March 2, 2006

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

MILWAUKEE - Traci Edwards scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to a 76-56 win over Loyola University Chicago Thursday night in a Horizon League Women's Basketball Tournament quarterfinal game.

With the win, the Panthers (20-8) will now host the semifinals and finals of the league tournament at the Klotsche Center, and UWM knows it will face Butler Sunday at noon in the first semifinal.

"It's great to know we don't have to jump on a plane and go play (in Youngstown)," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "We are happy to have the final four at home. Being at home will help us with our routine. This team has worked extremely hard for this.

"We have to worry about Butler. Last time we played them on our home court, they beat us. We have to keep controlling our own destiny."

Milwaukee, the top seed in the tournament, led just 35-34 at halftime but outscored the eighth-seeded Ramblers (4-25) 41-22 in the second half.

Molly O'Brien added 18 points while Kim Wypiszynski pitched-in with 10 for the Panthers, who have now won a school-record 10-straight games and have reached 20 wins for just the second time in the school's Division I history.

Marquise Hanser led Loyola with 17 points.

UWM led by as many as 11 points in the first half before the Ramblers finished the half on a 13-4 run to pull within a point at the break. But, the Panthers started the second half on a 15-1 run and then led by as many as 26 points en route to the easy win.

"We weren't really in the moment with our intensity in the first half. I felt our energy was down, it felt like we were moping out there and it wasn't going as we had planned," Botham said. "(At halftime) we talked about energy and being more aggressive. Loyola was more aggressive and more physical in the first half and we weren't matching that, intensity and physically."