Nov. 11, 2007

Box Score |  Quotes |  Notes

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Jenna Smith had a game-high double-double of 22 points and 13 rebound to lead the University of Illinois to a 63-43 victory over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team Sunday on the road. The Panthers (1-1) jumped out to a quick lead, but the Illini (2-0) responded with a 14-0 run to take control.

Junior Traci Edwards led UWM with 11 points and eight rebounds. Junior Jody Crumble was also in double-figures with 10 points.

Milwaukee played well in the second half, but could never cut into its halftime deficit. The Panthers trailed by 16 at intermission but could never get closer than that in the second half. The UWM defense played well, forcing 21 turnovers in the contest.

"I thought we competed well tonight," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "I thought we had great looks that we did not finish and there was a stretch where we did not handle the press well. There are a lot of good things that we can take from this game."

The Panthers took charge early, scoring seven unanswered points after Illinois made the first basket of the game. Edwards hit a jumper, Crumble made two free throws and senior Aubri Rote hit a three-pointer at the 17:51 mark to make it 7-2 Milwaukee.

The tide changed at that point, as Illinois responded with a 14-0 run over the next 5:58 to take 16-7 advantage, highlighted by three-pointers from Chelsea Gordon and Lacey Simpson.

An Edwards' lay-up broke the cold stretch and the team cut the deficit back to a dozen when senior Meredith Onson hit a three-pointer with 8:42 remaining to make it 24-12.

After the Panthers were back within 12 at 29-17, the Illini netted the final four points of the half, all by Rebecca Harris, to take a 33-17 lead at the break.

The Panthers played Illinois evenly in the second, but could never get the scoring run they needed to get back into it.

"With 10 minutes left, I still felt really good about our chances," Botham said. "We would cut into the lead but they would get the stop they needed. Credit to Illinois. They are athletic, they are big and their defense looked good. The press rattled us a bit and took us out of our game plan."

The Panthers ended up shooting 36.4% (16-of-44) from the floor in the game, compared to 43.5% (20-of-46) for the Illini. UWM forced 21 turnovers in the game as well.

Milwaukee opens the home portion of its schedule next, hosting Dayton November 19th at 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center.