Box Score Nov. 15, 2008
Box Score |
Notes
RALEIGH, N.C. -
North Carolina State University shot close to 60 percent and had three players score 17 or more points in handing the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team a 77-42 loss Saturday afternoon at the Wolfpack Invitational. The Panthers (0-1) were led by 19 points from senior Traci Edwards, but could not overcome the hot shooting of the Wolfpack (1-0) in the season opener for both squads.
Bonae Holston and Nikkitta Gartrell scored 18 points each and combined to shoot 14-for-18 from the floor. Shayla Fields added 17 as the hosts shot 56% (28-for-50) in the game, but was hitting at a 70% clip in the second half and was over 60% for the game when it emptied the bench with less than four minutes remaining.
"This is one of the most athletic teams we will see all year, so we can take some positives away from this," UWM assistant coach Sheila Roux said. "We did everything we wanted to at the start of the first half. Those were the shots we wanted them to take and they just made everything. That was the biggest difference ... give them a lot of credit - they shot really well. Defensively, we made them take tough shots. Unfortunately, we ran into a bit of a buzzsaw and they kept making the shots."
Roux is the acting head coach for the Milwaukee women this weekend, as head coach Sandy Botham did not make the trip due to a death in the family.
Edwards was the only UWM player in double figures, with senior Turquoise McCain chipping in with six and freshman Amanda Viehauser with five points and a team-high four rebounds.
Down 38-15 at the half, any momentum Milwaukee would gain would be matched by made NC State shots. Trailing 56-26 with just over 12 minutes to play, UWM used a 10-2 run to get it to 58-36 on three-pointers by Edwards and Viehauser, but had that momentum ended when Fields made back-to-back three-pointers to push the lead back to 28.
Milwaukee started quickly, getting baskets from Edwards and McCain to take the 4-0 lead, only to see the Wolfpack respond with an 8-0 run to make it 8-4 with 15:34 remaining. A three-pointer by Jineen Williams and two Edwards free throws cut it to 11-9. Fields, the team's leading-scorer from a year ago, then picked up her second foul and headed to the bench, but NC State would outscore the Panthers 27-6 the rest of the half - including a 9-0 run and another run of 8-0 - to take control.
"We were getting hot at that point and then when she came out, every one else made shots," Roux said. "Holston hit everything and Gartrell is a great player - we just needed to do a better job controlling the pace."
UWM ended the game 16-for-47 (34%) from the floor and was hurt by 20 turnovers, which its opponents turned into 22 points. Milwaukee also lost a starter early when senior Jody Crumble went down with an injury less than four minutes into the game and was carried off the court and taken in for tests.
"We said the two biggest things we were going to have to do was to take care of the basketball and keep them off the boards," Roux said. "I mean, 20 turnovers against a team that is this athletic - and they scored 22 points off of them - we just did not do a good job taking care of the basketball."
Milwaukee will play in the consolation game of the Wolfpack Invitational tomorrow, with a game time set for 11 a.m. CST. The opponent is yet to be determined, as they will face the loser of the USC/Charlotte game which is underway at this time.
NOTE: UWM will face off against USC in the consolation championship. The Trojans lost to Charlotte, 62-60.