Dec. 4, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - In a shootout between a pair of 5-8 senior guards, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee sharpshooter Jessica Wilhite won out as her season-best 31 points helped lead the Panthers to a 69-64 non-conference victory over former league foe Northern Illinois University here Wednesday (Dec. 4). Wilhite hit eight three-pointers on the game as UWM held off a late NIU run and 25 second-half points from Kristan Knake to improve to 2-3 on the young season. Meanwhile, with the loss Northern Illinois falls to 2-3 on the year.

"I'm just glad to get the win especially with all that has been on our plate of late," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "We've been on the road a lot and leave again tomorrow morning but we still came out aggressive and playing hard. Jess was the story tonight. She really played well and has been doing a little bit of everything for us. It's nice to see that."

UWM came out firing and grabbed a 28-13 lead at the 10:42 mark in the first half thanks to 12-16 shooting from the field. The 15-point lead, the largest of the night, never got lower than 11 in the first half as the Panthers clicked on all cylinders while NIU struggled to get things going. Milwaukee took a 38-27 lead into the break thanks to 12 points each from Wilhite and junior center Maria Viall. UWM shot 53.6% in the first half and committed only five turnovers while NIU committed seven miscues and connected on only 39.4% of its shots.

The second half turned into an individual dual between Wilhite and Knake as the two players combined for 44 of the game's 68 second half tallies. Milwaukee appeared to put the game out of reach at the 13:38 mark when Wilhite's sixth three-ball of the night pushed the lead to 48-32. The lead remained in double figures until a 10-4 run capped by a Knake layup made it 56-47 with 6:25 remaining in the contest. Wilhite's eighth and final triple pushed UWM's lead back up to twelve, 61-49, at the 5:02 mark before NIU and Knake made one final push.

After the two teams traded baskets, NIU cut the lead to five, 64-59, at the 1:47 mark and then to four, 68-64, with 44 seconds remaining. Knake, who finished with a career-high 29 points, scored 13 of the Huskies' final 15 points in the last 5:32 to make a game of it. However, three Wilhite free throws and a Viall layup helped stave off the NIU charge and push the Panthers to their fourth straight victory over the visitors from DeKalb, Ill.

"As a team we are starting to get a lot more confidence and the Arizona State trip was big for us," Wilhite noted. "I just knew I had to start stepping it up and I think I've done that the last two games. I don't really think about the personal matchups like the one with Knake tonight but they can be fun. When you see her do something on one end you want to go down and do something on your end."

Milwaukee will now hit the road for an extended road trip beginning Friday (Dec. 6) with a 5:00 p.m. contest versus Weber State Univerity at the Kansas State Tournament in Manhattan, Kan. UWM will then play in either the championship or third place game on Saturday (Dec. 7) before continuing on to Nashville, Tenn., for a Tuesday (Dec. 10) game at No. 8 Vanderbilt University.