Dec. 28, 2001
MILWAUKEE - Maria Viall scored a career-high 30 points to lead UWM (5-5) over Saint Mary's, 67-51, Friday night at the Klotsche Center. The sophomore center also grabbed a game and season-high 12 rebounds to record her first double-double of the season.
Junior guard Jessica Wilhite added 15 points and four steals for the Panthers, while senior guard Holly Tamm chipped in eight points and a season-high seven assists. Jerkisha Dosty led Saint Mary's with 19 points and 10 rebounds to record her fourth double-double of the year.
Down by 10 points in the first half, the Panthers came back to trail by three at halftime. UWM took the lead for good early in the second half and gradually broke open to go up, 61-51, with 3:22 to play. The Panthers ended the game scoring the final six points.
"We had a couple days off and then just really came together at practice. We all wanted a big win," Viall said. "Mentally, this probably was my best game. But with me, that has a lot to do with my performance."
Viall scored 14 points in the first half and finished the game shooting 14-of-18 from the field. Dosty led first-half scoring with 15 points, but made just two baskets in the second half.
"We can go outside and inside and just went with whatever worked. If they shut down one, we just go with the other," Viall added. "But working as a team defensively was our goal tonight."
The Panthers forced 18 turnovers from Saint Mary's, who made just 11 assists, while recording 19 assists and 10 turnovers for their best assist-to-turnover ratio of the season. After shooting 30.3 percent in the first half, including 0-of-12 three-point attempts, Milwaukee ended on 40.6 percent from the field. Wilhite scored 13 of her 15 points in the second half and knocked down three treys to help the Panthers improve to a 51.6 field-goal percentage that half. Saint Mary's ended with 35.5 percent from the field and was held to 28.1 percent shooting in the second half.
"We knew (Viall) was a great player coming into the game. But we just flat out didn't do defensively what we should have done," Saint Mary's coach Michelle Jacoby said. "We didn't stop their scorers from scoring and you don't win if you can't stop them from scoring. If you look at the stats, there weren't good shot percentages by either team. But the difference was that they played better defensive-more enthusiastic and more energy throughout the game."
The Panthers came back from a 10-point deficit in the first half when they went on an 8-0 run to trail, 30-27, at the half. Tamm and freshman reserve Teri Huff added free throws while Viall scored on a pair of layups down the stretch.
Three minutes into the second half, UWM took the lead when Wilhite made her first three-pointer of the game to go up, 34-32. Saint Mary's forward Katie Davis made a jumper to tie it up on the next possession, but Tamm quickly scored her own jumper to give the Panthers the lead for good beginning at the 15:37 mark.
Wilhite helped UWM take a 12-point lead with 8:14 remaining in the game after scoring five straight points. She grabbed a defensive rebound and quickly ran the court, finishing off on a pull-up jumper. She nailed her second three-pointer of the game on the next possession, giving Milwaukee the 52-40 advantage.
But UWM's biggest weapon came with Viall's consistency on the post, where she fed the basket with several left-handed hook shots and layups. She leads the team in scoring with 15.5 points per game.
"We knew they would play behind her and we took advantage of those opportunities.," UWM coach Sandy Botham said of Viall's domination inside. "If she stays confident and poised, there's no stopping her."
UWM travels to Chicago State on Dec. 31st to play its final non-conference game of the season. The New Year's Eve match-up tips off at 2 p.m. The Panthers then return back home to host Loyola on Thurs., Jan. 3rd, to open Horizon League play.
