Ft Wayne Times

Suffocating Fourth Quarter Defense Propels Mastodon WBB to League Win Over Milwaukee

Purdue Fort Wayne women's basketball out-scored Milwaukee 25-6 in the fourth quarter on Saturday afternoon (Jan. 14), leading to a 72-62 victory over the Panthers in the Gates Sports Center.

The Mastodons' fourth quarter included a 19-0 run over a 7:32 stretch, which saw Milwaukee miss 13 shots in a row. Purdue Fort Wayne was 4-of-7 from the floor and 8-of-9 from the free throw line in this stretch. Jazzlyn Linbo and Shayla Sellers had five points each in the run.

The 'Dons trailed 60-49 with 8:26 left in the game. Amellia Bromenschenkel hit a pair of free throws then scored a bucket to get the run started. Linbo did the same, but had an and-one tacked on the end of her personal 5-0 run. This brought the 'Dons within one. Then Sellers, who had exited the game earlier for an injury, buried a triple to give the Mastodons their first lead since the 5:47 mark of the first quarter. From there, the 'Dons got a pair of jumpers from Sylare Starks, a free throw from Audra Emmerson and two from Sellers. The 'Dons shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the final period. The Panthers on the other hand were 0-for-7 from beyond the arc in the fourth.

Purdue Fort Wayne finished with just nine turnovers, the fewest against a Division I foe since 2019. This included no turnovers in the fourth quarter.

The 11-point comeback to win was the largest for the program since the 14-point comeback to beat Evansville on December 13, 2019.

Five Mastodons scored in double-figures and all of them were in the starting lineup: Sellers (17), Starks (14), Bromenschenkel (13), Linbo (12) and Emmerson (10). It was the first time that all five starters scored double-digits since November 12, 2017. Emmerson had four assists and no turnovers. Linbo added nine boards, three assists and three blocks. Bromenschenkel and Emmerson added seven and five rebounds, respectively.

After Milwaukee shot 54.8 percent in the first half, the Mastodons held the Panthers to 22.2 percent in the second half, including a 15.0 percent clip in the fourth. The Panthers were led by 21 points from Megan Walstad and 12 from Emma Wittmershaus.

It is the first win for Purdue Fort Wayne over Milwaukee since 2014 and first in the last eight meetings. It is also the first time the 'Dons have ever beaten Milwaukee as Horizon League foes.

Purdue Fort Wayne improves to 6-12 and 3-5 in the Horizon League after snapping a four-game losing streak. Milwaukee falls to 6-10, 4-4. The Mastodons will be back in action on Friday (Jan. 20) when they take on Northern Kentucky at 11 a.m. in Highland Heights.

Original source can be found here.