Nov. 19, 2001

MILWAUKEE - A balanced attack led by Jessica Wilhite helped UWM defeat Illinois State, 69-63, Monday night at the Klotsche Center. Wilhite scored a game-high 19 points to help the Panthers (2-0) win their home opener.

"It's a good start at home," Wilhite said. "And also including our win at Northern-it took awhile for us last year to get a win on the road. So to get those out of the way with a couple of wins is a big confidence booster for the season."

Tied at 63 a piece with 42 seconds remaining, UWM got the go-ahead with a layup by sophomore forward Maria Viall. Senior guard Holly Tamm assisted on the basket when she drove the lane and dished it off to Viall for the 65-63 lead. A couple defensive stops down the stretch-including a Viall block-allowed UWM to keep the Redbirds stagnant while Wilhite connected on both trips to the foul line.

"That's Holly's game--to go in there and take it to them," UWM head coach Botham said. "She went in (to the lane), attracted the defenders and then made a great pass for Maria to finish. Then we had some good rotations at the end to make the defensive stops."

After leading 39-30 at the half, Milwaukee missed some shots and turned the ball over to allow Illinois State to catch up. The Redbirds eventually took the lead, 48-47, on a layup by Sophie Tirtiaux with under 11 minutes remaining. The lead switched between the teams for the next four minutes until ISU took a five-point lead with a jumper from Kristy Larson. But a field goal by Viall started a 7-0 run and gave back the reigns to the Panthers, who didn't trail the rest of the way.

"It was big revenge coming into this game," Botham said, referring to the team's season-opening loss to Illinois State last year. "We were pressing and some things weren't going well, and we got a little tight. Against Northern Illinois, we were a lot more loose. But we kept at it and fought hard for the win."

Milwaukee's badgering defense forced 18 turnovers by Illinois State in the first half alone, and 26 overall. But the Panthers shot 39.7 percent on the game compared to the Redbirds' 47.2 percent, and ISU took the 36-23 advantage on the boards.

Though UWM showed strong defense, it missed shots and missed free throws early in the first half to help ISU take a six-point lead. But UWM's offense clicked midway through the half as the Panthers recorded a 13-0 run to stay up until halftime.

"We have a lot of new rotations and new people getting in the game. It's early in the season and we're trying to find ourselves. Going to the NCAA last year, we're the big win for a lot of programs now. Teams are coming out hard against us to win, so it won't be easy."

Joining Wilhite in double figures for UWM were Viall with 14 points, Tamm with 13 and senior forward Stefanie Kaufmann with 12. Kaufmann, Wilhite and Tamm each tallied four assists, while UWM collected 16 on the game. Larson led Illinois State with 16 points and a game-high six rebounds.

The Panthers take to the road this weekend for the Montana State Tournament in Bozeman, Mont. UWM will face Mississippi on Sat., Nov. 24 and Montana State on Sun., Nov. 25. Both games will tip off at 8:05 p.m. central standard time.