DETROIT – Milwaukee women's basketball dropped a heartbreaker to Detroit Mercy on Saturday afternoon at Calihan Hall, as the Titans sank a shot with 1.3 seconds left to escape with the 54-52 win.
 
The Panthers led through the entirety of the first half and had a 24-20 lead at the break. The third quarter saw seven lead changes with the Titans ahead by two heading into the fourth, which saw four more lead changes.
 
Detroit Mercy led 52-49 before Kamy Peppler was fouled attempting a three with 6.3 seconds left, and the sophomore converted on all three attempts to tie the game. After a quick inbounds and sprint down the right wing a pull-up jumper by Detroit at the free throw line proved to be the game winner with 1.3 seconds left. The Panthers had a last-second chance, and their attempt skimmed the front of the basket as the Titans held on for the win.
 
"We had a great look at the end," commented head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "It was an open look but unfortunately we were just short."
 
Milwaukee got off to a quick start in the opening quarter, connecting on 42.9 percent of their attempts, including a trio of three-point makes. However, the team struggled on offense through the final 30 minutes of play, making just 28.6 percent from the field and 3-of-16 from beyond the arc.
 
"Defensively, Detroit Mercy packed the paint and forced us to try to make threes," Rechlicz added. "They're a good defensive team and they're a physical and tough team, and at times we didn't handle that well."
 
Peppler led the Panthers on offense as she finished the game with 15 points including 10 in the opening half while finishing the game with six rebounds and a team-best four assists. Angie Cera with 14 points, and Jorey Buwalda with 12 points were also in double figures for the Panthers.
 
Anna Lutz had six points and was tied for the team lead with six rebounds. Kendall Nead had five rebounds and led the Panthers with two steals, while finishing with three points.
 
Milwaukee won the tip and opened the scoring on a make by Lutz, before the Panthers took their largest lead of the game at 10-2 with 6:38 left in the opening quarter. MKE was unable to add on to their lead as the contest turned into a game of runs that saw Detroit Mercy trim the lead to four before Buwalda knocked down a three in the final minute of the quarter as the Panthers led 16-9.
 
Detroit Mercy tied the game at 16 before Milwaukee boosted their lead back up to six with a make by Peppler made it 24-18 with 90 seconds left in the half. The Titans scored on its next possession to make it a four-point lead heading into the halftime break.
 
After shooting 42.9 percent in the opening quarter the Panthers were cold from the floor in the second with just 20 percent of their 15 shots falling in the second quarter. The cold shooting continued into the second half as Detroit Mercy took its first lead of the game with 2:18 gone by in the second half.
 
The lead flipped back and forth in the third with a clutch three-pointer by Cera giving Milwaukee a 29-27 lead before Detroit took the lead back at 32-30. Buwalda came back and connected on a layup and made it a three-point play with a free throw to give MKE a 33-32 lead.
 
After a make by the Titans put Detroit ahead 34-33, the home team held its lead into the fourth quarter without taking more than a four-point lead over that span. Jada Williams made two free throws at the 7:37 mark of the fourth to make it a two-point game before Cera knotted the score at 41 off a defensive rebound by Peppler on a Detroit Mercy miss.
 
The Titans regained a four-point lead before Buwalda made another layup with an and-one free throw to pull Milwaukee within one, and after a steal by Peppler, Buwalda drove into the lane for another layup to give Milwaukee the lead once again. Detroit scored the next two from the line before Cera drained a three-ball to pivot the lead back to the Black & Gold at 49-47.
 
After the next five points were scored at the free throw line for Detroit Mercy, Peppler attempted a three in looking to tie the game at 52. She was fouled in the process and sank all three from the charity stripe with 6.3 ticks left on the clock.
 
Detroit Mercy made what proved to be the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left with a pull-up jump shot, before Milwaukee's last-second effort was unsuccessful as the Titans hung on for the win.
 
Milwaukee will return to play on Friday evening at the Klotsche Center for a 7:00 p.m. start against the Wright State Raiders as the Panthers begin the second half of Horizon League play.