MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee women's basketball grinded out a five-point win on Saturday afternoon, knocking off the visiting Youngstown State Penguins by a 61-56 score.
 
Anna Lutz scored 20 points on nine field goal makes including a pair of three pointers, while also leading the Panthers with eight rebounds. Kacee Baumhower was also in double digits as she finished the game with 11 points on the day.
 
"Today we played well and fought for that win," said Panther head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "I think that says a lot about who we are and who we are still becoming as a team."
 
The Panthers trailed by nine points in the second quarter and rattled off 11 unanswered points to close out the half and take a two-point lead into the break.
 
MKE and YSU went shot-for-shot in the second half before the Penguins led by a 51-49 score in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter. Lutz and Jorey Buwalda answered with back-to-back layups to give Milwaukee a two-point lead.
 
Youngstown State tied the game at 53 but Milwaukee was able to add a layup by Buwalda and tacked on late free throws by Buwalda and Kamy Peppler to win the game by six.
 
The stretch run was crucial for the Panthers, who scored 18 points in the paint during the second half. Lutz scored 16 second-half points, while Buwalda scored six of her eight points in the final 20 minutes.
 
"I thought the timing on our post passes were incredible this game," said Rechlicz on getting the ball into the paint. "It was nice to see our team settle in … I was proud of how we competed in the last four minutes."
 
The Panthers ended the game with 17 assists as a team on 22 field goal makes, finishing the game shooting 40.7 percent from the field. Defensively, the Black & Gold held Youngstown State to 36.5 percent from the field.
 
The Penguins were able to knock down eight three-pointers on 26 attempts, while Milwaukee had five makes from deep. Lutz and Baumhower each had two, while Peppler also had one as she finished the game with nine points.
 
Jada Donaldson had a strong effort with a team-high five assist along with six rebounds. Kallie Peppler was also on the scoresheet with eight points.
 
Milwaukee won the battle down low with 37 rebounds to the 34 by Youngstown State, while points in the paint were in favor of MKE at 34-24.
 
Meanwhile, Youngstown State was led by Malia Magestro, who had five of the Penguins' eight three-point shots and finished the game with 24 points. Sophia Gregory had 10 points, while Jewel Watkins had 13 points and seven rebounds.

Following the game, Milwaukee recognized the four members of its senior class with Baumhower, Donaldson, Lutz, and Hallie Majoros being recognized for their contributions to the program.
 
Milwaukee will be back on the road this Thursday at 6:00 p.m. (CT), when the Panthers visit the Detroit Mercy Titans at Calihan Hall.