Dec. 2, 2000

BUFFALO-The UWM women's basketball team (0-3) were handed another defeat on the road, this time coming from Mid-American Conference power Buffalo (5-0) in an 81-52 loss on Saturday night in Buffalo, NY.

"It all comes down to we didn't execute the game plan," said UWM coach Sandy Botham. "Part of it is our confidence, but we just did not follow the game plan."

After a great battle in the first half, the Panthers came out flat in the second half to allow Buffalo control of the game. The Bulls built on a seven-point half time lead to open the second half with an 11-2 run. Leading by as many as 29 points in the half, the Bulls got a big lift from senior Mari McClure, who sank 9-of-15 from the field. McClure finished as the game's high-scorer with 18 points.

"We can't count on just offense to win a game. We missed a few shots but then we didn't follow-up on any defense," said Botham. "We didn't hit our open shots, and we did not take care of the basketball."

UWM finished with 29 percent shooting and were 4-of-19 from behind the arc. They committed 23 turnovers and 13 assists, compared to Buffalo's 13-19 ratio, respectively.

Though the Panthers shot 6-of-34 in the second half, they did get some good looks. With 12:12 remaining, Ali Klaas passed it into Janelle Jonason, who stood just outside the paint. Jonason dished it behind her back to a running-on Teri Stoltenberg, who finished with a lay-up to trail, 50-34.

Nicole Luchsinger, who fouled-out later in the game, added back-to-back field goals for the Panthers. She swished a shot off a spin move under the basket following a made-jumper to cut the lead at 66-47. Luchsinger finished with 11 points to lead UWM in scoring.

UWM initially started the game off with a 7-2 run on the Bulls, thanks to a strong presence on the boards. The route began after Maria Viall grabbed a defensive rebound early and continued on the other end with a field goal. Viall rebounded another Buffalo miss, and Teri Stoltenberg buried a three-pointer after Luchsinger grabbed an offensive board. The Bulls' Tiffany Bell converted two free throws before Stoltenberg put in a jumper to finish off the run.

. Buffalo took over the lead with 8:09 remaining off a lay-up, and ended the half with a 37-30 advantage over the Panthers. UWM outrebounded the Bulls, 22-16, in the first half, and 45-40 overall. Stefanie Kaufmann recorded a game-high 11 rebounds in her first start of the season for the Panthers.

Buffalo recently came off a 71-56 romping of Albany at home following victories over Canisius and Niagara. The Bulls opened their season with a win over then No. 22 North Carolina on November 17.

The Panthers return to the Klotsche Center for Tuesday night's regular season home-opener against Northern Illinois. Tip-off begins at 7 p.m.