Dec. 12, 2004

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MILWAUKEE - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee forced 30 turnovers and used a 14-0 run midway through the second-half en route to a 74-60 non-conference victory over Northwestern University in women's basketball action here Sunday (Dec. 12). UWM outscored the Wildcats by 15 in the second half to improve to 3-5 on the season. With the loss Northwestern falls to 1-7 on the season.

"I thought we were a little tentative in the first half but we settled down in the second half," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "This team wants this so bad I think we pressed some early. But once we got in a rhythm we really played well."

The two teams struggled to find much of a rhythm in a first half marred by turnovers and poor shooting. The Panthers grabbed a five point lead, 20-15, on a pair of Molly O'Brien free throws with 4:50 on the clock before Northwestern mounted a charge. NU cut the lead to one, 24-23, with 51 seconds remaining before a pair of Meghan Klein free throws in the final minute gave the Panthers a three-point cushion. But layups by Ifeoma Okonkwo and Sarah Kwasinski to end the half gave Northwestern a 27-26 halftime lead.

Milwaukee shot just 29.6% from the floor in the first half to 40.9% for NU. Milwaukee hit on three-of-15 from three point line and hurt its chances with 14 first half turnovers. Northwestern committed 15 miscues of its own to go with two three pointers and seven free throws.

The Panthers wasted little time grabbing the lead for good in the early part of the second half thanks to a 5-0 run in the first minute. Teri Huff's layup gave UWM a 28-27 lead before Aubrey Hampton's three-ball pushed the lead to 31-27 at the 19:05 mark.

Northwestern was able to cut the lead to one on two different occasions and then only trailed by three after a Melissa Miller layup with 12:51 to play. However, UWM turned up the defensive intensity and sped up the pace of play en route to a 14-0 run which culminated in a 59-42 lead with 9:27 remaining. Kiley Johnson and Nichole Drummond each hit three-pointers during the stretch while Teri Huff added four points of her own.

The Wildcats were never able to get any closer than 15 the remining of the game until Kwasinksi scored with 10 seconds left in the contest for the final 74-60 margin. Milwaukee shot 44.7% in the second half to Northwestern's 56.0% but UWM forced 15 more turnovers while committing just six of its own. Northwestern turned the ball over 30 times on the day which led to a season-high 16 Panther steals.

Molly O'Brien led all scorers with 16 points on six-of-eight shooting to go with seven rebounds, a game-high four steals and two assists. Drummond added 14 points and seven rebounds while Huff scored 12 points and ripped down a game-high tying eight boards. Suzanne Morrison led Northwestern with 13 points before suffering a knee-injury in the final minute.

Milwaukee will enjoy an extended holiday break before returning to action Dec. 28. The Panthers will play the third of three straight games against Big Ten Conference teams when Iowa comes to the Klotsche Center for a 7:00 p.m. contest.

Game Notes

* UWM is 1-1 versus Big Ten teams this season and will host Iowa on Dec. 28

* Milwaukee has now won eight consecutive regular season home games

* Teri Huff and Nichole Drummond have scored in double figures in seven of the first eight games

* The 14-point win is the largest of the season for Milwaukee

* The Panthers have won each of the last two meetings versus Northwestern