MILWAUKEE – The Columbia women's basketball team battled from behind most of the night and gave Milwaukee a fight until the end before eventually dropping its first game of the season, 78-65, Friday night at the Klotsche Center.
Columbia (2-1) had its last lead at 13-12 in the first quarter. Milwaukee (1-2) scored the opening 11 points of the second to take the game's first decisive advantage but had to fight off several Columbia rallies throughout the contest. The Lions got within four late in the second, fell behind by 13 to start the third and clawed all the way back to 49-46 with 1:42 left before the fourth.
The Panthers regained a seven-point lead heading into the final 10 minutes before knocking down the first seven points of the period on two 3-pointers by Alyssa Fischer. A 3-point play by first-year Sienna Durr gave the Lions one last burst and sliced the margin to eight, 68-60, with five minutes remaining. In the end, Milwaukee held on by making 37 trips to the foul line and earned its first victory of the campaign.
"Milwaukee is a really tough team – they run their stuff really well, they battle and I think they outworked us tonight," Columbia head coach Megan Griffith said. "Bottom line … we had too many possessions late in the clock where we [didn't execute]. It's really tough [to win] when you're playing on the road in someone else's gym and they are hungry for their first win. All the credit to Milwaukee, but we have to turn around quickly so we can get ready for Illinois."
Milwaukee was led by Megan Walsted's game-high 18 points off the bench. She started the game 5-of-5 from the field and finished 3-for-4 from 3-point range. Akaylah Hayes also hit double figures off the bench with 17 as Milwaukee's bench outscored the Lions, 47-16.
Durr, who was playing less than five hours from her hometown of Grinnell, Iowa, scored a team-high 17 points for the Lions on 6-of-9 from the field and 5-of-6 from the charity stripe. She also tallied five boards, an assist and a steal in 28 minutes before fouling out with 2:05 remaining. Fellow first-year Mikayla Markham posted season-highs of 12 points and seven rebounds, shooting 5-of-10 from the floor while adding a game-high four assists. She found Durr in transition on multiple occasions, including a long outlet pass in transition to make it a five-point game late in the second quarter.
Foul trouble tied up the Lions throughout. Aside from Durr fouling out, Markham, junior Janiya Clemmons, and senior Abby Lee all finished with four fouls. Clemmons had three at halftime and had to go to the bench after picking up her fourth in a six-point game with 4:46 left in the third. She finished with seven points and a team-high eight rebounds.
Columbia outshot the Panthers from the field and connected at 42 percent through four quarters. The Panthers made up for it at the free throw line, hitting 25 of their 37 attempts which included 22 trips in the second half. Nine different Panthers went to the stripe and all nine made at least one free throw.
The Lions remain in the Midwest for a Sunday afternoon clash against Illinois. Tip against the Fighting Illini is set for 2 p.m. ET, 1 p.m. CT.
POST-GAME NOTES
- The game marked the first meeting between the two programs since 2004, when they played at the Seattle Times Husky Tournament hosted by Washington.
- Milwaukee's 37 free throw attempts were the most by a Columbia opponent since Binghamton had the same amount on Dec. 10, 2016. Columbia defeated the Bearcats, 75-65.
- Mikayla Markham recorded season-highs in points (12) and rebounds (7).
- All 13 available players on Columbia's roster appeared in the game.
