HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. – The Milwaukee women's basketball team battled hard in Thursday night's Horizon League Tournament Quarterfinal, but a strong second half propelled Northern Kentucky to a 78-58 win. The Panthers couldn't keep pace in the second half, shooting just 35.5 percent at BB&T Arena.
 
"Congratulations to NKU. They are playing some excellent basketball," head coach Kyle Rechlicz stated. "We just lost our legs in the second half. I thought we really battled in the first. We had great energy and I thought our mentality was excellent. Halftime hit and when we came out of the locker room, we lost a lot of our energy."
 
The Norse (20-11) were rolling early, hitting their first four shots of the night and ran out to a 17-9 forcing a Panthers timeout. Rechlicz switched up the defense out of the break and the Panthers rallied, ending the quarter on an 11-2 run to take the lead.
 
Sydney Staver carried the load, finishing the first with 10 points on 3-for-5 shooting.
 
Milwaukee (15-16) carried that momentum early in the second and jumped ahead by five after a pair of Staver free throws and a basket from Bre Cera but NKU responded with a jumper and free throws of its own.
 
With just under four minutes to play, Jamie Reit and Sydney Levy combined for three consecutive triples, but the Norse responded with a 7-0 run over the final 1:58 to take a one-point advantage into halftime.
 
As they did in the first half, the Norse started hot, going 5-for-8 to open the third. The Panthers, on the other hand, had a hard time finding rhythm offensively and saw their deficit reach nine with just over two minutes to play.
 
Staver hit another bucket in the paint but back-to-back scores from Ivy Turner put the Norse up 11 with 10 minutes to play.
 
In the last seven games, Milwaukee had thrived in the fourth quarter and looked for that same spark on Thursday, but it wasn't the Panthers night. The Norse rattled off a 15-2 run in the first 4:36 of the fourth to go up 72-48 and essentially seal the deal.
 
The Panthers ended with 10 more points in the final frame, but not enough to overcome the deficit.
 
"I'm incredibly proud of who we are as a team and the run we put on in the second half of conference," Rechlicz said. "I just think that goes to show who we are from a culture standpoint and the future is really bright for us."
 
Milwaukee finished 11-for-31 (35.5 percent) in the second half and had a hard time finding the range, going 2-for-10 from beyond the arc.
 
Reit and Staver led the Panthers with 14 points apiece. Reit knocked down both of her three-point attempts while Staver finished 4-for-4 from the line.
 
The Panthers were on the short end of personal fouls, getting whistled for 17 compared to just six for Northern Kentucky.
 
Milwaukee graduates four seniors in Lizzie Odegard, Reit, Jaye Two Bears, and Alyssa Fischer.
 
"I'm going to miss our seniors a lot because they gave us so much intensity and leadership and determination especially in this last stretch into the conference tournament," Rechlicz added."