MILWAUKEE, Wis. – Down five with just under two minutes to play in overtime, the Milwaukee women's basketball team battled back to tie the game with four seconds left but Oakland hit one free throw with two seconds on the clock to escape with an 83-82 victory at the Klotsche Center.
 
"I thought we made a lot of mistakes down the stretch," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented. "We made some costly fouls. We also hit some big shots. We were down five and made a comeback to tie the game. We just have to be a little better at the start."
 
Milwaukee (15-6, 12-5 Horizon League) led by as many as seven in the third quarter but the Golden Grizzles continued to find a way to the basket.
 
Oakland took the lead with 1:12 left in regulation but a layup from Megan Walstad knotted it at 69-69 and forced the extra period.
 
The Golden Grizzlies (11-9, 11-6 Horizon League) got the jump in overtime and controlled the pace the majority of the extra period, going up 82-78 with just 15 seconds left.
 
Bre Cera responded with a layup and after Milwaukee forced a turnover, Sydney Staver was fouled and calmly knocked down a pair of free throws to tie it 82-82.
 
It looked as if the two teams were headed to a second OT, but Emma Wittmershaus was called for a controversial foul putting Oakland at the line. The Golden Grizzlies' Breanna Perry hit the second of two free throws for an 83-82 lead with just two seconds left.
 
MKE had one final effort but misfired on the inbound pass and Oakland handed the Panthers their fifth straight loss.  
 
Early on, Milwaukee got off to a slow start offensively, hitting just seven field goals in the first half but caught fire in the third quarter. The Panthers finished 11-for-14 in the third quarter to pull ahead 54-49.
 
In the fourth, the Panthers had 10 costly turnovers which led the eight Oakland points as the Golden Grizzlies fought back to set up the overtime period.
 
Walstad led four in double digits with 21 points to go with nine rebounds. Sydney Staver finished 3-for-5 from three-point range and 17 points while McKaela Schmelzer (14) and Wittmershaus (12) also reached double figures.
 
Bisping pulled in team-high 11 rebounds while adding five points.
 
As a team, the Panthers dominated the glass 47-22 but turnovers hurt Milwaukee, finishing the night with 30 giveaways.
 
Milwaukee and Oakland will meet again tomorrow with a 4:00 pm tipoff.  Live coverage links can be found on MKEPanthers.com.