Milwaukee City Wire

Cleveland State secured a 64-51 victory over the Milwaukee women's basketball team on Saturday afternoon. The game saw Cleveland State lead by as much as 24 points, maintaining control for most of the match.

Milwaukee's Kamy Peppler led her team with 11 points, including three successful three-pointers. Angie Cera was among three other Panthers scoring eight points; her second three-pointer at the final buzzer marked her 100th career three-point shot.

The first quarter ended with Cleveland State leading 16-9 and extending their lead to 38-21 by halftime. They capitalized on Milwaukee's nine turnovers, scoring ten points off these errors.

"In the first half we looked rushed," said head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "Give a lot of credit to Cleveland State, they're extremely long in their zone and athletic … and we weren't waiting for our offensive plays to develop and set up our screens."

Despite trailing by 45-21 after conceding the first seven points of the third quarter, Milwaukee managed a comeback with a 30-19 run in the latter part of the game, including a 19-13 advantage in the fourth quarter.

"We slowed down in the second half," Rechlicz added. "That really provided us with a lot of opportunities to make their zone work harder. I was incredibly proud of how we played that second half."

Milwaukee improved their shooting accuracy in the second half, achieving an impressive 44 percent success rate from field goals compared to Cleveland State's 22.2 percent. Cera contributed all her eight points during this period along with four assists.

A significant moment for Milwaukee was a 9-0 run featuring consecutive three-pointers from Jada Donaldson, Cera, and Peppler that reduced Cleveland State's lead from 24 to just 15 points. Cera's last-second three-pointer closed out the game at a deficit of thirteen for Milwaukee.

Anna Lutz added six points in the second half while Peppler initiated Milwaukee’s scoring surge with another successful three-pointer. Kendall Nead recorded eight rebounds alongside her eight-point contribution. Grace Crowley scored seven points while Donaldson had five and Jada Williams added four.

Colbi Maples led Cleveland State’s scoring efforts with fifteen points while Sara Guerreiro achieved a double-double through twelve rebounds coupled with twelve points.

Milwaukee returns home next week for two league games starting against Detroit Mercy on Thursday evening at Klotsche Center.