Revenge is a dish best served on Senior Day. Especially when you’re the visitor. Milwaukee ended the regular season schedule with a huge 65-61 win over their I-43 rivals Green Bay this past weekend.
“I couldn’t be prouder of our team right now,” Panthers head coach Kyle Rechlicz enthused after the game. “We’ve seen this all season long as a staff…we had talks about believing in who we are as a team.”
On Saturday the Panthers believed that they could take down the Horizon League’s #1 squad and even the score against their in-state foes. Back on November 30, the Phoenix were as hot as anyone in the country as they visited the Klotsche Center. That day, Milwaukee fell by a 76-53 score – a margin which the team clearly kept in mind as they arrived in Titletown. Though the Phoenix jumped out to a 20-12 lead by the end of the first quarter, the Panthers had a charge prepared for the second period.
The scoring was led by point guard Kamy Peppler, who converted buckets inside, scored outside, and went a perfect 6/6 from the foul line en route to a game-high 25 points. Her production sparked what became a 16-0 Panther run which spanned the closing portion of the second quarter and the first few minutes of the third period. 21 of Peppler’s points came across the first three quarters of action, as she helped the Panthers to build a 49-43 lead by the end of the third frame.
“Kamy was so unselfish,” Rechlicz declared. “She went away from trying to be the scorer and went into being the playmaker…Kamy and Angie [Cera] towards the end were huge for us.”
Cera contributed 17 points to the Milwaukee victory, and came up big late in the game. Nine of Cera’s points came in the fourth quarter alone, and for the game she added three steals while connecting on five of six foul shots. Each of the Panthers’ fourth-quarter points were vital, as Green Bay put together a 12-0 run of their own which swung the score to a 55-49 Phoenix advantage early in the final period. Cera stopped the bleeding with a pair of buckets, the Panthers sank a pair of free throws, and soon the teams were trading blows from deep. First Jada Donaldson answered a GB triple with one of her own, and then Cera connected with a deep ball which gave Milwaukee the lead once again at 61-58 with less than two minutes remaining. It was an advantage that Milwaukee was able to keep, as Peppler hit four straight foul shots to close out the Phoenix. For the day, the Panthers went 17 of 19 from the charity stripe.
“After trailing early, we had the mentality to chip away and defend and put ourselves in a position to find a way to win,” Rechlicz praised her team following the win. By defeating the Phoenix, Milwaukee clinched the fifth seed for Thursday’s Horizon League Tournament – and allowed Cleveland State to beat out GB for the conference regular season crown.
Following their big win, Milwaukee made its mark up and down the Horizon League’s lineup of season awards. The Panthers’ leading scorer, Kendall Nead, was named second-team All-Horizon while also earning the conference’s inaugural Sportsmanship Award. Nead posted a half dozen different 20+ point performances this year. She also went off for 38 points – equaling the Milwaukee program record for made field goals in a game along the way – against McNeese State in a career-best performance. Versatile veteran Grace Crowley was named the league’s Sixth Player of the Year after a season which saw her do some of everything that Milwaukee needed doing, often in key moments. Crowley missed five games early in the season due to injury, and the Panthers were better once her toughness and consistency had returned to the rotation.
Freshman post Jorey Buwalda was also honored, earning a place on the Horizon League’s All-Freshman team. Though it took a handful of games for the rookie to start earning significant run, Buwalda proved herself to Rechlicz and her staff quickly. A three-time recipient of the conference’s Freshman of the Week award, Buwalda led the Panthers in both offensive and total rebounds for the season. Buwalda also finished second on the team in blocked shots, and paced Milwaukee in free throw attempts and makes. With three more years of Buwalda bringing reliability and toughness to the paint, the Panther frontcourt has a new star to build around.
“We have a really special team this year that’s full of balance,” a proud Rechlicz said of her group upon the awards being announced. “I’m thankful that the other coaches in the Horizon League saw the same value in some of our players that we do daily. I am proud to coach these players along with all the players on our roster. They are incredibly deserving of any, and all awards they receive.”
For her 25-point performance against the Phoenix, Peppler was also singled out for praise. She earned Horizon League Player of the Week after driving the Panthers to victory in Green Bay. For the season, Milwaukee’s sophomore Peppler led the conference in assists, finished third in the Horizon with 63 made three-pointers, and came up with 44 steals to lead the team from Cream City.
In their opening matchup of the upcoming league tournament, the Panthers will face Wright State for a third time this season. Milwaukee split the regular season series with the Raiders, with each team winning a close contest at home; the Panthers’ victory came following an overtime period at the end of January. Alexis Hutchinson, who this week was named first-team All-Horizon, has led WSU in scoring with 24 and then 34 points in the teams’ two prior clashes. While Milwaukee relishes holding opponents under 60 points for a game, the fourth-seeded Raiders like to get up and down the floor. They’ve improved significantly this year, as third-year head coach Kari Hoffman has overseen a rise of nine wins already over last season’s 8-24 mark. Tipoff is set for 4:30 pm central time from the Nutter Center on Thursday as Milwaukee looks to ride the momentum from Saturday into postseason play.
