MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – In a Wednesday evening Horizon League matchup, the Milwaukee women's basketball team finished off the season series sweep over the Robert Morris Colonials at the UPMC Events Center, knocking off its host by a 61-43 score.
 
The win capped off a 6-3 month of January for the Panthers, who improved to 13-10 overall and 7-5 in Horizon League games.
 
The Panthers had everything working in the first half, as both offensive and defensive efforts were fully engaged for the Panthers, who held a 27-16 halftime lead while holding the Colonials to just 20.6 percent from the field and 0-for-15 from beyond the arc. Offensively in the opening 20 minutes, the Panthers were 10-of-24 on shot attempts (41.7 percent).
 
Milwaukee trailed early but used a 20-4 run spanning the first two quarters to turn a four-point deficit into a 12-point lead midway through the second stanza.
 
"I was proud of our defensive effort when we went on that run," said head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "It's tough in our league to win on the road, so to get this one was extra special … we locked in for a very solid period of time in that second quarter."
 
Despite leading by as many as 22 in the fourth, Robert Morris closed the gap back down to 13 late in the game before Milwaukee finished off the game on a five-point rally to win the game by 18.
 
"Give a lot of credit to Robert Morris … they play so hard," Rechlicz added. "They're a team that you don't want to see at tournament time because they can win any game.
 
MKE finished the contest with another strong effort at 48.9 percent with 23 makes on 47 attempts, while tallying 14 assists on the day. It was the sixth time in the last seven games that Milwaukee shot better than 42 percent, resulting in the team's six wins over that span.
 
The defensive effort was the best on the season statistically, as RMU scored on just 27.6 percent of their attempts. The 16 field goals made by the Colonials was the second fewest allowed by the Panther defense this season, with Viterbo's 15 makes setting the season-low mark allowed by Milwaukee.
 
The Panthers got scoring from nine different players, including a game-best 13 from both Angie Cera and Kamy Peppler. Peppler and Kendall Nead led Milwaukee with five makes apiece as Nead finished the game with a dozen points. Nead and Peppler also led the team with seven rebounds each.
 
Nead continued to pass the ball well with four assists, after her career-best mark of six during the team's last game against Wright State. Peppler and Cera also had three assists in the effort.
 
Grace Crowley had seven points and four boards, while Anna Lutz and Jada Donaldson each had five points in the win. Jorey Buwalda had six rebounds and two points, while Justina Hernandez and Jada Williams each had two points.
 
Milwaukee trailed early but took a 9-8 lead on a Nead made with 2:35 left in the opening quarter, the Panthers kicked it into the next gear and led 13-8 heading into the second period.
 
The Panthers put together their 20-4 run spanning into the second quarter and led by a dozen at 22-10 with 4:35 left in the half. After RMU scored the next six points, Peppler scored the last five of the half on a layup and a three-pointer as the Panthers extended their lead to 27-16 at the break.
 
Donaldson and Nead went back-to-back from beyond the arc after RMU opened the second half with a layup. Milwaukee led by 20 in the third quarter on a Crowley make with 2:36 left in the third before the team went into the fourth with a 44-28 advantage.
 
Cera made her presence felt on offense in the fourth with back-to-back three pointers to open the scoring and give Milwaukee its largest lead of the game at 22 points. The pair by Cera was answered by the third three-pointer of the night for Robert Morris, who started the game 0-for-18 from beyond the arc.
 
The Panther lead dipped to as low as 13, but a three-pointer by Peppler and a layup by Hernandez put the game away for Milwaukee to open the eastern-most road trip of the season with a win.
 
After a two-day hiatus from game action, Milwaukee continues its road trip at the Beeghly Center, when the Panthers take on the Youngstown State Penguins with an 11:00 a.m. (CT) tip set for the game.