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DETROIT, Mich. (Jan. 6, 2007) - Sophomore Traci Edwards scored 24 points and senior Aubrey Hampton added a career-high 19 as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team defeated Detroit, 77-67, Saturday afternoon in Detroit.

The Panthers (7-9, 3-0 Horizon) are 3-0 in league play for the first time since 2003-04 and for the fourth time in school history.

Edwards added eight rebounds and a season-best six assists for UWM, while Hampton hit her first five 3-point tries on the afternoon to finish 5-for-6 (.833) from three-point range on the afternoon. She tied the fourth-best three-point percentage in school history. Sophomore Emily Markert chipped in with 12 points off the bench.

"This was a big game for Emily to produce for us off the bench. Traci continues to live up to her nickname of `The Milk Truck' because she is always delivering for us," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "And Aubrey, she has been one of or most consistent players this season, especially from beyond the arc. She faces a lot of pressure every game for 40 minutes. It is remarkable that she is able to get her shots to fall with that pressure. It takes a lot of strength and stamina to do that, and she does it."

Sandi Brown scored 22 points for the Titans (3-12, 0-2 Horizon), while Katy Dunlop joined her in double-digits with 11.

Milwaukee shot 47.3 from the field for the game, including 50 percent on 18 three-point tries, and went 16-of-21 from the free throw line. Detroit, meanwhile, was 43.8 from the field, hitting 33.3 percent of its three's and just six of its 11 free throw attempts.

Both teams were evenly matched with 33 boards, 17 assists, 16 turnovers and seven steals apiece. The only difference along the stat lines was five blocks by the Panthers, including a pair by sophomore Kim Wypiszynski in the closing seconds of the game.

"Playing Detroit is always a battle, a physical, scrappy battle," Botham said. "Our players showed poise and got stops when they needed them. We were able to stop there runs and go on runs of our own with three or four stops in a row. That was the difference in the game today."

UWM came out of halftime scoring the first five points of the second half on a jumper by sophomore Katie Fournier and three-pointer from Hampton. The Titans then went on a 9-4 run to knot the game at 44-44 with 13:28 to go in the game. Milwaukee the took the lead for good with a 19-9 run over the next six-plus minutes to make it 63-53 on back-to-back baskets by senior Megan Rogers.

Detroit once again fought back, answering with seven-straight points to pull back within three at 63-60. The Panthers then launched into a 14-4 run that lasted until the waning seconds of regulation. Dunlop added a three-pointer at the buzzer to provide for the final tally.

"Before the game, and this is true for every league game, we said that every team will be out to get us as league champions," Botham said. "We needed to keep our poise and can't let runs effect our confidence. Today we showed great poise. We kept our confidence when Detroit made their runs and got the stops we needed."

For the first time this season, Milwaukee played its opponent even in the opening half, heading into the intermission tied at 35-35. An 11-2 Titan run early in the first half game them an 11-7 lead after falling down 7-4. UWM used efficient three-point shooting to whittle away at UDM's lead despite neither team mounting much a run the rest of the frame. Milwaukee finished the half 5-of-9 from behind the arc.

The Panthers have a week off before returning to action Jan. 13 at UW-Green Bay. UWM and UWGB tip off at 3 p.m. in a contest that will be televised live on ESPNU.