Nov. 24, 2001
Bozeman, Mont. -- Jessica Wilhite scored 19 points and Maria Viall added 17, but it wasn't enough as the Panthers fell to the Rebels of Mississippi, 74-57, in Game Two of the GranTree Classic in Bozeman, Montana. Ally Kelly of Ole Miss scored 19 to share game-high honors with Wilhite and lead the Rebels to a perfect 2-0 record and the championship of the GranTree Classic.
The Panthers, who trailed by one at the half, turned cold in the second period and couldn't recover from the hole they found themselves in. UWM had as large as a four point lead in the first half, but found themselves down by double digits for most of the second half.
"They're a very physical team, and the refs let them play," head coach Sandy Botham said. "We didn't adjust to that, and it took us out of our offense."
Both teams opened the game cold from the floor, with Ole Miss missing their first three shots and the Panthers missing their first four. UWM finally broke the ice nearly three minutes into the game on a free throw by Maria Viall.
Ole Miss opened the game hot from beyond the arc, making three of their first four attempts from long range, putting the Panthers down 13-9 early.
With the Panthers down 18-14 with nine minutes to play in the first half, Viall scored a basket and was fouled, which she converted at the free-throw stripe. A traveling violation on the Rebels' Carletta Brown gave the ball back to the Panthers with the chance to take the lead, which they did on a three-pointer by Alison Klaas to put UWM up by two.
Ole Miss took the lead back on a three by Von Kirk, but a Stefanie Kaufmann lay-up put the Panthers back on top. Milwaukee turned the defensive intensity up on the ensuing Rebel possession and forced Mississippi to force a shot as the 30-second clock was running down. After each team traded baskets to bring the score to 25-24 in favor of the Rebels, Jessica Wilhite started to take the game over. Wilhite banked in a three point shot from the right of the key, then followed up with a lay-up on an outlet pass from Klaas, who grabbed a long rebound on a Rebel miss to put Milwaukee up by four with three minutes to play.
With 1:45 to play, Tywanna Inmon of Mississippi went down with an injury, allowing the Panthers to regroup as their lead shrank to just two. A three by Ole Miss put the Rebels back on top, where they would remain for the rest of the half as they took a 32-31 lead into the break.
Both teams ended up shooting well in the first half despite the cold starts, as UWM shot 50 percent, while the Rebels shot 45 percent. Neither team attempted many free throws in the opening period, as the Panthers were two-for-three and Mississippi was one-of-two. Viall attempted the Panthers' only free throws in the first half. The Panthers were on the opposite end of their trends early in the season, as they out-rebounded Ole Miss by two, 16-14, but also turned the ball over 12 times compared to the Rebels' nine.
The Panthers opened the second half by going inside to Viall, who sank her first attempt and was fouled her second time. Viall made her second shot from the charity stripe, but Mississippi freshman Ally Kelly opened the second half on fire, hitting a pair of threes to put Ole Miss up by four. Kaufmann attempted a lay-up, but was hammered on her attempt. Kaufmann hit one of two and grabbed the ensuing rebound on Mississippi's trip down the floor to bring UWM to within one, 40-39, at the first media timeout of the half.
Ole Miss then went to work on the offensive glass, grabbing three offensive rebounds on the next three possessions to put the Rebels up by five. Another three-pointer by Ally Kelly put Ole Miss up by eight, forcing the Panthers to call timeout. That spelled the beginning of the end for Milwaukee, as the Panthers would go the next eight minutes without a field goal.
"We try to break out of those cold spells by getting to the foul line, and by getting some easy baskets," Botham said. "We try to do it with hustle points, but we just couldn't get anything to drop."
Ole Miss then scored ten of the next twelve as the Panthers went ice-cold, including three-pointers by Ally Kelly and Kayla Madewell. A three by Christine Gutierrez broke the cold spell and drew UWM to within 13. After a miss by Kaufmann, Willoughby grabbed the rebound and fed Wilhite for her third three of the game to bring UWM down to 10. A traveling call on Ole Miss gave UWM the chance to draw to single digits, but Wilhite's three rattled out. A foul on the opposite end gave Ole Miss two free throws, which they converted to push the lead back up to 12 with 7:26 left to play.
"We just couldn't get stops," Botham said. "They shot exceptionally well from three-point range (57.1 percent for the game), and we just couldn't connect. Normally, with our offense, when you hit a couple of shots, it makes the defense stronger, but we just couldn't get the ball in the basket."
UWM came out of the media timeout and attacked the basket, with Wilhite getting fouled on a drive along the baseline. She dropped in both freebies to bring the lead to ten. Willoughby drew a foul on the next Mississippi possession. A Panther turnover gave the ball back to Ole Miss, who got a three from Inmon. Wilhite hit a two on the next possession, but the Rebels countered with a two of their own by Saundra Jackson.
Holly Tamm got fouled on a drive to the basket and sunk both foul shots to bring the lead to 11 with five and a half to play. After Ole Miss countered with a basket, Kaufmann was fouled setting a screen, sending her to the line. Kaufmann missed the front end of the one-and-one, but grabbed the rebound on the defensive end. After Wilhite hit a lay-up to draw the game back to 11 at 66-55, UWM called a quick timeout.
The Panthers came out of the timeout with renewed intensity on defense, forcing the Rebels to throw the ball away. Kaufmann missed the shot on offense, but Klass forced a five second call. However, the Panthers continued to be cold from the floor, as they missed their next seven shots as the lead grew to 14.
A free throw by Holly Tamm drew the score to 69-56, but that was as close as the Panthers could get the rest of the way. After a pair of Ole Miss free throws, Gutierrez sank a free throw to bring the margin to 14. Ole Miss' Kayla Madewell sank a three-pointer at the buzzer to push the final margin to 74-57.
"It was a good game, it's the type of game we need to play if we're going to reach the next level," Botham said. "These are the types of teams we're going to have to compete with."
The Panthers return to action tomorrow night as they take on the host Montana State. Game time is 7 p.m. CST.
