Dec. 6, 2002

Box Score

MANHATTAN, KAN - The rims at Bramlage Coliseum were not kind to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team as the Panthers shot just 34.5% from the field in dropping the opening game of the Commerce Bank/KSU Classic 56-49 to Weber State University here Friday (Dec. 6). Milwaukee, who falls to 2-4 on the year, forced 18 Wildcat turnovers and outrebounded WSU 34-32 but struggled to score all game long. With the win, Weber State improves to 2-2 on the season.

Both teams came out ice-cold as Weber State held a 10-4 lead at the 15:15 mark and then just a 12-6 edge with 11:44 remaining. UWM cut the lead to four, 22-18, at the 3:48 mark in the first half on a Molly O'Brien three pointer but could get no closer the rest of the half or the game. UWM hit just nine of 26 first half shots while Weber State connected on 13 of its 26 tries for 50 percent. Both teams played strong defense in the frame but the experienced Wildcats were able to score four different times with the 30 second shot clock down to one second.

Milwaukee appeared to turn things around in the early part of the first half, hitting on four of its first five attempts from the field. The Panthers cut the Wildcat lead to five, 35-30, at the 14:30 mark when Maria Viall scored on a layup, her last bucket of the game. However, WSU hit another clutch bucket on the other end when Sheila Robertson drilled her third three-pointer of the game with four on the shot clock to push the lead back to eight.

Weber State enjoyed as much as a 15-point lead in the waning stages of the second half before UWM turned up the defensive pressure and cut the lead down in the final minutes. The Panthers forced six WSU turnovers in the last three minutes of the game and eventually cut the lead to six, 55-49, when Kimberly Becker scored her fifth consecutive point. Unfortunately for UWM the comeback proved to be too little, too late and the missed opportunities too frequent.

Maria Viall led Milwaukee with 18 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, but only connected on six of 19 shots from the field. Jessica Wilhite added nine points on the afternoon but she too struggled from the field, going 4-13 overall, 1-6 from three point land, and 0-2 from the charity stripe. Julie Gjertsen was the only WSU player to reach double-figures as she tied Viall for game-high scoring honors with 18 tallies.

UWM will play Saturday (Dec. 7) at 2:30 p.m. in the tournament consolation game versus the loser of the Kansas State-Middle Tennessee State contest.