Feb. 27, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Kimberly Becker scored 27 points off the bench to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to an 83-75 come from behind victory over Wright State University in Horizon League women's basketball action here Thursday (Feb. 27). Nichole Drummond added 17 off the bench for the Panthers, who scored 54 bench points on the night in overcoming a 42-35 halftime deficit. With the win, Milwaukee improves to 14-12 overall and 10-5 in the Horizon League while WSU drops to 11-15 on the year and 8-7 in league play.

"We knew we needed to step it up in the second half and take care of business with the league tournament coming up," Becker said. "I just got some open looks in the second half and our defense played much better. I knew if I was aggressive attacking the basket I would get the ball and take advantage inside."

Things started out slow for the Panthers as Wright State raced out to a 12-4 lead in the games first four minutes, converting four UWM turnovers into layups. Milwaukee rallied to score the next 14 points to go ahead 18-12 on a Teri Huff layup with 10:43 remaining in the half. The lead was shortlived, however, as the hot-shooting Raiders took control the rest of the stanza. WSU scored the next seven points and 17 of the next 23 to grab a 31-24 lead with 4:46 remaining in the first half. Tiffany Webb, the league's leading scorer, notched eight points during the run, en route to 14 first half markers.

UWM got no closer than four, 39-35, before a Rhea Mays trifecta with :51 seconds left gave WSU the 42-35 halftime cushion. The Raiders hit 17-of-30 shots and five-of-eight three-pointers in the first half while forcing 13 Milwaukee turnovers with a full-court zone press. UWM shot 56.0% in the first stanza but hit just one-of-eight from downtown.

Panther head coach Sandy Botham shook things up to start the second half, inserting four new starters in hopes of getting back in the game. The move appeared to be magical as UWM scored the first seven points of the half to tie the game at 42 with 17:42 remaining. Wright State withstood the challenge and grabbed a six-point lead on three different occasions, the last coming on a Kristy Krueger jumper with 11:22 remaining.

"We started a different lineup in the second half because we needed to shake things up, especially on the defensive end," UWM assistant coach Joe Conroy said. "We wanted to put some kids in there who wanted to get after it on defense and they did just that."

Milwaukee turned up the defensive intensity and ran the floor with aggression, leading to a 14-2 scoring run over the next 3:39 to grab its first second half lead, 62-60, on an acrobatic layup by Becker with 8:15 left to play. Becker scored eight points during the spurt, while the UWM defense caused six turnovers.

Wright State cut the lead to two, 66-64, on a Mays three-ball from the corner with 6:19 to play but the inside play of Becker and Maria Viall and the athleticism of Drummond proved too much down the stretch. Becker and Drummond scored the final eight points of the game for UWM, who reached the 80-point mark for just the third time all season.

Milwaukee set a school, single-game field goal percentage record, connecting of 32-of-52 shots, good for 61.5%, breaking the old mark of 61.2% set versus UW-Green Bay on Jan. 23, 1999. Becker, who missed her career-high by one point, also set a single-game record as she hit 10-of-12 shots from the floor for 83.3%. The Panthers shot 66.7% from the floor in the second half while forcing 12 WSU turnovers.

"When Kimberly sets her mind to it, she has so much athleticism and she becomes almost impossible for the other team to stop," Conroy added. "She was aggressive going to the basket and she demanded the ball down the stretch, just what all great post players do."

In addition to Becker's 27-point, eight rebound performance, the freshman Drummond set a career-high in points, connecting of six-of-ten shots to go with a 4-4 showing from the free throw line. Viall also scored in double figures, adding 12 points and a game-best nine rebounds. Webb led Wright State with 31 points while Iesha Gray and Angie Ott added 10 apiece.

UWM will close out the regular season Saturday with Senior Day festivities. The Panthers will play hosts to Butler University in a 12 p.m. start at the Klotsche Center.