Feb. 14, 2002
Cleveland, Ohio - The Panthers (18-6, 12-1 Horizon) took control in the second half in a tight game against Cleveland State (11-13, 5-8 Horizon), holding them off to win, 65-61, Thursday night at Goodman Arena. Maria Viall scored 20 points and Jessica Wilhite added 16, while Holly Tamm pulled down a career-high 14 rebounds for UWM.
UWM's 13 turnovers and soft defense contributed to an eight-point deficit at the half. The Panthers raised their intensity in the second half, and crashed the boards to record 22 on the half and the 38-33 advantage overall. Tamm pulled down nine of her 14 boards in the second half, while also finishing near a triple double with nine points and eight assists.
"It's a big road win for us-Cleveland State came out strong," UWM coach Sandy Botham said. "They outhustled us and we were back on our heels in the first half. We were impatient and rushed our shots, missing some early ones kept us a little tight. Then we came out the second half with much more passion, and the tide turned. We were more aggressive and created much more offensively with offensive boards. Defensively, we definitely turned it up."
Wilhite buried three three pointers in a one and a half-minute span to give UWM the lead for good midway in the second half. The Panthers had trailed by a few baskets in the first half, but kept it close until taking control. The Vikings remained in UWM's shadows the rest of the game and looked dangerous after a three pointer cut their deficit to three points with 36 seconds in the game. But Milwaukee kept calm and Wilhite made a free throw at the end to keep the four-point edge.
Wilhite was 5-of-9 from behind the arc, while Angela Wenzel was the only other Panther to hit a trey. Wenzel finished with 11 points in 18 minutes off the bench. The Vikings made 10-of-24 three pointers on the game. The Panthers shot 42.6 percent from the field and Cleveland State finished with 38.2 percent, though CSU shot 42 percent in the first half and UWM shot 38 percent. Milwaukee finished with 20 turnovers and 20 assists, while CSU made 13 assists and 20 turnovers.
"I thought we were playing not to lose in the first half and then we played to win in the second half," Botham said.
Cleveland took the lead in the first half after Shannon Sword hit consecutive three pointers with 15 minutes left. Nikki Perkins's three capped off the 11-0 run that gave the Vikings the 15-7 lead. Seven straight points helped UWM stay close to the Vikings, and both teams exchanged the lead over the next five minutes.
The Panthers led 24-23 after Allison Klaas made a jumper with 3 minutes to go, but four consecutive field goals, including three from behind the arc, gave CSU a 10-point lead in a two-minute span. Malika Willoughby scored on a fast break down the stretch to trail Cleveland State, 34-26.
Milwaukee continues its road swing, traveling to Detroit for Saturday's game at 1 p.m. cst.
