Maurika Hickman returned to the floor Wednesday with six points and an assist.
|
|
Panthers Look For Third-Straight Win At NIU Saturday
Milwaukee returns to the road for start of three-game road trip
Game #5 • Nov. 29 • 2 p.m.
Milwaukee @ Northern Illinois
Convocation Center (9,100) • DeKalb, Ill.
Internet: Live Stats, Audio
Radio: AM 920 The Wolf (Scott Warras)
TV: None
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 28, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team returns to the road for the first of three games away from the Klotsche Center Saturday in DeKalb, Ill. The Panthers will be in the search of a third-straight win when they take on Northern Illinois at 2 p.m. at the Convocation Center.
How's It Going...
Milwaukee has won its last two games to even its record at 2-2 on the season. Their last time out, the Panthers overcame 33 turnovers to hand SIU Edwardsville an 88-65 defeat at the Klotsche Center in their home opener.
Up Next
UWM continues life on the road, heading to Madison to take on Wisconsin Tuesday, Dec. 2, at 6 p.m. The Panthers then head to Washington State, before four-straight games in Milwaukee close out 2008.
About The Huskies
Northern Illinois has alternated wins and losses to start the season and sists at 2-3 on the year. The Huskies fell to Bradley, 77-62, their last time out. Ebony Ellis leads the team by averaging a double-double of 12.2 points and 11.0 rebounds. Jessie Wilcox is also scoring in double-figures, chipping in 10.2 points off the bench.
Series History
Milwaukee trails its all-time series with Northern Illinois, 10-6, while the Panthers have won five of the last six meetings. The former conference foes in the days of the Mid-Continent and MCC, NIU won nien of the first 10 meetings in the series before UWM won five-straight from 1997-2002.
Last Time Out: UWM 88, SIUE 65
The Panthers shot 53.4 percent from the field and forged a +31 rebounding advantage to overcome 33 turnovers and run past SIU Edwardsville, 88-65, Wednesday evening at the Klotsche Center. UWM trailed 39-34 at the half, but used a decisive 22-2 run in the second half to take the lead and never looked back. All told, it outscored the Cougars 54-26 in the second half to run away with the win.
Approaching 200
Sandy Botham is closing in on her 200th win as head coach at UWM, picking up win No. 199 Wednesday. Only one other coach in team history has eclipsed 200 wins, with M.A. Kelling winning a school-record 284 games in her career. In 12-plus years at the helm of the Panther program, Botham has compiled a 199-151 record. In her 13-year coaching career, including one season at Beloit, she has a mark of 221-155.
Cleaning The Glass
Milwaukee had been outrebounded in each of its first three games of the season, the first time UWM was outrebounded in back-to-back games since Feb. 15-27, 2007. In fact, the last time the team was outrebounded in three-straight games was the final two games of 2004-05 and the first of 2005-06. Well, the Panthers rebounded (pun intended) dramatically against SIU Edwardsville. They pulled down 58 rebounds and had a +33 rebounding margin. The 58 rebounds are tied for the fifth-most in school history, while the rebounding margin is two off the school record and is tied for second all-time.
Turning Things Around
UWM entered Wednesday's game with SIUE shooting 32 percent from the field on the season. The team turned that around with a season-best 53.4 percent shooitng performance. The Panthers were also able to turn things around in-game, as they ovcercame 22 first-half turnovers for just 11 second-half miscues against a pesky Cougar defense. With the team shooting that well, the change was dramatic, as Milwaukee scored 54 points after halftime to erase a five-point halftime deficit. The Panthers entered the season averaging just 54.7 points per game.
Get Out Of Here!
The Panthers size was not limited to after the ball missed the basket. They also stopped the ball from getting to the hoop with nine blocked shots. That figure is tied for second in school history and two off the school record. Individually, seniors Traci Edwards and Turquoise McCain each blocked three shots, while sophomore Stephanie Schell and freshman Danielle Jorgenson got into the act with their first career blocks.
Filling Out The Stat Line
Sophomore Jineen Williams had an all-around career day Wednesday against SIUE. She scored a career-high 14 points and tied career-highs with seven rebounds and six assists.
Stop Thief!
Junior Jodie McClain has emerged as a stopper on defense for the Panthers. Over the last two games, she has collected seven steals, or half of the team's 14 steals. At Air Force Nov. 22, the Ohio native collected a career-high four steals to help UWM to its first win of the season. Then, Wednesday, she picked up three steals to key Milwaukee's comeback victory against SIUE. This season, she has a team-high 10 steals in four games.
Double The Fun
Traci Edwards picked up her first double-double of the season with 20 points and 12 rebounds against SIU Edwardsville. Though it took four games, you knew it wouldn't take too long for her to get her first of the season. The feat was the 45th of her career, nine more than any other player in school history. She also had her already school-record 44th career 20-point game and 48th double-digit rebounding game of her career. She also reached double-figures in points for the 90th time in 96 career games, eight back of Maria Viall's school record (98).
Out Of The Lineup
The Panthers are down some numbers this season, dressing 13 of their 16 players for Wednesday's game. Most noticeably, senior Jody Crumble is out indefinitely with a knee injury she suffered in the season-opener. Junior Danae Russell also continues to recover from an injury and has yet to dress this season. Meanwhile, sophomore Ashley Imperiale remains inactive for Milwaukee due to NCAA transfer rules. She will be eligible to dress after the fall semester. But, sophomore Maurika Hickman made a triumphant return to the lineup Wednesday, dressing for the first time this season, tallying six points and an assist in 10 minutes.
All-Tournament Honors
Traci Edwards finished the season-opening Wolfpack Invitational averaging 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and was named to the all-tournament team. She was previously named the tournament MVP at the only other in-season tournament of her career, the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic in 2006.
Panthers Third In Preseason Poll
Milwaukee was picked third in the Horizon League preseason poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media. The Panthers received two first-place votes and tallied 240 points, just one point back of second-place Wright State (241 points), which garnered one first-place vote. Two-time defending regular season champion Green Bay topped the list with 24 first-place votes and 284 total points.
More Preseason Picks
Senior Traci Edwards was selected as the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight season. As a junior, she led the league with 20.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and became the fourth UWM league player of the year. She is looking to become just the second player in league history to be named to the all-league first team four times.
Chasing Records
Senior Traci Edwards has spent much of her career breaking a number of school records, but she is on the verge of her biggest yet. She has scored 1,831 career points, just 36 shy of Maria Viall's career school scoring record (1,867). Edwards passed Jaci Clark (1,830) Wednesday for second all-time in school history and now trails just Viall. She is also on pace to become the first Panther in school history, male or female, to crack the 2,000-point plateau. Also in her sights is Viall's Division I rebounding record of 971. Edwards has 925 career boards after four games this season and will likely join Clark as the only 1,000-point/1,000-rebound women in school history. According to the latest released reports, only 124 women's players in NCAA history, in any division, have reached the milestone. She would also be the first from a Horizon League or Wisconsin school to do so.
More Elite Company
Edwards has the chance to put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive career, even with an "average" season by her standards. Along with chasing various hallowed school records, she also broke the league record for career free throws last Saturday and is also in range of the league marks for career scoring (2,018) and even player of the week awards (9). She already holds the school free throw mark for a career and now has 544. She has also been named the player of the week seven times.
More Than Just Numbers
Last season, Traci Edwards became the first player in league history to lead the league in scoring and rebounding in the same season twice, as well as the second to lead the league in rebounding three times and scoring in back-to-back seasons. In 2008-09, she will look to join some similar groups as she is looking to become the first league player to lead the league in scoring three times or rebounding four times in a career. Edwards will also be shooting for a fourth-straight all-league first team honor, which only one player has ever done, as well as a repeat league player of the year award, something only four players have done. She has also been named to the league's all-tournament team three times, while only one player has ever done it four times.
Back In Black & Gold
The Panthers will have the luxury of a wealth of experience this season, as 12 letterwinners return. Heading the list is senior Traci Edwards, the 2008 Horizon League Player of the Year. Three more seniors are back, including Turquoise McCain, a league all-defensive team selection last season, Katie Fournier, Jody Crumble and Markita Barnes. The Panthers' five-player senior class is the largest senior class in the team's Division I history. The squad also boasts two juniors, including returning starter Jodie McClain, and five sophomores, four of which saw extended minutes throughout the season and three that started games.
But What That Means...
Milwaukee's 12 returning players accounted for 81 percent of its scoring last season, a figure that includes eight of the team's top nine scorers. On the glass, even a larger percentage will be back in 2008-09, as 83.4 percent of UWM's rebounds are also back. If that weren't enough, the experience level of the team has also risen. Returning players have combined for 486 games played in a Panther uniform, including 240 starts. That is a rather sizable increase over last season's already impressive numbers (362 games/177 starts).
Welcome To Milwaukee
With 12 letterwinners returning from last season, there is little room for new faces. But, head coach Sandy Botham and her staff have added three players for the upcoming season including freshman post players Danielle Jorgenson and Amanda Viehauser. Ashley Imperiale also joined the team as a transfer, most recently from UW-LaCrosse. Jorgenson is 6-foot-3 and hails from La Crosse, Wis., where she was an all-state first-team selection and two-time area player of the year. Viehauser hails from Minneapolis, Minn., and was all-state honorable mention twice. Meanwhile, Imperiale is a 5-foot-11 guard out of nearby Greendale, Wis. She transferred to UWM after the fall semester last season from UW-La Crosse. Imperiale should be eligible after the fall semester and have sophomore eligibility.
Home Sweet Home
The Klotsche Center remains a difficult place for visiting teams to succeed. In 12 years under Sandy Botham, the Panthers are 106-49 at home. The Panthers went 9-7 at home last season and are just two seasons removed from a school-record 13-3 home campaign in 2005-06. In league play, those numbers are even better as Milwaukee boasts a 74-19 home record. That number has gotten a boost lately, as the Panthers have won 59 of their last 71 home league games over the last nine seasons. UWM has also posted three perfect home league years, going 8-0 in 2003-04 and 7-0 in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
League Success
The Panthers are looking to continue a strong tradition of success in the Horizon League in 2008-09. Milwaukee has finished second-or-better in the league standings in eight of the last nine seasons and are 104-37 in league games since 1999-2000. UWM has won league titles in 2001 and 2006.
Panthers On The Air
For the second-straight season, every Panther game will be carried live on AM920 WOKY. The station is also be the home of the Sandy Botham Radio Show, while both the show and every game will be available live at uwmpanthers.com. Scott Warras returns for his third season as the voice of UWM women's basketball and the host of the Sandy Botham Radio show.
Be Sure To Watch
Seven Panther games will be televised this season, starting with their Dec. 2 game at Wisconsin. That game will be on the Big Ten Network, while six more games will be carried live on Time Warner Cable "Sports 32" and then be replayed on the station afterwards. Home games with Illinois (Dec. 10), Green Bay (Jan. 4), Valparaiso (Jan. 29), Cleveland State (Feb. 5) and Loyola (Feb. 19) will be televised as part of UWM's package. The team's Dec. 31 game at Marquette will also be on Sports 32 as an MU broadcast. Also, every league game will be available to watch online through the Horizon League Network (www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv). Sports 32 is the home of the Sandy Botham TV show, which can be first seen every Thursday at 5 p.m.
|
