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MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Dec. 30, 2006) - Sophomore Traci Edwards scored 28 points and grabbed 20 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to an 86-79 win over the University of Illinois at Chicago Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (6-9, 2-0 Horizon) held a 29-22 halftime lead before both teams scored 57 points apiece in the second half. The Flames dropped to 0-2 in league play and 6-8 on the year.

Edwards fell one point and two rebounds shy of career-highs in both categories, while posting her second career 20/20 game and the fourth in school history. She was also just two boards off her school-record total set last season.

"It's great to get our second win in a row and be 2-0 in the league," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "It's also great for Traci to have a game like this. We push her a lot in practice, and she may think we are relentless, but we know how good she can play. She showed that today."

"The guards have been really working on their post passes the last couple weeks. They had good passes into the post and seams just seemed to open up for me," Edwards said.

UWM had three more players in double-figures led by senior Aubrey Hampton, who scored 13. Junior Aubri Rote added 11, junior Meredith Onson 10 and both sophomores Emily Markert and Kim Wypiszynski finished with eight points.

LaShonda Grant led UIC with 22 points, all in the second half, before fouling out with 11.5 seconds to play. Jessie Miller scored 14, Jacquay Holmes 13 and Krystal Hugelier 10 for the Flames.

Milwaukee overcame a season high-tying 25 turnovers by shooting 53.3 percent for the game. UWM also made 50 percent of its three-point attempts and made it to the free throw line 35 times, converting 29. Led by Edwards, the team also held a sizable 44-23 rebounding advantage. UIC shot 45.7 percent for the game, 33.3 percent on three's and just 42.9 percent from the charity stripe. UIC also came away with 14 steals.

"(Our tough non-league schedule) has helped us a lot. There is always some nervousness that (our team) will lose their confidence. We almost saw that Thursday against Loyola. But, it's always paid dividends coming into our league and we saw that Thursday and today."

After holding a seven-point halftime advantage, the Panthers saw their lead slip away as the Flames opened the second half with a 16-8 run, taking the lead at 38-37 with 15:38 to play. UWM then went on a quick 9-1 run with a pair of three-pointers from Rote and another from Hampton to make it 47-38.

UIC once again pulled within three on a pair of occasions before Milwaukee took control of the game with a 13-4 run. Onson scored seven points in the stretch to give the Panthers a 62-50 lead with 7:08 remaining.

The Flames began to chip away at the lead late, fouling the Panthers heavily to stop the clock. UWM did not attempt a field goal in the final 2:22, but went 10-for-13 from the free throw line to ice the game.

Both teams shot well in the second half, with Milwaukee hitting 60 percent of its shots from the field, including 5-of-9 on three-pointers, and made 22-of-27 free throws in the period. On the other hand, UIC was 57.9 from the field and hit 7-of-13 three's.

The contest opened as a game of runs, as Edwards scored the first six points of the game and the Flames answered with the next seven points of the game. After UWM rattled off a 7-0 run, UIC had a 13-6 run, broken up by a pair of Markert three's.

Milwaukee then scored 10 of the frame's final 12 points to account for the halftime score. Edwards had a double-double by the break, going into intermission with 11 points and 11 boards.

UWM returns to action in 2007, playing at Detroit Jan. 6. Tip off is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. at Calihan Hall.