MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Behind a dominant showing from the starting five, the Milwaukee women's basketball team took down in-state rival Wisconsin 79-67 on Wednesday evening at the Klotsche Center. The win gave the Panthers their third over the Badgers in the last five meetings.

The starters combined for 73 points in the victory with four players reaching double figures.
 
"I'm really proud of our team. I felt like the pace of the game was really fast in the first half," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "I was really proud of the upperclassmen in particular in how they locked into the locker room talk at halftime. We really honed into how we were defending things and they came out and executed and it really showed in that third quarter."
 
Tied 42-42 at the break, Milwaukee (3-3) used a 19-point third quarter to build a double-digit lead and never looked back.
 
"Our mentality in the second half was if they go man, we attack the paint. And we did a great job of that," Rechlicz continued.
 
The Panthers did just that and pounded the paint with Emma Wittmershaus and Megan Walstad who combined for 12 points in the third. The two shot 3-for-6 from the floor and 6-for-8 from the line in the third quarter alone.
 
Four straight free throws from Macy McGlone and Walstad gave the Panthers their largest lead at 60-47 before the Badgers (1-4) fought back to cut it to 10 after three quarters.
 
In the fourth, the bigs continued to control. Wittmershaus and Walstad scored six of the Panthers' first nine points of the quarter to go up 14. Another free throw and a layup from Wittmershaus stretched the Milwaukee lead to 18 with 3:24 to play.
 
Wisconsin fought back with some late jumpers, but Milwaukee held the double-digit lead the rest of the way.
 
Early on, the baskets were falling for both teams in a high-paced first half. Milwaukee shot 57.6 percent in the half while the Badgers converted at a 66.7 percent clip to head into the break tied 42-42. The output was the Panthers' best in a half this season.
 
Miquela Santoro connected on her first five shots of the game, scoring 14 points before the break on her way to a collegiate career-high of 19 points. The graduate finished 8-for-13 from the floor and added two rebounds and four assists.
 
Milwaukee tallied season-highs all around with Megan Walstad's 21 points leading the way. The redshirt sophomore added eight rebounds and four assists in the win.
 
Wittmershaus also reached a season-high, recording her first collegiate double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. The redshirt sophomore was 6-for-9 from the floor and 3-for-3 from the free throw line in the win.
 
Schmelzer was the fourth Panther in double figures as poured in four three-pointers, matching a career-high.
 
The Panthers hit the road after Thanksgiving, beginning with a Sunday contest at Northern Illinois. MKE will then get back into Horizon League play with games at Youngstown State (Dec. 2) and Robert Morris (Dec. 4).
 
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