthers' defense flipped a switch in the second half to close the gap, holding the Jaguars to 25.9 percent shooting after IUPUI hit 53.8 percent of its shots in the first half.
 
"We started playing more aggressive on the defensive end in the second half," Rechlicz said. "Not getting beat off the dribble and really walling up."
 
Staver led Milwaukee with 13 points including an eight-point effort in the final 10 minutes. The junior knocked down two big triples in the final frame.
 
Fischer finished the night with seven points, all of which came in the fourth quarter. The senior was a team-best plus-12 on the night.
 
In the post, Lizzie Odegard led with 10 rebounds to go with four points and assist and a pair of blocks. Odegard shined on the defensive end as well.
 
"You have to commend Lizzie," Rechlicz commented. "If this doesn't prove that she's one of the best defenders in our league, I don't know what does. She played the number one player in the conference one-on-one and held her ground for the entire time she was in the game."
 
Moore also played solid minutes off the bench, running the point and totaling two points, two assists, and a steal.
 
With the victory, IUPUI claimed its first Horizon League regular season title.
 
Milwaukee will next head north for the final road game of the regular season. The Panthers will take on UIC at 2:00 pm. Live coverage links are available on MKEPanthers.com.