BAYAMON, Puerto Rico – Behind 25 points from Kacee Baumhower and a double-double from Kamy Peppler, the Milwaukee women's basketball team downed the American Eagles by a 74-60 score at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez.
 
Peppler had a team-best 10 assists to go along with her 14 points, as Milwaukee had 19 assists on 24 makes from the field. The difference in the game came down to free throws as Milwaukee made 18 from the stripe, while American converted on just 3-of-8 from the line.
 
The Panthers led most of the way, holding the advantage for nearly 38 minutes throughout the game against the Eagles. The Panthers led by as many 21 in the third quarter, but after the Eagles threatened the lead and cut it down to six early in the fourth, the Panthers were able to push back to earn the 14-point win.
 
"This was the first time that a team made a very serious push against us, and we responded," noted Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "I loved our defense in the fourth quarter … I thought we were really resilient tonight."
 
Milwaukee won the rebounding battle with 37 boards to the 26 by American, with Anna Lutz and Jorey Buwalda leading the way with nine boards each for the Panthers. Peppler added six rebounds to go along with her double-double.
 
"I thought Kamy played incredibly balanced, even through the closing minutes of the game to get her 10th assist on the final make," commented Rechlicz on Peppler.
 
The Panthers took 29 trips to the free throw line against an insistent Eagles team but were able to handle the pressure.  
 
"I thought that American was incredibly aggressive, and we handled it well," added Rechlicz. "However, we can't go 18-for-29 from the free throw line … it's really important that we find ways to lock in and hit our free throws."
 
Milwaukee took its first lead of the night at 6-4 on a banked three-point shot make from Buwalda from the top of the key to spark an 11-0 Panther run. MKE took a 20-12 lead after 10 minutes and hit 61.5 percent of its shots in the opening period.
 
MKE extended its lead to 18 on three-point makes from Jada Donaldson and Peppler, before Izzy Pugh scored back-to-back buckets, and led 41-25 leading into the halftime break. The Panthers connected on four of their eight shots from beyond the arc in the second quarter.
 
Baumhower scored the first five points of the second half to give the Panthers their largest lead of the game at 21. Milwaukee turnovers were costly in the third as American closed the quarter on a 10-0 run and trailed by just nine at 56-47 heading to the fourth.
 
The Panthers were able to find their footing and made shots when needed to keep the Eagles from getting any closer than six points in the fourth quarter. Milwaukee scored the final six of the game to come out on top by 14.
 
Buwalda and Lutz both finished the game with seven points each to go along with their nine rebounds, while Lutz had two of the team's four blocks. Pugh also had seven points, while Donaldson chipped in with five.
 
Bailey Garbee led American with 12 points including a trio of three pointers, while Grace Koepke had a team-high five field goals for 10 points. Koepke narrowly missed out on a double-double with a team-best nine rebounds. Ivy Bales and Garbee combined for seven assists and four steals.
 
Milwaukee will get right back to action on Thursday evening, when the Panthers will meet the Air Force Falcons at 5:30 p.m. (CT) at Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez in Bayamon, Puerto Rico.