Jan. 20, 2005

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Teri Huff scored a game-high 20 points and Molly O'Brien flirted with a triple-double as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team defeated Wright State University 69-58 in Horizon League women's action here Thursday (Jan. 20). UWM outscored Wright State 42-30 in the second half to overcome a one-point halftime deficit. Milwaukee improves to 7-9 overall and jumps ahead of the Raiders into second place in the league standing with a 4-2 mark. With the loss Wright State falls to 10-8 overall and 4-3 in league play.

"We talked about how we needed to get the ball inside and start scoring in transition," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "I think we really started to do that. We got some easy baskets and really played with a lot of energy on the defensive end."

Milwaukee jumped ahead early on thanks to a strong interior game. The Panthers grabbed an 11-4 lead at the 15:29 mark on the strength of five layups and a free throw. Wright State battled back and scored 14 of the next 16 points to grab a 17-13 lead on a Steph Comisar three-pointer from the top of the key.

Turnovers hampered the Panther attack early on as UWM committed fourteen first half miscues. Milwaukee did shoot the ball well overall in the first half, connecting on 52.4% from the floor. Huff's layup with 1:32 remaining in the half gave the Panthers a 25-24 lead but WSU scored the final four points of the half to take a 28-27 lead into the break.

The Panthers wasted little time taking over in the game and eventually grabbed the lead for good, 32-30 on an O'Brien three-ball at the 17:40 mark. Nichole Drummond connected from long range on the next UWM possession to make it 35-30 Milwaukee. After a Whitney Lewis layup Aubrey Hampton drilled a three and the Panthers were on their way.

Milwaukee went up by as many as 16 points after a pair of Drummond free throws made it 55-39 with 8:09 remaining. Wright State battled back and took advantage of careless UWM ballhandling to battle to within seven on three different occasions in the final three minutes but a Drummond three-ball from the left corner sealed the deal with 42 seconds left.

UWM shot a season-high 55.3% from the floor to go with 53.8% (7-for-13) shooting from downtown. Milwaukee committed 26 turnovers on the game but did dish out 18 assists to go with a +18 rebound advantage. Wright State shot 42.1% for the game and 31.3% from three-point territory.

"I thought Milwaukee really played well tonight," Wright State head coach Bridgett Williams said. "They scouted us very well and they made us play to our weaknesses. They were very good in transition and used their athleticism well."

In addition to her 20 points Huff led all players with a career-high four blocked shots. Drummond added 15 points and three steals while Hampton added 13. O'Brien finished the game with nine points while posting game-highs with nine rebounds and seven assists. Kendra Agee led WSU with 12 points while Whitney Lewis added 10.

UWM will continue its homestand on Saturday (Jan. 22) when Butler University comes to town. The Milwaukee-BU contest is set to begin at 2 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.

Game Notes

·Milwaukee shot a season-high 55.3% from the floor

·Teri Huff reached the 20-point plateau for just the second time in her career

·UWM has now defeated Wright State 12 consecutive times, its longest current streak against any opponent

·Molly O'Brien registered a career and team season-high seven assists