Milwaukee, WI – It is safe to say that the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons (23-6, 18-1 Horizon League) did not look past this game against the Milwaukee Panthers (8-23, ) on their way to a “winner take all” matchup on Saturday for the Horizon League regular season championship and the coveted top seed in the Horizon League tournament. The Mastodons would be all business on their stop in Milwaukee as they would dismantle the Panthers and make a statement in their 82-46 victory.
First Quarter: The Mastodons have been looking to break a bad habit of coming out flat in the first quarter only to be bailed out by explosive offensive and crippling defense later in the game. Head Coach Maria Marchesano said that her senior leaders needed to start playing better, especially in the first quarter, after their home loss against Cleveland State that would end the historic 17-game winning streak. It’s probably safe to say that the message was received in this game…
Milwaukee would get the first swing of the match with Anna Lutz layup from a good entry pass by Kamy Peppler. Unfortunately for the Panthers, this would be the only offense for the next 4 minutes for the home team. However, the Mastodons were just getting started. Audra Emmerson took the lid off the basket with a three-pointer.
Emmerson would also add to her point total with a mid-range shot that would find the bottom of the basket, but not before her teammate Sydney Freeman would find Amellia Bromenschenkel behind the arc for the second Mastodon three-pointer of the night. At 5:33 remaining in the quarter, Milwaukee would try to spark something with a three-point answer from Kacee Baumhower. Once again, this would be the last bucket for a while for the Panthers – who would not score again this quarter.
The Mastodons would pour it on during the Panther scoring drought. One of the best three-point shooters in the country, Lauren Ross, would show that she is in fact still that by making her 90th three-pointer of the season. Bromenschenkel would add another three-pointer, and Sydney Graber would join the scoring column with a basket from the paint. Freeman would continue to play great defense forcing Milwaukee into their 9th turnover of the game, and Freeman would score a fast break layup for the first basket that viewers on ESPN+ would get to see. One more turnover by the Panthers would lead to a fast break for Jordan Reid who would get fouled and make both free throws. The quarter would come to an end with PFW leading 22-5.
Second Quarter: Freeman would add to the lead with a layup that started from a Jazzlyn Linbo steal down low. A long awaited sigh of relief came for the Panthers 7 minutes and 20 seconds of playing time after their last basket as Jorey Buwalda would make a basket to end the drought, and Kacee Baumhower would also add a layup on the next possession. The Mastodons would get the lead back up to 19 on a Linbo post shot and two Bromenschenkel free throws. It would take the Panthers nearly 14 minutes of clock to get into double figures with Grace Lomen’s layup. The Mastodons would continue to pour it on with baskets from Emmerson and Reid, and the media timeout saw the Mastodons hold a commanding 32-13 lead.
Out of the break, Ross showed that sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good with a three-point shot that banked off the glass outside of the square but somehow went through the hoop without even touching the rim. Ross had to let out a smile on her way down the court, but we all know she’s lucky AND good. Bromenschenkel, Emmerson, Reid, and Renna Schwieterman would all nail three-pointers in the remaining minutes of the second quarter. Arkansas Pine Bluff transfer, Tia Morgan, would see some good minutes on the floor for Maria Marchesano. Morgan would also score with a jumper of her own.
Milwaukee would have a much better second quarter offensively, something that Mastodons would need to fix before Saturday’s big game. The Panthers would commit four turnovers as compared to their 10 in the first. Kamy Peppler would make two three-pointers in the final minutes of the half, and Anna Lutz would make another. The Panthers were able to bounce back from the poor offensive showing in the first to post 20 points in the second quarter on a Mastodon team that only allows 59.1 points per game. The Mastodons would take a 49-25 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter: Ross would start the second half by making three-pointers number 92 and 93 on the season, and Freeman would tack on another three-pointer pushing the lead to an insurmountable 33-points. The Mastodons would somehow have a better defensive showing scoring wise in the third quarter than they did in the first quarter. Milwaukee would be held scoreless on 0-8 shooting for the first 6 minutes of the second half. The drought would end with a Jada Donaldson basket at 3:55 left in the quarter, but unable to stop the Mastodons, the basket would be countered with a post shot from Graber on the next possession.
The Mastodons would hold the Panthers to just 4 points on 1-10 shooting on the quarter. The other points in the quarter would come from Jada Williams and Grace Lomen each hitting the back end of two free throws after each missing the front end. The Mastodons were able to extend the lead in the final 90 seconds of the quarter with a driving layup by Jordan Reid and two baskets from Tia Morgan. After 30 minutes of play, the Mastodons were up by 37 points, 66-29.
Fourth Quarter: For the Mastodons, they were able to put the game in cruise control for the final ten minutes. Role players like Ella Riggs, Madelyn Geers, and Reese Polega were able to get some developmental playing time. Scoring would be slower for both teams to start the final frame. Both teams would only score two points each in the first four minutes of the quarter. The Panthers would get a tip-in shot off her own miss from Izzy Pugh, and the Mastodons would get two made free throws from Emmerson. The Mastodons would string together another run with a made layup from Taeya Steinauer and two free throws and a made layup from Schwieterman to get the lead as high as 43 points, 74-31.
In their biggest scoring surge of the night, the Panthers would score 13 points in 4:25. A majority of the points would come from 6-3 freshman Izzy Pugh. The New Zealand native would score all 9 of her team high points in the fourth quarter, including the last two points of the night on two made free throws.
The Mastodons were able to get to 82 points in the remainder of the game with a Graber free throw, a Schwieterman three-pointer, a Madelyn Geers free throw, and a three-pointer from Reese Polega. The Mastodons would lose the quarter by one, but would secure a dominating 36 point victory over the Panthers, 82-46.
Stats and Leaders: The Panthers were led in scoring by Izzy Pugh with 9 points, and Kamy Peppler added 6 points. Four players ended the night with 5 points. Many things were left to be desired offensively from the Panthers. As a team, Milwaukee shot 16-49 (32.7%) from the floor, 5-20 (25%) from behind the arc, and 9-17 (50%) from the charity stripe. The Panthers also coughed the ball up 12 times to the Mastodons and turned it over 23 times in total. The 23 turnovers would result in 31 points for the Mastodons. The Panthers were only able to score 2 points off of 14 Mastodon turnovers.
A balanced scoring attack led the way for the Mastodons. Ross and Emmerson tied for the game-high each with 12 points. Bromenschenkel was right behind them with 11 points, and Schwieterman ended the night with 10 points. Freeman and Jordan Reid each added 9 points. Jazzlyn Linbo (7 REB) led all players in the rebound category, and Bromenschenkel had 6. The Mastodons shot 29-56 (51.8%) from the floor, and a tenth of a percent higher from three (14-27, 51.9%). The Mastodons assisted on 17 of their 29 made baskets, and they won the rebounding battle 34-31.
What’s Next: The Panthers end their regular season at 5-15 in the Horizon League. This will put Milwaukee in last place of the conference. They will travel on Tuesday, March 4 to the 6th seed team for the first round of the Horizon League tournament. The 6th seed team has yet to be finalized, as there is a 3-way tie between Northern Kentucky, Wright State, and IU Indy.
For the Mastodons – oh boy. The Mastodons will wrap up their regular season with a clash between giants for all the marbles. The Mastodons will continue their Wisconsin tour to head to Green Bay to take on the also 18-1 Green Bay Phoenix team. The winner of this game will be Horizon League regular season conference champions, and they will earn the first place seed in the Horizon League tournament. A win for the Mastodons would break their record for most wins in a single season at 24. The record of 23 wins was set last year. A win would also be the Mastodons first ever D-1 regular season conference championship. The season finale between PFW and GB will tip off at 2:00pm ET and will be broadcasted on ESPN+.
