CLEVELAND, Ohio – Cleveland State caught fire after halftime and outscored the Milwaukee women's basketball team 52-24 in the second half to hand the Panthers an 81-50 setback on Thursday night at the Wolstein Center.
 
"We are such a good defensive team, but the second half comes and we don't come out and respond the same way," head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "We get deflate and then our offense isn't as good. We have to learn how to get stops in the second half."
 
The Milwaukee (6-9, 4-3 Horizon League) defense was strong in the first half, holding CSU (16-1, 7-0 Horizon League) to 35.5 percent from the floor, but the Panthers could not keep up and fell to the league leaders.
 
The Vikings took advantage of 21 Panthers turnovers, turning them into 31 points on the offensive end.
 
Early on, it was Megan Walstad who did the damage for Milwaukee, cashing in for a quick three field goals in the first.
 
The Vikings pushed the lead to eight before four points from Kendall Nead fueled a 10-0 run to give Milwaukee a 22-20 advantage.
 
After trading scores, Cleveland State used a pair of free throws and a last-second layup to go up 29-26 at the half.
 
It was a brand new game after the break as Cleveland State caught fire. The Vikings went 3-for-3 from long range and got to the free throw line 10 times in the third to build a double-digit lead.
 
Kamy Peppler knocked down a pair of three-pointers, but CSU rattled off a 13-1 run to end the quarter and head to the fourth up 57-38.
 
The run continued in the fourth as the Vikings scored the first 10 points of the frame and rolled from there, shooting 58.8 percent in the final 10 minutes.
 
Walstad finished with 10 points on 5-for-9 shooting and added six rebounds and two assists. Anna Lutz also reached double figures with 10 points to go with seven boards.
 
Peppler dished out a career-high seven assists and added six points, two rebounds, and two steals.
 
Milwaukee wraps up a four-game road stretch on Saturday as they take on Purdue Fort Wayne at 1:00 pm CT.
 
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