MOON TOWNSHIP, Pa. – Despite taking a lead in the final 15 seconds, the Milwaukee women's basketball team fell by one point to the Robert Morris Colonials at the UPMC Events Center on Saturday afternoon, 56-55.
 
The game saw 13 lead changes and the score tied on nine occasions throughout, but it was a pair of free throws by RMU with 6.8 seconds to give the host Colonials the win.
 
Jada Donaldson led the way for Milwaukee with a season-best 14 points including a career-high tying four three-point makes. Kacee Baumhower added 13 points, and Anna Lutz scored a dozen, including two from deep, as the Panthers made nine three pointers as a team.
 
Milwaukee finished the game 18-for-48 from the field, while Robert Morris was 19-for-54 from the field. The Colonials had a 43-31 advantage in rebounds and scored 15 second-chance points.
 
Lutz and Kamy Peppler had a team-best five rebounds apiece, while Donaldson added four. Peppler had five assists and Baumhower chipped in with four helpers.
 
"In the first half we were not working well together," commented head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "I thought that we really came out of the locker room and responded in the second half … but we have to put a complete game together and can't give up 18 offensive rebounds."
 
Donaldson got the Panthers off to a quick start with a three-point make on Milwaukee's first possession of the game, but RMU answered with a jump shot to make it a one-point game. Neither side took more than a three-point lead in a closely-contested opening 10 minutes as the Panthers led 14-12.
 
The game remained close until the waning minutes of the first half, when Robert Morris went on a 10-2 run to take a 28-21 advantage into the halftime break.
 
The Colonials scored the first points of the second half to take a 10-point lead but Milwaukee scored the next 12 points, kickstarted by a three-pointer by Peppler. Defensively, the Panthers held RMU scoreless for nearly six minutes in the period.
 
Milwaukee took a 39-35 lead on another three-point make by Donaldson with a minute left in the third, but only led by two at the end of three quarters.
 
The lead exchanged hands nine times in the fourth quarter, with the Panthers getting key go-ahead shots by Donaldson to make it 52-50 with 1:49 left in the game, and another by Lutz with 13.6 seconds left to put Milwaukee ahead, 55-54.
 
A foul was called against the Panthers with 6.8 seconds allowing the Colonials to head to the free throw line and connect on both to pivot the lead back in favor of the home team. Lutz had a contested look with just a few ticks left on the clock, but the shot did not fall as RMU escaped with the win.
 
"We're still searching and that's unfortunate this time of year now that we're in conference play," Rechlicz added. "I really liked how we played in the second half offensively, I thought that we were more aggressive and finding each other, so hopefully that's something we can build on moving forward."
 
Peppler had five points on the game, while Izzy Pugh put forth a strong effort with nine points including five makes from the charity stripe. Jorey Buwalda and Jada Williams each corralled three rebounds apiece.
 
Noa Given led RMU with 10 points including two of the team's three-point makes on the afternoon. Three more players had nine points for the Colonials including Isys Grady, Jada Lee, and Naomi Barnwell, who made all nine of her points from the free throw line.
 
Milwaukee will get back to action on Wednesday evening at home, when the Panthers welcome the Green Bay Phoenix to the Klotsche Center for a 6:00 p.m. start.