MILWAUKEE – In a closely-contested matchup between a pair of Horizon League foes, it was Northern Kentucky to win a one-possession game over the Milwaukee Panthers by a 68-65 score on Saturday afternoon.
 
The Panthers were led by Anna Lutz and Kamy Peppler with 13 points apiece, which included 10 second half points for Peppler. Jorey Buwalda and Peppler were tied for the team lead with five rebounds each with Peppler also pacing the Panthers with five assists and two steals.
 
Mya Meredith had 15 of her game-high 20 points for Northern Kentucky in the second half and Halle Idowu scored 10 of her 16 in the final 20 minutes of play. NKU finished strong down in the fourth quarter, connecting on 8-of-11 (72.7 percent), and finished the game converting 40.7 percent of their attempts.
 
"I am disappointed in our defensive effort in the second half," commented head coach Kyle Rechlicz after the game. "Northern Kentucky scored on four of the first five possessions in the second half … we were trading baskets with them, but if we just would have gotten stops, we would have been able to open up the lead and put ourselves in a good position to be successful."
 
While the Norse made just over 40 percent from the field, it was the three-point shooting and free throws that were also impactful in the outcome. Northern Kentucky finished the game with six makes from three to Milwaukee's four, while NKU went 14-of-19 from the line compared to the 7-for-9 for MKE.
 
"If you look at shooting percentages for the game, we took the same number of shots and we shot at a better percentage, they hit more threes than we did and that ends up being a win for them," added Rechlicz.
 
Milwaukee ended the game 27-of-59 from the floor to finish the game shooting at 45.8 percent. MKE had a game-high 20 points in the third quarter and had a game-best 7-for-13 effort in the 10-minute frame.
 
The Panthers got plenty of touches in the paint with 42 points coming in the lane, just two short of their season-best 44 at St. Thomas. Milwaukee also led in points off turnovers, 11-8 and points off the bench at 14-7.
 
Scoring eight of the 14 points for Milwaukee off the bench was Izzy Pugh. Jada Williams scored four and Kallie Peppler got on the scoresheet with a pair of points off the bench.
 
The Panthers jumped out early to take a 16-11 advantage through the first 10 minutes of play. Milwaukee went 7-for-16 in the opening quarter as a team, while the team held the Norse to just 3-of-14 from the field.
 
The Panthers maintained their lead in the second quarter and led by as many as eight on several occasions in the second quarter. However, a 12-2 run at the end of the half by Northern Kentucky gave the Norse a 32-30 lead at the halftime break.
 
Jada Donaldson scored seven points on the game with five coming the first half.
 
Milwaukee trailed throughout most of the third quarter, tying the score on free throw makes at both 45 and 47. A last-minute three-point make by Peppler gave Milwaukee its first lead of the second half at 50-49, which carried into the fourth.
 
MKE extended its lead early in the fourth to take a six-point advantage following a steal and a layup by Kacee Baumhower, who had been falling to the ground on the attempt as she was fouled. The senior made the and-one free throw to put the Panthers ahead, 55-49, finishing the game with nine points.
 
Northern Kentucky continued to keep it close and regained the lead for good with just over two minutes left in the game. Rebounding became a factor as the Norse continued to snag boards off Panther misses and eventually extended its lead to four in the waning seconds.
 
A made layup by Donaldson was answered by a free throw from the Norse, with MKE unable to get a clean look to send the game to overtime as the NKU held on for the three-point win.
 
Milwaukee heads on the road for its next Horizon League matchup, taking place at the Gates Sports Center in Indiana to take on Purdue Fort Wayne on Jan. 9 at 6:00 p.m. (CT).