Box Score

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 5, 2006) - Junior Meredith Onson scored a game-high 23 points on nine-of-11 shooting to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team past Wisconsin AAU, 76-70, in its exhibition finale, Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

Onson hit her first six shots of the game before a missing half-court three-point attempt at the half, and added six assists and six rebounds for the Panthers. Sophomore Traci Edwards added 14 points and eight rebounds, while freshman Jodie McClain also reached double-figures for Milwaukee with 10 points.

"It's great to see Meredith come out and set the tone for us. She is a dangerous player for us that other teams need to worry about," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "It was good for us to come out and beat Wisconsin AAU. They are a team made up of good, savvy veterans."

Leslie Juedes led Wisconsin AAU with 18 points. Abby Garchek-Jaramillo added 16 points and Ashley Josephson 14 for the Vikings. Rachel Krug finished with eight points, pulling down 12 boards and blocking three shots.

Milwaukee was efficient on offense, hitting on 47.7 percent from the field and tallying 25 assists on 31 made field goals and committing just 14 turnovers. Meanwhile, AAU shot 44.8 percent for the game and was a perfect 11-of-11 from the free throw line. The Vikings also had 14 turnovers, compared to 16 assists, including 11 on UWM steals.

"Twenty-five assists compared to just 14 turnovers is great for us. All of our guards had positive assist-to-turnover ratios," Botham said. "We will work a little more with our post players on handling the pressure in the paint and moving the ball around."

Holding a 45-40 lead coming out of halftime, Milwaukee scored the first 13 points of the second half to open a game-high 18-point lead at 58-40 on a McClain layup with 16:30 to go in the game. After a pair of Josephson free throws, Edwards put the Panthers back up by 18 with a layup.

Juedes hit the visitor's first field goal of the frame 5:41 into the half to start a 15-2 run that pulled Wisconsin AAU within five at 62-57 just past the midway point on a lay up by Rachel Krug. The Vikings would get within four points before Milwaukee pulled away to rebuild a 10-point advantage and roll to victory.

"Wisconsin AAU got back into the game late and really tested us. We have to sharpen up and not let teams back into the game," Botham said. "We can't relax. We have to have the ability to put teams away at the end."

After a brief 4-2 deficit in the opening minutes of the game, the Panthers tied the game on a jumper by junior Dana Schultz and took the lead on an Edwards put-back. UWM would not trail again, taking its final lead on a three-pointer by junior Aubri Rote to make it 13-10, 4:41 into the game. The three sparked a 7-0 Milwaukee run and the Panthers never looked back.

UWM built its first-half lead to nine points at 40-31 after back-to-back three-pointers by senior Aubrey Hampton. The Panthers then held off AAU to take a 45-40 lead into halftime.

Milwaukee finished the preseason 2-0 after a 74-53 win over Concordia (Wis.) last Thursday. The Panthers now open the regular season Nov. 10 at South Florida.