GREEN BAY, Wis. – Behind 25 points from Kamy Peppler and 17 from Angie Cera, the Milwaukee women's basketball team upended the league-leading Green Bay Phoenix, 65-61, in the regular season finale at the Kress Center on Saturday afternoon.
 
The win clinched the fifth seed for Milwaukee (16-15, 10-10 Horizon) in the upcoming Barbasol Horizon League Women's Basketball Championship, while the loss for Green Bay (24-6, 17-3 Horizon) knocks the Phoenix out of the top spot and into the second seed.
 
The Panthers trailed by as many as 14 points in the second quarter but used a 16-0 run to open a 38-34 lead early in the second half. Milwaukee built up its own eight-point lead late in the third that dissipated into the fourth, but back-to-back threes in the final three minutes gave the Panthers a lead that would not be lost.
 
"I couldn't be prouder of our team right now," said Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "We've seen this all season long as a staff … we had talks about believing in who we are as a team … after trailing early, we had the mentality to chip away and defend and put ourselves in a position to find a way to win."
 
While Peppler had 21 of her game-high 25 points through the first 30 minutes, it was Cera to come up with nine clutch points in the fourth quarter to help propel the Panthers to the victory.
 
"Kamy [Peppler] was so unselfish," Rechlicz added. "She went away from trying to be the scorer and went into being the playmaker … Kamy and Angie [Cera] towards the end were huge for us."
 
Peppler's 25 points tied her career high as she played all 40 minutes. Cera's 17 points were two shy of her season-high 19 points accomplished twice this season. Peppler had eight field goals to lead the way as Milwaukee finished 20-of-47 from the field, including eight three-point makes.
 
The Panthers made 17 of their 19 from their trips to the line. Milwaukee committed just 11 fouls throughout the game on the opposite end, limiting Green Bay to just 13 attempts and eight makes at the stripe.
 
Jada Donaldson had eight points and a team-best three assists, while Kendall Nead knocked down a pair of three-pointers and had four rebounds. Jorey Buwalda chipped in with four points and led the Panthers with seven boards.
 
Milwaukee struggled out of the gate as Green Bay scored the first 11 points of the game before their lead swelled to 14 with 5:12 left in the second quarter at 33-19.
 
Donaldson got momentum started for the Panthers with a make followed by a free throw, and after a free throw by the Phoenix, Peppler drained a three-point shot to ignite Milwaukee's 16-0 run that stretched into the second half to turn a 12-point deficit into a four-point lead with 8:30 left in the third.
 
The fourth quarter saw Green Bay tie the game at 49 as the home team started the period on a 12-0 run to take a 55-49 lead. Cera put an end to the Phoenix rally with four-straight before Peppler drained a pair from the stripe to knot the score at 55.
 
After a three-point make by Green Bay, Donaldson knocked down a clutch shot from the top of the arc to even the game once again. The Phoenix turned the ball over as Milwaukee regained possession and Donaldson found Cera on the right wing to sink the second consecutive make to give Milwaukee a three-point advantage at 61-58.
 
Both sides exchanged free throws through the final 18 seconds, including two from Peppler with 15 left to make it a three-point game. Cera capped off the game to make it a four-point lead as the Panthers came out on top by a 65-61 score.
 
Green Bay was led by Jenna Guyer off the bench with 14 points, while Bailey Butler had 13 and Natalie McNeal added 12 points and a team-best nine rebounds for the home team.
 
Milwaukee finishes the regular season and will have a bye through the first round and into the quarterfinal round. The fifth-seeded Panthers will visit fourth-seeded Wright State at the Nutter Center. The start time of the game was not available at the time of this release.