Milwaukee City Wire

The Milwaukee women's basketball team faced a challenging match against Air Force, concluding their participation in the Puerto Rico Clasico with a 56-40 loss at the Coliseo Ruben Rodriguez. Anna Lutz led Milwaukee with 16 points, achieving a season-high of seven field goals. Jada Donaldson contributed nine points and eight rebounds, while Kamy Peppler matched Donaldson's rebound tally and led the team with six assists.

Both teams experienced difficulties in maintaining offensive momentum. The Panthers managed a shooting percentage of 34.0 from the field, slightly edging out Air Force's 33.9 percent. Air Force capitalized on five three-pointers and 13 free throws, whereas Milwaukee only made two shots from beyond the arc and went 6-of-11 from the free throw line.

In a closely contested start, Milwaukee trailed by one point at 13-12 after the first quarter. Early in the second quarter, Jada Williams gave Milwaukee a brief lead before Lutz's three-pointer extended it to 17-15. However, Air Force regained control by scoring four consecutive points to lead 27-26 at halftime.

Air Force began the second half strongly, scoring six straight points to increase their lead to seven. Kallie Peppler responded for Milwaukee with a jumper that narrowed the gap to two scores. Despite efforts from Kamy and Lutz to reduce the deficit further, Air Force maintained their advantage, leading by ten points entering the final quarter.

Milwaukee started strong in the fourth quarter but was unable to overcome a nine-point surge by Air Force that expanded their lead to 51-36. Late attempts by Lutz and Kamy were insufficient as Air Force secured victory through late free throws.

The Falcons capitalized on Milwaukee's 23 turnovers, converting them into 16 points while also gaining an edge with nine offensive rebounds leading to 13 second-chance points. Milahnie Perry spearheaded Air Force's offense with 18 points, supported by Madison Smith's 12 points and Keelie O'Hollaren's impactful bench performance of 13 points. Jayda McNabb dominated defensively for Air Force with ten rebounds.

For Milwaukee, Williams ended with five points and Kallie added four more for Black & Gold. Justina Hernandez contributed one of five steals for Milwaukee during the game.

Looking ahead, Milwaukee will focus on Horizon League play in its upcoming matches starting against Youngstown State on Wednesday, Dec. 4 at Beeghly Center.