MILWAUKEE – A career-best 30-point effort by Anna Lutz was not enough as the Milwaukee women's basketball team fell to the visiting Golden Grizzlies of Oakland in overtime by a 75-72 margin.
 
Lutz finished the game with 13 makes from the field, including four three-point baskets and was one rebound shy of a double-double as she led the team with nine boards. The 30-point game was the 40th such occurrence in the program's Division I history.
 
"Anna had a phenomenal game, it's one of the best games she's played in her career," commented head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "She hit some threes early which really helped keep her aggressive throughout the game."
 
As a team, Milwaukee had more makes from the field with a 28-27 advantage overall, but the Golden Grizzlies made 10 three-pointers to the seven made by the Panthers.
 
"Oakland got a lot of three-point looks on our defensive breakdowns," Rechlicz added. "They're a good team and are very good at competing down the stretch of games … unfortunately they found a way to win today."
 
Milwaukee had a strong presence in the under the basket on the offensive side with 42 points coming in the paint. The Panthers also corralled a season-best 18 offensive rebounds and ended the game with 46 boards overall. Buwalda and Lutz combined for nine of MKE's 18 offensive caroms.
 
"I thought we competed … when you look at 18 offensive rebounds it was great to see the effort there," Rechlicz continued. "Our post touches this game were pretty good in the paint with Anna [Lutz], Izzy Pugh, and Jorey Buwalda."
 
The game featured 13 lead changes and 13 occasions with the score tied, as the Panthers led 37-34 at the halftime break. Lutz had 15 points in the first half on 6-of-9 from the field including a perfect 3-for-3 effort from beyond the arc. Buwalda had seven first-half points and Kacee Baumhower poured in six on a pair of threes.
 
The Panthers regained their largest lead of the game at five with a make to open the second half, but an eight-point run by Oakland swung the lead back in favor of the guests. MKE was forced to play catch up the rest of the quarter and trailed 51-45 after three.
 
Six unanswered by the Panthers leveled the score at 51 before Maddy Skorupski connected on a three for the Grizzlies, answered shortly after by a three from Lutz.
 
With the score even at 64 in the final minute of play, Kamy Peppler had a pull-up jumper at the top of the paint to give Milwaukee a two-point advantage. Payton Rechlicz put MKE ahead by three with a free throw, but a clutch three-point make by Skorupski tied the game at 67 with 1.7 seconds left to send the game to overtime.
 
The Golden Grizzlies scored the first five points in the extra session before a three-pointer from Peppler and a layup from Lutz tied the score at 72 with 36.1 seconds left in the extra session.
 
Oakland answered again with a layup on its next possession. Peppler had a chance at the tie and an offensive rebound got Lutz a three-point chance for the lead, but neither shot fell as the Grizzlies tacked on a late free throw to hang on for the three-point win.
 
Baumhower finished the game with 11 points and five assists, while Peppler had nine points and seven helpers as Milwaukee ended the game with 19 assists on 28 makes. Buwalda tallied 11 points and eight boards.
 
Skorupski finished one assist shy of a double-double for Oakland as she had 14 points in the win. Macy Smith paced the Golden Grizzlies with 25 points with Dani Grim notching 12 points in the effort.
 
Milwaukee will host the Detroit Mercy Titans on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers will be celebrating 'Alumni Day' throughout the afternoon, with those in attendance being recognized on court at halftime.