Milwaukee City Wire

Milwaukee faced a narrow defeat against Northern Kentucky in a women's basketball game, with the final score at 67-66. The match saw both teams taking turns to hold double-digit leads. Northern Kentucky managed to secure victory with a decisive three-pointer in the closing minute.

Northern Kentucky initially led by 11 points towards the end of the first quarter, but Milwaukee (14-12, 8-7 Horizon) managed to level the score at 29 late in the first half. The Panthers started strong in the fourth quarter, gaining an 11-point lead. However, Northern Kentucky concluded with a 14-2 run, clinching a one-point win.

"The first two minutes of the game and the last two minutes of the game were the exact same," said Milwaukee's head coach Kyle Rechlicz. "We had no intensity and no energy on the defensive side of the ball."

Anna Lutz led Milwaukee with 17 points, including three successful three-pointers. Jorey Buwalda contributed 11 points, while Grace Crowley narrowly missed a double-double with her 12 points and nine rebounds.

The Panthers shot at their lowest percentage since January 20 against Detroit Mercy, hitting just over 39% from the field. Despite this, they managed to record 20 assists on their 24 field goals. Kamy Peppler led with seven assists while Crowley matched her career-high with five assists.

"[Offensive rebounding] was a big emphasis for us but we didn't turn them into points as much as we needed to," Rechlicz noted. "Northern Kentucky got eight offensive rebounds and 14 second-chance points; we get 17 and scored 10 points."

Carter McCray stood out for Northern Kentucky with a double-double performance—10 rebounds and scoring 11 points. Noelle Hubert was pivotal for NKU as well, scoring six three-pointers for a career-high total of 18 points.

NKU maintained an early nine-point lead which was reduced by Milwaukee during subsequent quarters. A crucial jump shot by Jada Donaldson helped reduce NKU's lead further before halftime. The Panthers took their first lead at 45-44 during the third quarter but could not maintain it until the end.

Milwaukee will continue its season on February 15 against Purdue Fort Wayne in what will be their last out-of-state road trip of this regular season.