Feb. 21, 2001

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MILWAUKEE - The UWM women's basketball team built an 18-point first half lead, then held off two small Loyola rallies to claim an 82-68 victory Wednesday night at the Klotsche Center.

With the win, the Panthers (13-10, 9-2 MCC) move one-half game ahead of UW-Green Bay in the MCC standings. The Phoenix host Illinois-Chicago Thursday night.

Jessica Wilhite scored 17 points to lead four Panthers in double figures. UWM forced 29 turnovers, and grabbed 16 offensive rebounds.

"We played good defense," senior Teri Stoltenberg said. "We knew what they wanted to do. A lot of their offense depends on penetration, and we stepped in and took charges."

"That was our intention, to have our defense create some offense," coach Sandy Botham said. "That was when we made some of our great runs, when we stepped up that defense."

Loyola trimmed an 18-point UWM advantage down to seven early in the second half, pulling within 44-37. But the Panthers responded with a 19-5 burst, pulling ahead 63-42. Loyola could get no closer than nine the rest of the way.

"We're trying to become a better team," Botham said. "Building that consistency is going to be such a key down the stretch."

UWM (13-10, 9-2 MCC) took control of the game with a stellar first-half defensive performance, as the Panthers forced 20 Loyola turnovers in claiming a 36-18 advantage. The Ramblers (10-15, 4-8 MCC) closed to within 39-29 at halftime before their second-half run.

The Panthers also avoided a letdown following their big win over Green Bay on Saturday.

"We all understand that it's hard to get to the top, but it's just as hard to stay at the top," Stoltenberg said. "Everyone is shooting for us."

Allison Klaas added 16 points off the bench for the Panthers, while Maria Viall pitched-in with 14 points and Janelle Jonason scored 10.

UWM closes out its home schedule Saturday night, entertaining Illinois-Chicago. Tipoff at the Klotsche Center is set for 7 p.m. The Panthers then wrap-up the regular season March 1 at Butler and March 4 at Wright State.