Feb. 3, 2001
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MILWAUKEE-Sophomore guard Jessica Wilhite scored 20 points to guide the Panthers (10-9, 6-1) over Butler (7-13, 2-5), 80-61, Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center Arena.
Milwaukee grabbed their fourth consecutive win and second at home while posting an overall winning record for the first time this season.
"We're getting a lot of rotations," said UWM coach Sandy Botham. "Our philosophy now is just to wear teams down. Many of our players are stepping up and giving us a lot of minutes."
UWM showed strong on the post, with three players rotating at the center slot to contribute a total of 28 points. Sophomore Liz Fletcher posted career-highs, giving the Panthers 13 points and eight rebounds in 16 minutes. Freshman center Maria Viall came off the bench to score 14 points and senior Janelle Jonason added six points in just eight minutes as a reserve.
"We're playing with a lot more confidence and it shows in the shots we take," said Botham. "It's great that we have so many rotating in, and we knew that we could just wear them out. And we did that down the stretch."
Butler looked to close in on UWM with about 15 minutes left in the game when center Julie Schrader sank her first-attempted career three-pointer to trail, 45-40. But the Panthers' Wilhite stopped the momentum with a lay-up off a fast break followed by a three-pointer on the next possession. That allowed Milwaukee to reopen the lead to 10 points and keep control of the game. The closest the Bulldogs got after that was eight points, but UWM quickly shut them down with tight defense.
Swiping 13 steals, the Panthers finished with 45 percent shooting from the floor, including 5-of-13 threes. The Bulldogs shot 40 percent, including 3-of-10 from beyond the arc. Milwaukee grabbed the slight advantage on the boards, 32-31, while recording 20 assists and 15 turnovers. Butler made 17 assists while committing 22 turnovers.
The Panthers kept the lead from the very beginning, starting the game on a 7-0 run. Wilhite nailed a three-pointer a minute into the first half, and Fletcher sank a pair of free throws to follow. Wilhite then demonstrated her quickness with a steal on the defensive end, continuing on a fast break with a pull-up jumper at the 17:48 mark.
The Bulldogs pulled to within two baskets when junior forward Kelly Kuhn hit a three-pointer with over three-minutes to go in the first half. But UWM answered with a pair of consecutive jumpers, made by Fletcher and Wilhite respectively. Milwaukee went ahead to take a 39-31 lead into halftime.
Shooting 8-of-17 from the floor, Wilhite recorded three three-pointers to take over second place in the school record books for made-threes in a season. Recording 62 with seven regular-season games remaining, she needs just two more tres to tie Daryl Schaffeld's record of 64.
Senior guard Teri Stoltenberg also moved up in the UWM record books when she sank a three-pointer late in the second half, giving the Panthers the 63-51 lead. She ranks second in career three-pointers with 126. Schaffeld also hold the record in that category with 224 total.
