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GREEN BAY, Wis. (Feb. 4, 2006) -
Senior Nichole Drummond led five Panthers in double figures and scored her 1,000th career point as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball upset UW-Green Bay, 69-67, Saturday afternoon in Green Bay.
Milwaukee (12-8, 7-2 Horizon League) ended UW-Green Bay's (16-4, 9-1 Horizon League) 11-game winning streak and won in Green Bay for the first time since Feb. 21, 1998.
Drummond scored 16 points and had six assists on the night she became UWM's 14th member of the 1,000-point club. The Kenosha native laid in an inbounds pass with 8:22 to go in the first half for point numbers 1,000 and 1,001.
"It was good, especially since we beat Green Bay, too," Drummond said of scoring her 1000th point. "I really wasn't concerned with it during the game, but people came up to me after the game, congratulating me about it. It felt good."
Freshman Traci Edwards posted her third-straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while senior Molly O'Brien added 13 and both junior Megan Rogers and sophomore Meredith Onson scored 11.
Nicole Soulis had a game-high 23 points for the Phoenix, followed by Natalie Berglin with 19.
The game came down to the final seconds as Green Bay attempted to erase a five-point Panther in the final seconds. Onson made it 69-64 on a jumper with 22 seconds to play. On UWM's next possession, Onson drew a foul and missed the first of a one-and-one.
Amanda Popp grabbed the rebound and hit a three-pointer with 6.1 on the clock to make it 69-67 and UWGB called timeout. On the ensuing inbounds play, UWM was called for a five-second violation and, after each team called a timeout, Soulis missed a seven-footer with four seconds to go. Popp grabbed the rebound and got a timeout with 0.3 seconds on the clock.
"(Assistant coach) Holly Spoo had a great scout, so we thought we knew what play they would run," head coach Sandy Botham said about her timeout with 6.1 seconds to go. "It was a play we had seen on tape, but I just wanted to communicate it to them and let them know what to anticipate and how to defend it. I thought they would go for a two. If anything, that they would try to attack us, look for potential for a foul or just an easier shot. They had a great look."
UWM then knocked away Soulis' catch-and-shoot attempt on the inbounds as the horn sounded.
Milwaukee played efficient offense, shooting 50 percent from the field in both halves and dishing out 19 assists, compared to just 13 turnovers. It also out crebounded Green Bay, 35-27, and set season-highs for three's (9) and three's attempted (26).
"We knew it was going to be a possession game. We knew we had to do a better job of protecting the basketball," Botham said. "We are two teams in the league that shoot the ball well and if we give them more shots at it, that could be our demise. That one more possession down the stretch was big. I'm proud of our team's effort."
Meanwhile, the Phoenix shot just 41.5 percent, including 41.7 on three-pointers, and missed just one free throw (13-14).
After seeing their four-point halftime lead slip away, the Panthers took control down the stretch. They fought back to tie it for the last time at 57-57 on two Drummond free throws with 5:32 to go. Edwards followed with a layup and Rogers scored Milwaukee's next eight points in a 12-5 run for its late four-point lead.
"Rogers is a gamer. We've been keeping her on the bench, probably too long," Botham said. "She's been playing well in practice and has kept a great attitude. She has been patient and her number was called tonight. We wanted to go bigger at the guard spot and went with a scorer and she scored."
O'Brien gave Milwaukee its largest lead of the game at 38-30 on a three less than three minutes into the second half, before UW-Green Bay rattled off a 12-0 run for the lead at 42-38.
UWM led the majority of the first half, taking the lead for good in the frame just after the second media timeout. Drummond hit a three coming out of the timeout to tie the game at 14-14 and freshman Emily Markert swiped a steal on UWGB's next possession. The ball ended up with O'Brien who hit a fastbreak layup to make it 16-14.
A Soulis layup tied it for the final time of the half and Markert immediately countered with a three.
Drummond had 12 points in the first half as the Phoenix focused their defense on the paint and Edwards. Edwards hit both of her field goal attempts in the frame, but had four assists.
The Panthers return to action Thursday (Feb. 11), hosting Loyola at the U.S. Cellular Arena as part of a doubleheader with the Milwaukee men.