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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Dec. 14, 2005) - Jolene Anderson scored 24 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, while Wisconsin held the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team without a field goal for almost eight minutes after halftime in defeating the Panthers, 72-57, Wednesday evening at the Klotsche Center.

Senior Nichole Drummond led UWM (4-5) with 15 points, while freshman Traci Edwards had 14 points, all in the second half, and 10 rebounds for her second-straight double-double. Janese Banks had 11 points and 11 assists to join Anderson with a double-double for the Badgers (5-5).

Coming out of intermission, Wisconsin held a 38-27 advantage before going on a 15-3 run over the first 7:47 of the second half and building a 53-30 lead. The Panthers were scored all three of their points in that time at the free throw line, missing their first nine shots of the frame. Edwards broke the drought with a lay up at the 12:13, but UW pushed its lead to a game-high 24 points, countering on a three-point by Danielle Ward.

"It seems there is a domino effect when things don't go well. We just weren't able to get over the hump," head coach Sandy Botham said. "One miss here and there becomes three of four misses here and there. That is one area we need to get better in, we need to find ways to score and focus when we have our open chances. We missed a few easy lay-ups and that's just a focus thing."

After senior Molly O'Brien hit a lay-up, and the Badgers made it a 24-point game once again, UWM went on a mini 7-1 run to pull within 18 at 59-41. Freshman Kim Wypiszynski hit a jumper, sophomore Meredith Onson sank a pair of free throws and Edwards hit one of two from the line during the run.

Wisconsin once again went up by over 20, until O'Brien hit a lay up at the 3:28 mark to make it 68-49. The Panthers then outscored their visitors 8-4 down the stretch to provide for the final score.

"We responded well in the first half, but it was just a game of runs. They had a great run at the end of the first half and it carried over into the start of the second half," Botham said. "We had a little trouble getting started after halftime. We missed our first nine shots of the half. But, I was proud of how our players kept battling. We eventually cut into the lead and never gave up."

UWM struggled from the field all night, hitting just 32.2 percent of its shots, but committed a season-low 14 turnovers. The Badgers committed 18 turnovers, but shot 45 percent from the field, outrebounded Milwaukee 45-32 and blocked nine shots. Each team had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, as UW dished out 21 assists and the Panthers 15.

Milwaukee held its own in the early portion of the game, battling back from an early 9-4 deficit to take its first of two early leads at 13-11. Onson hit a three and, after an Anderson lay-in, junior Megan Rogers hit a jumper and Drummond scored four-straight points for the two-point advantage.

Both teams traded baskets, with the Panthers' final lead coming at 15-14 on freshman Emily Markert's jumper with 8:18 to go before halftime. Wisconsin then pulled away, rattling off an 18-5 run to build a 12-point lead at 32-20. Its lead would reach 14 twice before the break, before Onson hit her second three-pointer of the half with 24 seconds to go, making it 38-27 at the half.

Milwaukee shot just 31 percent in the first half, but hit three-of-six three-pointers and all six free throw tries. Meanwhile, Wisconsin shot 45.5 percent from the field and also shot 50 percent on three's (5-10) and hit all its free throws (3-3).

"I was disappointed we let it slip through our fingers," Botham said. "I thought we played well, they really did, we seemed very energized, moved the ball well and came out of the blocks shooting extremely well, especially from the three-point line."

Onson finished with 10 points and a team-high four assists for the Panthers, while Ward scored 13 and Ashley Josephson 10 to round out Wisconsin's double-digit scorers.

The Panthers return to action Sunday with another local rival, traveling cross town to take on Marquette. Tip-off is set for 2 p.m. at the Al McGuire Center.