Jan. 18, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - An upset attempt by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee fell short as Kristy Loiselle hit a running layup with :05 left to propel No. 16 University of Wisconsin-Green Bay to a 61-60 victory in Horizon League women's basketball action here Saturday (Jan. 18). UWM had the ball for the final possession but Jessica Wilhite's half court shot at the buzzer fell short. A season-high 2,713 fans witnessed the Panthers fall to 6-10 overall and 2-4 in conference action while UWGB improves to 15-2 on the year and 6-0 in league play.

"I'm really proud of our effort and we talked about winning hustle plays and for the most part we did that," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "We put ourselves in a position to win versus a Top 25 team but we just couldn't get it done. Our young players really stepped up but we made too many mistakes down the stretch."

The contest between the two longtime rivals was close from start to finish, as the largest lead either team possessed was 10 points. Milwaukee took the lead in the first two minutes, 4-3, on two rebound putbacks by sophomore Kimberly Becker. UWGB jumped ahead 18-12 at the 11:05 mark before the Panthers cut the lead to 18-16 on another Becker putback. Green Bay then scored 10 of the next 12 points to push the lead to ten, 28-18, with 4:03 to go and were on the verge of blowing the game open. However, Milwaukee scored seven of the last nine in the first half to head into the break down five, 30-25.

UWM outrebounded the Phoenix 19-15 in the first half but had trouble handling the ball, leading to 15 turnovers and eight UWGB steals. Milwaukee held the solid shooting Phoenix to 39.4% shooting in the first half while connecting of 44.0% of their own shots.

Milwaukee came out of the second half lockerroom and took just their second lead of the game, and the first since the 18:03 mark, when Jessica Wilhite hit a three-pointer to give UWM a 41-39 cushion with 15:10 remaining in the game. Milwaukee maintained the bulge until the 11:20 mark when UWGB's Tiffany Mor scored seven straight points to give the visitors a 46-43 lead.

The last portion of the game proved to be an intense, see-saw affair as the lead changed hands four times in the last eight minutes. Milwaukee regained the lead, 51-50, at the 7:37 mark when Wilhite drilled her second triple of the game. UWM pushed the lead to three on three different occasions, the last one coming with 1:35 left when Becker made it 60-57 on her ninth field goal of the game.

UWGB's Abby Scharlow scored on a jumper with 1:15 left to cut the lead to one, 60-59, setting the stage for a dramatic final minute. Looking to go ahead by three, UWM's Nichole Drummond was called for an offensive foul with :41 seconds left in the game. Chandra Johnson missed on the other end, leading to a fierce scramble for the ball. With nine seconds left Becker and Green Bay's Elizabeth Dudley both grabbed the ball and UWGB took over on the alternating possession. After two timeouts, Loiselle, who had struggled all night, drove left off a screen and connected for the game-winning bucket.

"Our defense was great that entire possession but they just made a nice shot," noted Becker. "I thought we would shut them down one more time but it just didn't work out."

The two teams were nearly similar statistically, as UWGB shot 46.4% from the floor and hit 5-15 three-pointers while UWM shot 46.3% from the field while connecting on 5-13 from downtown. Milwaukee outrebounded the Phoenix 35-25 on the game but committed four more turnovers, 22-18. Becker had a career-night for the second straight game, as she posted career-bests with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Anne Witte scored a career-best 17 points on 6-9 shooting and three trifectas while Maria Viall added 11 points and nine boards. Johnson led UWGB with 16 points.

Milwaukee will look for its second straight Horizon League road win when it travels to Dayton, Ohio, to face Wright State University on Thursday. The game is set for 6 p.m. CST at the Nutter Center on the WSU campus.