DeKalb, Ill. (Nov. 16) - The UWM women's basketball team opened their season with a 60-52 win over the host Huskies of Northern Illinois on Friday night.

Jessica Wilhite led all scorers with 20 points on 5-for-14 shooting, including 3-of-8 from three-point range. Stefanie Kaufmann chipped in 11 and Holly Tamm added 10 for the Panthers. Kristan Knake had 18 to lead the Huskies.

The Panthers used a tenacious pressing defense to force several Husky turnovers early in the game and jumped out to a 14-6 advantage. Early foul trouble, mostly on the offensive end of the floor, also helped to put Northern Illinois deep into a hole they could not recover from.

"We kept our composure well," head coach Sandy Botham said. "The first game, on the road, it's critical that we kept our composure, and that was the difference."

"We made them struggle, especially with the press," Stefanie Kaufmann said. "Everyone did their part."

Milwaukee held the Huskies to just .320 percent from the field in the first half and led by as many as 11 on their way to a 28-21 halftime lead. UWM also forced NIU into committing 12 turnovers, while grabbing six steals. Jessica Wilhite led all scorers at the break with 10 points. Wilhite also had a team-high five rebounds at the intermission.

Northern Illinois outscored the Panthers in the paint during the first stanza, due mostly in part to center Maria Viall being saddled with two fouls for most of the first half and picking up her third a minute into the second half. Freshmen Kimberly Becker and Jennie Kollberg played well in relief of Viall, with Becker pulling down four rebounds in the first half. Becker led the team with seven boards on the game.

UWM opened up a ten-point lead early in the second half, but NIU went on a run with 12 minutes left in the game and managed to draw within five. A Stefanie Kaufmann layup with 10:30 to play put UWM back up by seven, and the lead was never threatened again.

The two teams traded baskets until a steal by Viall with 6:30 left to play led to a three-pointer by Wilhite to push the lead to 12, the Panthers' largest lead to that point. The Panthers eventually led by as many as 16 in the second half before a Northern Illinois run at the end of the game brought the final margin to eight.

For the game, UWM forced 22 Husky turnovers and picked 12 steals. The Panthers shot just 40.8 percent from the floor, but managed to hold Northern Illinois to 34.6 percent.

The Panthers return to action at 7 p.m. on Mon., Nov. 19, to take on Illinois State at the Klotsche Center.