Jan. 19, 2002
MILWAUKEE-Five players scored in double figures to lead UWM (12-5, 6-0 Horizon) to its eighth-straight victory
with a 102-71 win over Detroit (7-9, 3-3) Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers recorded the
second-highest point total in school history since going Division I, while also grabbing their 20th-consecutive win over a
league foe at home.
Maria Viall paced UWM with 25 points, while Holly Tamm scored 16 and Jessica Wilhite added 12. Off the bench,
Kimberly Becker chipped in 12 points and Angela Wenzel added 11. Randee Henry led Detroit with 23 points, while
Michelle James and Sara Crum tallied 11 each.
"We just have so many weapons," Botham said. "We're so hard to defend because if they try to take someone away,
we have so many others who can step up. It's that balance and depth that has led us and made the difference."
Milwaukee took over from the start and built a significant margin with an 18-0 run early in the first half. The Panthers
carried the 42-23 score into halftime, and came out even hotter in the second half to record the 31-point victory. The
Panthers finished with 51.7 percent shooting, their highest of the season. UWM also put together its best presence at the
line, connecting on a season-high 30-of-34 free throws.
"We played a great game," UWM coach Sandy Botham said. "I'm so pleased with our team's effort. I think we played
one of the best games I've ever seen here. I never felt that we let up today. We've talked about playing 40 minutes of
basketball, and for the first time I didn't see us have any lulls."
Tamm's hot shooting early on helped Milwaukee break open the game. She scored 10 points in the first six minutes of
the game to give UWM the 14-4 lead, and led the team with 12 at the half. She finished shooting 6-of-8 from the field,
including 2-of-2 from the arc and 2-of-2 at the line.
"I'm not surprised that Detroit collapsed on Maria, she has such a presence inside," Tamm said. "But she did a good
job of passing it out, and I ended up hitting some open shots."
Viall had nine points in the first half before exploding with 16 in the second half, finishing with 8-of-11 from the field and
9-of-11 from the line.
Stephanie Kaufmann was huge on the boards early, grabbing nine rebounds in the first seven minutes. The Panthers
finished with the 34-27 rebounding. Milwaukee recorded a season-high 23 assists and committed just 13 turnovers,
while forcing Detroit to turn over the ball 21 times. The Titans shot just 29.4 percent in the first half, but finished with
41.5 percent. They connected on 11-of-13 from the line.
Leading 88-63 with 6:24 left in the game, UWM's bench helped push the Panthers past the 100-point mark for the first
time since 1996. Becker scored six points off of free throws down the stretch, while Teri Huff's three-point play gave
UWM the 102-point total.
The highest score UWM has ever posted in Division I is 104 points, while the last time it reached 100 points was on
Feb. 17, 1996, in a 101-99 overtime win against Cleveland State. The Panthers scored 59 points in the second half, the
largest amount in one half in school history. The previous record was 55 points in a half, set during the 1990-91 season.
UWM hosts Butler on Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers already beat Butler this season, but
hope to extends its current winning streak and winning streak at home in the league.
