MILWAUKEE – Kendall Nead scored 26 points, including 18 second-half points, but it was not enough to overcome an early deficit as the St. Thomas Tommies picked up a road non-conference win over the Milwaukee Panthers by a 67-65 score at the Klotsche Center.
 
St. Thomas led by an 11-2 margin midway through the first quarter, as Milwaukee played from behind throughout the contest. The Panthers closed the deficit to two early in the second quarter before the Tommies led by as many as 10 early in the third period.
 
Nead scored the first 12 points for the Panthers to open the second half and trimmed the margin to two at 38-36 with 4:16 left in the third quarter, but Milwaukee was unable to tie or gain a lead. The Tommies led by 10 through various stretches of the second half, but the Panthers refused to go down easily and made it a two-point game at 64-62 with 44 seconds left.
 
St. Thomas scored the next three points at the free throw line before Angie Cera connected on a three-point shot to make it 67-65. Despite a pair of missed free throws at the opposite end by the Tommies, the Panthers were unable to get a shot off late as the visitors held on for the two-point win.
 
"I'm disappointed with how we came out, we did not play with urgency or intensity," said head coach Kyle Rechlicz post game. "A lot of credit to St. Thomas, they're tough and physical and we didn't match that early ... we were only able to ramp up the pressure and matched that toughness in the second half."
 
As a team, Milwaukee shot 41.7 percent from the floor including a 15-for-32 second half performance. The Panthers connected on seven of their eight three-pointers on the night in the second half as well. MKE had 11 second-chance points on 10 offensive rebounds, while finishing the night even with the Tommies at 31 rebounds aside.
 
Nead's 26 points were her second-most on the season, trailing just her 38-point game at McNeese on November 17. Her 11-of-23 from the field were also the second-most made field goals, while she was tied for the team lead with four assists with both Jada Donaldson and Anna Lutz.
 
Cera was second on the night with 15 points on six field goals including a team-best three long-range shots. Lutz had seven points and added nine rebounds. Other scoring for Milwaukee came from Donaldson, Grace Crowley, and Jorey Buwalda with four points each, while Kamy Peppler had three and Jada Williams added a bucket.
 
Donaldson had six rebounds, while Crowley and Peppler each had two steals apiece. Buwalda and Donaldson had one block each on the night.
 
Milwaukee will be on the road this Saturday afternoon, when the Panther visit former Horizon League opponent Loyola Chicago. The game is scheduled to start at 2:00 p.m. from Gentile Arena on the Loyola Campus along the banks of Lake Michigan.