Milwaukee Athletics

MILWAUKEE – Milwaukee women's basketball led wire-to-wire and earned its first win of the season in its home opener over North Dakota, defeating the Fighting Hawks, 77-49.
 
The Panthers had a strong offensive showing, knocking down a season-best 27 field goals and had nine three-pointers. Milwaukee also outrebounded the Fighting Hawks, 46-25, and controlled the glass throughout the contest.
 
Tierney Madigan led the Panthers with 13 points, nine rebounds, and four assists as the team had 16 total assists on its 27 field goals. Rita Gomes scored 12 points and pulled down six rebounds, while Payton Rechlicz, Izzy Pugh, and Madison Fitzgibbon each had eight points.
 
"We just came out tonight with a lot of confidence," said head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "One of the things that we talked with our starters about was having a clean start and setting the tone early in the game. I felt like we really came out with the defensive edge as well as the offensive edge. Our team was prepared, and our coaching staff did a great job of preparing our players."
 
Milwaukee played a strong defensive game, holding the Fighting Hawks to just 26.3 percent from the field through the first three quarters while building its advantage. North Dakota finished the game shooting 35.4 percent overall, led by Jayda Maves with 14 points and London Harris with eight.
 
"We were communicating better on the defensive side, and our aggressiveness on the ball was better," said Rechlicz. "We knew this was a team that would shoot a lot of threes, so we were prepared to pressure, and I thought our team was really locked into the game plan.
 
Milwaukee opened the game with the first eight points and led by as many as 12 points in the opening half. The lead swelled to 24 in the second quarter as the Panthers took a 46-22 lead into halftime.
 
In the second half, the Panthers scored the first 11 points, including six from Pugh. A few free throws later in the period helped Milwaukee extend its lead all the way to 40 points, taking a 67-29 advantage into the fourth quarter.
 
North Dakota could get no closer than 27 points in the fourth quarter, as Milwaukee coasted to the finish. All 14 Panthers who dressed played at least five minutes, with 13 players getting on the scoresheet, including Lizzy Favret and Nataya Donaldson, who each recorded their first career points.
 
Sophia Rampulla and Kendall Barnes each had seven points, while Favret added four. Jaeda Murphy and Kylie Butler each scored three points, while Valerie Cassidy-De Falco added two.
 
"I hope, especially going into the Loyola game, that we stay with our pace," Rechlicz added. "I thought our pace was really good tonight, and that was led by Jaeda [Murphy]. Defensively and offensively, she was our pace catalyst tonight, and she really put our team on her back from start to finish. She is setting the tone for our team and getting us organized, and I think our team is really responding very well to her."
 
Milwaukee continues its busy stretch to begin the season with the next three games on the road. The Panthers begin the trip with a Saturday visit to Gentile Arena in Chicago to take on Loyola Chicago at 1:00 p.m.