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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Jan. 21, 2006) - Freshman Turquoise McCain pounced on a UIC loose ball with two seconds remaining and the Panthers holding a one-point lead as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball withstood a late UIC run and defeated the Flames, 55-54, Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Milwaukee (10-7, 5-1 Horizon League) won for the fifth-straight time, while the Flames (7-10, 3-3 Horizon League) lost their second-straight league game.

UWM took its largest lead of the game at 53-41 on a jumper by senior Nichole Drummond with 4:19 to go in the game. UIC then went on a 10-0 run to pull within two at 53-51. The streak was highlighted by three-point plays by both Jacquay Holmes and Kelly True and was capped by a LaShonda Grant lay-in with 32 seconds on the clock.

Coming out of the Panthers' second timeout in 11 seconds, sophomore Meredith Onson was fouled and hit a pair of free throws with 22 seconds to play. Krystal Hugelier immediately hit a three-pointer to make it a one-point game.

Onson was then once again fouled and missed the front end of a one and one. True got the rebound, but the Flames could not get a shot off as McCain came up with the steal as time expired.

"I was calling for a foul because we were still not in the bonus, but we did not communicate them in the huddle," head coach Sandy Botham said of the final play. "Turquoise gave us some great minutes down the stretch defensively. We needed the defense late and Turq provided that for us. We went with the defense down the stretch."

Drummond led Milwaukee with 15 points, while Onson and freshman Traci Edwards each finished with nine. UIC was led by 17 points from Grant and 10 from True.

The Panthers posted its finest defensive effort of the season, allowing its guests to shoot just 34.3 percent for the game. UWM, meanwhile, shot 47.7 percent despite just 1-for-10 on three-pointers. Milwaukee also outrebounded UIC, 41-30, but lost the turnover count, 24-13.

"We talk about it all the time that defense win championships. On our quest for a championship that will be the difference and I thought that was the difference today," Botham said. "Offensively, we shot well, but didn't do what we needed to do to take care of it like we should have."

Coming out of halftime, UWM held an eight-point lead, but saw it evaporate thanks to an 11-2 Flame run to start the period. Nicole Rinaldi's layup 4:35 into the second half gave UIC its final lead of the game at 37-36. The Panthers responded with nine-straight points to take control of the game until the waning seconds.

Another 8-0 run just over one minute later the put Milwaukee up by 12.

Drummond scored 10 of UWM's first 14 points as the game began as a close-knit affair. After six lead changes in the first 11 minutes, four-straight Edwards free throws put the Panthers ahead for the remainder of the half at 22-20. It was also the start of a 9-0 run that gave Milwaukee a seven-point lead at 27-20.

"Nichole is really starting to come into her own and is gaining a lot of confidence and is looking to be the scorer for us wherever we need her," Botham said. "As you see, we had other good, balanced scoring."

Its lead would get no lower than four, and reached eight when Onson hit the team's only three inside the half's final minute. Drummond scored 10 points and senior Molly O'Brien had all eight of her points as UWM shot 52 percent in the first half. Grant had 11 at the break for UIC, which shot just 30.6 percent in the period.

The Panthers return to action on the road, heading to Dayton, Ohio, to take on Wright State Jan. 26.