MILWAUKEE, Wis. – The Milwaukee women's basketball team made an early push in the fourth quarter, but Northern Kentucky responded with a 20-6 run to close the game and hand the Panthers their first Horizon League loss of the season by a final of 67-50.
 
"I thought that Brandi Bisping did everything she could to put us on her back, but we didn't have enough people following her lead," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented.
 
Bisping did all that and more, finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds, and five assists for her fourth double-double of the season.
 
Sydney Staver scored the first five points of the fourth quarter to spark a 7-0 Milwaukee run and bring the Panthers within three at 47-44, but Northern Kentucky responded with three consecutive triples in a 75 second span to push the Norse lead back to double digits.
 
NKU (5-5, 0-5 Horizon League) continued to thwart any idea of a Panthers' comeback as they stretched the run to 19-2, putting the game out of reach for Milwaukee.
 
"We had a lot of costly mistakes, but the biggest challenge right now is the mental part of coming into game two after a loss," Rechlicz commented. "We haven't had to do this yet so this will be a true test of our team to see if we can bounce back tomorrow."
 
The Panthers (15-2, 12-1 Horizon League) found themselves in trouble early on as they scored just six points in the first quarter behind a 3-for-17 shooting performance.
 
The Norse lead grew to 14 at the half as NKU shot 50 percent in the second quarter while holding MKE to 0-for-10 from long range before the break.
 
Brandi Bisping shouldered the load in the first 20 minutes with eight points and eight rebounds.
 
Staver and Bisping combined for 14 points in the third quarter, but for each basket, NKU had a response and the Norse kept their distance up 47-37 heading into the final frame.
 
NKU used just seven players in the game but got extremely efficient minutes from its starting five. The Norse's Ivy Turner, Lindsey Duvall, and Carissa Garcia combined for 55 of 67 points.
 
Staver joined Bisping in double figures with 15 points, hitting three triples, all of which came in the second half.
 
Alyssa Moore provided a nice spark off the bench for Milwaukee, as she recorded two points, two assist, a steal, and two blocks in 13 minutes.
 
As a team, MKE finished just 3-for-23 from three-point range. It also marked the first time this season the Panthers did not record at least 10 made free throws.
 
The Panthers and the Norse will be back at the Klotsche Center for game two tomorrow at 4:00 pm. Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.