Feb. 10, 2001
MILWAUKEE--Freshman center Maria Viall scored a game-high 24 points to lead UWM (11-10, 7-2) over Cleveland State (12-10, 5-4), Saturday night at Goodman Arena. With the 83-75 win, the Panthers split the week's games on the road while stopping Cleveland State's four game winning streak.
"Resilience," said UWM coach Sandy Botham. "We showed great character tonight, and that has been our team all year. But the difference with this game is we had tremendous focus coming in. We had a lot of enthusiasm and we were on a mission. To come back after the loss to Detroit is great character."
UWM took control after Viall scored on a three-point play, which gave the Panthers momentum and the 57-55 lead. Milwaukee gradually pulled away from Cleveland, building on a 13-5 run over the next six minutes. Viall's layup with 2:12 left in game gave the Panthers a 12-point advantage at 77-65. The Vikings stayed with it, but would get no closer than seven points down the stretch.
"They had no answer to Maria, they just couldn't stop her," said Botham. "She was the difference in the game."
Senior Nicole Luchsinger had a career night for the Panthers, recording 19 points and 14 rebounds. She posted her first career double-double, while grabbing a career and game-high on the boards. Her 19 points, on 4-of-6 shooting from the floor and 11-of-12 from the line, also tied a career high.
"We had a lot of energy in the game," said Luchsinger. "We know we are better than how we played against Detroit, and we had to prove it tonight."
The Panthers led a 9-2 run to open up the second half, but the Vikings followed with an 11-4 run of their own to trail, 50-48. Cleveland briefly stole the lead after sinking a three-pointer on the next possession, but Milwaukee stayed close to take back the lead for good with nine minutes remaining after Viall's layup and made free throw.
Both teams shot fairly even from the floor, with UWM making 25-of-64 and Cleveland State making 26-of-68. The Panthers built the advantage at the line, converting 31-of-39 free throws while the Vikings made 16-of-23. Milwaukee also got up on the boards, outrebounding Cleveland 49-39.
The first half rode like a roller coaster, as Cleveland opened scoring the first seven points followed by Milwaukee's dominating 14-0 run. The Vikings steadily came back and grabbed the 34-33 lead on a pair of free throws with two minutes remaining. Junior forward Stefanie Kaufmann quick answered for the Panthers, scoring on a turn-around jumper from Wilhite's assist and sinking two free throws. The Vikings got the last say when Shannon Sword hit a three-pointer to tie it, 37-37, heading into the locker room.
Kaufmann finished with eight points and three assists in 12 minutes of action for UWM, while senior Teri Stoltenberg was the other Panther to figure in double-digits, adding 10 points.
UWM returns back to the Klotsche Center as they host league-leading UW-Green Bay on Saturday, Feb. 27, at 2 p.m. UWM is one game behind the Phoenix, as UWGB already beat the Panthers earlier this season in Green Bay.
