March 4, 2001
DAYTON-UWM's balanced attack led the Panthers to coast to a 74-52 victory over Wright State Sunday afternoon in Dayton, Ohio. The Panthers (16-10, 12-2 MCC) finished to share as co-champions of the MCC regular season title with UW-Green Bay.
Senior Nicole Luchsinger finished to lead the Panthers with 15 points, while freshman Maria Viall added 13 points and junior Holly Tamm added 12.
After leading 39-26 at halftime, the Panthers finished with 45 percent FG shooting and were 4-of-11 from the arc. Wright State shot 41 percent on the game and made just 1-of-9 threes. Milwaukee outrebounded the Raiders, 38-25.
Though the teams shot about the same, the difference came at the line. Milwaukee connected on 26-of-36 free throws, while Wright State made just 7-of-10.
Holly Tamm ignited the Panthers at the start of the game, firing off 10 points in the first six minutes. Tamm gave UWM multiple looks as she scored on a three-pointer, a pull-up jumper, and a three-point play.
Milwaukee built their lead by going on a 12-4 run to lead, 24-13, with about nine minutes to play in the half. The Panthers continued to widen that gap with a balanced attack, taking the 13-point advantage into halftime.
Tamm scored all 12 of her points in the first half on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 3-of-4 at the line. The Panthers shot 50 percent from the field while Wright State shot 42 percent.
Picking up the victory in their last regular season game, UWM finishes at the top of the with UW-Green Bay (12-2 MCC, 20-7 overall). Because both teams split their regular-season game against each other this season, the tie-breaker for the highest seed in the MCC Tournament comes down to individual records against the third-place finisher, Detroit. UWM lost one game against the Titans this season while UWGB swept its series against them, and therefore will finish as the second seed in the tournament.
As the number two seed, Milwaukee will play the opening game in the MCC Tournament on Thursday, March 8, at 1 p.m. The Panthers will either play Butler or Wright State, who both finished at the bottom of the league with a 3-11 record. Since both teams are tied even after the tie-breakers, they will have to flip a coin to take the higher of the two lowest seeds. The Panthers will take-on whichever team wins the toss, and thus the seventh seed.
