Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee Panthers women's basketball team faced a setback on the road against Purdue Fort Wayne, with a 75-55 loss at the Gates Sports Center. Angie Cera led Milwaukee with 16 points, but it wasn't enough to overcome the Mastodons' strong performance.

Purdue Fort Wayne made twelve three-pointers and held a nine-point lead after the first quarter. The gap narrowed to six points by halftime, but the Mastodons outscored the Panthers 41-27 in the second half.

"They're hot right now," head coach Kyle Rechlicz commented about Purdue Fort Wayne. "They hit nine three pointers in their last game and another 12 tonight. It was disappointing because we struggled with things that were in our control … communication throughout most of the game and [Purdue Fort Wayne] won the physical battle."

The Panthers trailed 34-28 at halftime before Purdue Fort Wayne started the second half with a decisive 12-3 run, extending their lead to 15 points.

"We got the steal on the first possession of the third quarter that we turned over and they hit a three … that was deflating for us," Rechlicz noted. "It was tough for us to bounce back from that."

Shayla Sellers led Purdue Fort Wayne with 21 points, including six three-pointers. The Mastodons' lead grew to as much as 23 points in the fourth quarter before finishing with a comfortable win.

For Milwaukee, Kendall Nead contributed nine points and tied Jorey Buwalda for a team-high five rebounds. Kamy Peppler added seven points along with four assists and steals each. Jada Williams and Anna Lutz scored six points each, with Lutz matching her season high of three blocks.

Despite losing, Milwaukee scored 28 points in the paint and won the rebounding contest by two, finishing all eight free throw attempts successfully.

The Panthers will next face Cleveland State on Saturday at Wolstein Center.