Jan. 16, 2001

MILWAUKEE--The UWM women's basketball team suffered a heartbreaking loss after Wisconsin senior LaTonya Sims's made free-throw with 11 seconds remaining in the game gave the Badgers the edge, 60-59. Playing in front of a season-high 2,102 fans, the Panthers drop to 6-8 while UW moves to 9-6 on the season.

"I'm so proud of our team," said UWM coach Sandy Botham. "We played with such heart and fought so hard throughout the game. It hurts to lose."

The Panthers trailed 56-59 when senior guard Teri Stoltenberg buried a three-pointer to tie it up with 23 seconds remaining in the game. Wisconsin missed a lay-up on its next possession, but Sims was fouled on the rebound. She missed her first free-throw at the line, but swished her second one for what turned out to be the game-winner.

UWM inbounded with two seconds remaining, but couldn't keep control of the ball as Sims came up with the steal to end the game.

"A shot here, a shot there, a free-throw here, a free-throw there. I'll be going over it a million times in my head tonight," said Botham. "But it basically comes down to making the shots down the stretch."

The Panthers took the lead in the second half, 39-38, when senior Nicole Luchsinger drove to the hoop for a lay-up. Down 46-43 with under nine minutes to play, Luchsinger sank a three-pointer from the top of the key to tie the score. The Badgers then built an eight-point advantage, but the Panthers came back again when Luchsinger stole the ball and helped Stoltenberg record her first three-pointer of the night.

Junior Holly Tamm penetrated the Badger defense with a lay-up, and Luchsinger added a tre to close in at 54-57. Wisconsin added a pair of free throws, but senior Janelle Jonason put it in off the glass to trail again by three points before Stoltenberg tied it up at 59 a piece.

Luchsinger led the Panthers with 12 points on 5-of-7 from the field and 2-of-2 from three-point range. Freshman Maria Viall contributed 10 points off the bench, while sophomore Jess Wilhite tallied eight points and a game-high 10 rebounds. Junior forward Jessie Stompski led the Badgers with 16 points.

UW finished with 49 percent FG shooting and were 1-of-9 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee finished with 35.5 percent from the field and made 9-of-24 three-pointers. UWM made 6-of-8 from the line while the Badgers made 50 percent of their free throws on 7-of-14. UWM took the advantage in rebounds, 32-28, while grabbing 16 offensive boards to UW's seven. Wisconsin recorded eight blocks and 15 steals, while Milwaukee tallied 3 and 11, respectively.

Wisconsin opened the game scoring the first 11 points, but Tamm and junior Allison Klaas came off the bench to lead the Panthers on a 12-2 run. After missing her first seven attempts, Wilhite nailed consecutive three-pointers to take the lead from the Badgers for the first time at 18-17 with 8:12 left in the first half.

Both teams exchanged the lead over the remainder of the half, but Wisconsin ended with the slight advantage, 30-27. The teams recorded 16 rebounds a piece at halftime, but Milwaukee had a positive assist-turnover ratio of 9-8 compared to the Badgers' 7-13. Wisconsin shot 56 percent from the field while UWM recorded a 31 FG percentage.

The Panthers take-on another in-state rival as they travel to UW-Green Bay for a Saturday MCC showdown. Tip-off has been rescheduled to 7 p.m.