MUNCIE, Ind. – Impressive shooting from the free throw line kept the Milwaukee women's basketball team in front for much of the game, but a late push from Ball State sent the Cardinals past the Panthers 84-75 in overtime on Tuesday morning in the 2021-22 season opener.
 
"I give a lot of credit to Ball State," said head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "The game felt like a tournament game, the energy and intensity was incredibly high from both teams. Unfortunately, we didn't finish as well as I would have liked. We made some critical errors down the stretch in regulation that cost us the win. I'm proud of how hard we played though and I know we will bounce back."
 
The Panthers offset their shooting struggles with a near perfect day from the charity stripe, knocking down 28-of-32 attempts (87.5 percent). However, a pair of misses from the line in the closing minutes allowed Ball State to keep the game within reach.
 
With Milwaukee leading 72-70 with six seconds remaining, Anna Clephane sent the game to overtime with a jumper that dropped home as the buzzer sounded.
 
Ball State dominated the overtime period, outscoring the Panthers 12-3. Milwaukee failed to score from the field (0-for-9) in extra time, netting its three points from the stripe.
 
The duo of Megan Walstad and Sydney Staver carried Milwaukee for much of the fourth quarter scoring a combined 14 points. Staver nearly converted the biggest basket of the game, connecting on a jumper with just 36 seconds left to put the Panthers up three, but the ball failed to leave her hand prior to the expiration of the shot clock resulting in a turnover.
 
Walstad led four in double figures for the Panthers, finishing with a team-high 15 points while adding seven rebounds and five assists. Staver tallied 14 points to go along with six boards and McKaela Schmelzer scored 12 with six makes from the free throw line.
 
A pair of redshirt freshman had strong debuts for Milwaukee, as Macy McGlone finished in double figures with 10 points while grabbing six rebounds and Jada Donaldson scored six points.
 
"We had two redshirt freshman step up for us off the bench tonight which is very promising for the season," Rechlicz commented. "Jada Donaldson handled the pressure at the point and was one of our best guard defenders. And Macy McGlone finished incredibly well in the paint and from the free throw line while also leading us in rebounds per minute of play."
 
For the Cardinals, Ally Becki scored 17 points before fouling out in overtime while Thelma Dis Agustsdottir finished with 14. Clephane scored the final six points in regulation for Ball State to finish with 12 points in just 14 minutes before fouling out.
 
Milwaukee will face North Dakota State on Thursday inside the Klotsche Center for its home opener at 7 p.m. Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.