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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Jan. 5, 2006) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team led for much of the game, by as many as 12, but held off a late Wright State run in recording a 64-61 win over WSU Thursday evening at the Klotsche Center.

Freshman Traci Edwards led three Panthers (6-7, 2-1 Horizon League) in double figures with 21 points to go with 11 rebounds and three assists. Senior Molly O'Brien had another solid all-around game with 15 points, eight boards and five assists, while freshman Emily Markert added 10 points.

Four Raiders (5-7, 1-1 Horizon League) reached double figures, led by Whitney Lewis with 17.

Milwaukee pushed its lead to a game-high 12 points late in the second half after four-straight points by freshman Kim Wypiszynski. She followed an Edwards layup by making a pair of free throws and, after a WSU miss, finished a breakaway layup with 6:19 remaining.

Wright State responded with a 13-0 run to take a brief one-point lead at 60-59. Kendra Agee capped the run with a lay-in with just 2:32 to go. Fifteen seconds later, Edwards drew a foul and converted both free throws to put UWM ahead for good at 61-60.

"We struggled at times, but I thought we did a good job of being strong when we had to and not let them dictate us, which was good," O'Brien said. "We took it right at them. They made runs on us, but we were able to hold them off. They took a lead, but we did not let them build on it, so I was proud of our team for that."

Markert grabbed a rebound on Lewis' ensuing three-point try with 13 seconds left and was fouled. After sinking her first free throw try, she missed the second, but Wypiszynski came up with her ninth rebound of the game to ice the victory.

The Panthers shot 52 percent in the second half to finish at 47.1 percent for the game, while outrebounding their opponents by 18 (49-31). UWM did commit 22 turnovers, compared to just seven Wright State miscues, but also dished out 22 assists. The Raiders finished the game shooting 35.9 percent despite a dreadful 24.1 percent in the first half.

"It was a good victory. We talked about playing for 40 minutes of basketball, instead of 25 like we did against Butler. I thought they did that," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "Wright State is a dangerous team, a team of streaks. They have bad streaks, but they also have good streaks. We anticipated them. They are a team that has had success in our league and you have to give them credit for coming back and making a game of it. I'm proud of how our kids responded; they stayed poised and did what they had to do to get the victory."

In the first half, UWM came out slow, missing seven-straight shots after converting its first for a 2-0 lead. WSU rattled off eight-straight points before the Panthers responded by making six of their next nine on a 15-4 run and taking a five-point lead at 17-12. Milwaukee took the lead at 13-12 on an O'Brien layup just before the midway point in the half. Edwards followed with a layup and then Markert hit a jumper to put the home team up by five.

Milwaukee's lead hit 11 at 29-18 when sophomore Dana Schultz hit a pair of free throws with 33 seconds to go before halftime. Agee then hit a layup with just two seconds remaining as UWM headed into the break leading 29-20.

"We have just got to keep getting better. We have to work on out offensive possessions. We've spent a lot of time on the defensive end and it showed," Botham said. "In special situations, we've still go to work on that. We have got some young kids out there and that's a positive. They are getting good experience."

The Panthers return to action with their first extended road trip of the league season. UWM travels to Youngstown State Jan. 12 and plays at Cleveland State two days later.