YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – For the first time in program history a player for the Milwaukee women's basketball team finished a game perfect from the field with a minimum of 10 attempts, as senior Grace Crowley was 10-for-10 from the floor and finished with a career-high 21 points in the team's 73-66 loss to the Youngstown State Penguins at the Beeghly Center on Saturday afternoon.

The Panthers and Penguins went back and forth with makes as the game was even at 15 through the first 10 minutes. MKE was paced by Crowley, who had 10 points in the opening quarter and tallied 14 points by the halftime break.

"In the first half, [Grace] had the hot hand," noted head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game "She is just playing with a different level of intensity … truly playing like a senior, she is playing incredible basketball both on the offensive and defensive end."
 
Milwaukee led by two at halftime but trailed by as many as eight in the third quarter before tying the game on three occasions in the fourth. However, Youngstown State was able to make key shots down the stretch and come out on top by seven.
 
"In the first half we performed well and put ourselves in a good position because of how we scored," Rechlicz noted. "We needed to match [Youngstown State's] intensity and effort, but where we struggled was on the defensive end … our double teams and communication were late, and they hit key shots in critical moments."
 
Milwaukee had 21 assists on 25 shot makes as a team, including a game-high eight by Jada Donaldson, who tied her career-best mark from earlier this season against McNeese in mid-November. Donaldson also had eight points and led the Panthers with a pair of steals.
 
"I thought Kendall Nead also had a really good game," Rechlicz added. "She was actively hunting her shot and trying to find opportunities for us to score and she was great on the boards for us today." Nead finished the game with 18 points on 7-of-15 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.

Angie Cera scored in double figures for the fourth consecutive game, with 10 points on 3-of-6 from the field including 2-of-5 from three. Anna Lutz had three points and three rebounds, while Jorey Buwalda had six points and four rebounds, as both she and Kamy Peppler each had four assists.

The Panthers collectively also finished perfect from the free throw line with a 9-for-9 performance at the stripe, for the most makes at the line without a miss since a 10-for-10 effort at Cleveland State on January 15, 2021.
 
The matchup in the first quarter saw the Panthers and Penguins exchange early shots including the game-opener by Donaldson, who connected on a corner three. With the Penguins ahead by an 8-5 score, Crowley scored the next 10 points for the Panthers, but YSU was able to keep it close as the score was tied at 15 through the opening period.
 
Cera jumpstarted the Panther offense in the second quarter with a three-pointer before Buwalda connected on a pair from the stripe to make it a five-point lead. Milwaukee was unable to take a lead larger than five as YSU tied the game late in the half before Nead connected on a mid-range jumper from the right wing to send the Panthers into the locker room up a pair.
 
Youngstown State responded in the second half and opened an eight-point advantage with under three remaining in the third. Lutz stepped back for a three ball before Cera and Donaldson combined to go 4-for-4 from the line to make it a one-point game. YSU got the lead back up to six before Cera drained a key three-point shot late in the third to slice the deficit back down to one score.
 
In the fourth, Milwaukee was able to tie the score at 59 on a Nead three-pointer and at 64 on a Donaldson three ball but could not regain the lead. Crowley tied the score at 66 with a layup with 3:20 left, but it was the Penguins to get the stops on the defensive end and makes in the waning minutes to escape with the win despite several strong looks by the Panthers on offense.
 
Milwaukee will head back home to the Klotsche Center for a pair of home games beginning with a 'Pink Out' game at 7:00 p.m. on February 8 against IUPUI.