March 1, 2003

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - On a day when seniors Jessica Wilhite and Antoinette Gregory were honored before the game, it was Wilhite's record-breaking performance that helped lead the way as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team finished the regular season with a 68-55 victory over Butler University here Saturday (Mar. 1).

Wilhite, set the Horizon League record for career three-pointers when she drilled her fifth of the game and 274th of her career with 7:34 left in the game. UWM finished the regular season 15-12 and tied for second in the league with an 11-5 mark. However, the Panthers will head to next week's Horizon League tournament as the No. 3 seed as Illinois-Chicago earned the No. 2 seed by virtue of the league tiebreaker.

"We wanted to finish second in the league so we knew we had to come out and take care of business today," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "We did turn the ball over too much but we've been working so much on defense in practice and I think it has showed."

The game was never in much doubt as Milwaukee stretched an 8-7 lead to 21-9 with 10:29 remaining in the first half thanks to five points by Wilhite and four each by Maria Viall and Teri Huff. Butler got within nine, 21-12, before the Panthers scored six of the next eight points to go up 27-14 on a Viall layin with 5:09 to go. The Bulldogs made a late push in the first half and cut the deficit to ten, 33-23, when Lisa Pryor scored with :14 on the clock.

Milwaukee got a double-double in the first half from Viall, thanks to 14 points and 10 rebounds. The Panthers, who shot 43.3% from the floor in the half, got eight points from Wilhite. Butler struggled shooting the ball from the field, hitting just nine-of-31 shots from the floor for 29.0%. Both teams had a hard time taking care of the ball, combining for 29 first half turnovers.

The Panthers quickly put the game out of reach in the second half, thanks to a 19-6 run. Wilhite keyed the run with 10 points while Viall added six. Sloppy play seemed to be the name of the game late in the second stanza as Butler was able to get to within ten, 61-51 on a Pryor three-ball with 2:17 left. However, Viall finished the game by scoring six of the last eight points, including a jumper at the buzzer, to push the final margin to 68-55.

Viall, a candidate for Horizon League Player of the Year, finished with a season-high tying 28 points to go with 17 rebounds. Wilhite finished with 22 markers on five-of-10 shooting from downtown. Pryor was the only Bulldog to reach double figures as she finished with 14 points.

"Jess was in rhythm today and when she gets off early it really helps her confidence," Botham noted. "She was relaxed and she let the game come to her. It was nice to see her and Antoinette finish their careers with a win like this."

Milwaukee will now head to Green Bay, Wis., for the 2002-03 Horizon League Tournament which begins play on Wednesday. The Panthers, the No. 3 seed, will face Cleveland State University, the six seed, on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Phoenix Sports Center. If UWM wins, it will play in the semifinals on Friday (Mar. 7) versus the winner of the UIC/Detroit contest.