Box Score |  Notes

DeKALB, Ill. (Nov. 29, 2008) - Senior Traci Edwards scored a game-high 21 points and junior Jodie McClain added a career-high 15 points to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 71-61 win over Northern Illinois Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center.

The Panthers (3-2) won their third-straight game and head coach Sandy Botham picked up her 200th career win as UWM head coach.

"It just shows how long I've been here," Botham said of her 200th win. "The biggest thing is it's a nice win over Northern Illinois and how well we played. We've really matured as a team, so there is no question it was a memorable win. We played a great game, our best game this year."

Edwards added eight rebounds and three blocks, while McClain had a pair of steals and a block. Sophomore Maurika Hickman also reached double-figures with 10 points, while sophomore Lindsay Laur added nine points and sophomore Jineen Williams eight.

Ebony Ellis led the Huskies (2-4) with 17 points and nine rebounds. Mauvolyene Adams chipped in 13 for NIU and Shari' Welton 10.

Milwaukee held a slim 47-45 lead before breaking the game open courtesy of a 17-6 run. McClain tracked down an errant Northern Illinois inbounds pass in the back court and took it the rest of the way to give the Panthers their first double-digit lead of the game at 60-49 with 6:38 to play.

"It shows our maturity and our intensity (to be able to pull away like that), especially our defensive intensity," Botham said. "I felt like we never let up. We didn't take any possessions off. The first thing I wrote on the board was to play this game one possession at a time. I thought our kids did that. They had great concentration, focus and played well together as a team."

McClain then gave the Panthers a game-high 13-point lead, hitting one of two free throws with 4:19 remaining to make it 64-51. UWM then hit 6-of-10 down the stretch to hold off any potential Huskie rally.

For the game, Milwaukee shot 44.2 percent from the game, attempting just six 3-pointers, making four, on the day. The key for the Panthers was 31 free throw attempts, of which the sunk 21. They also rebounded from a 33-turnover night last Wednesday to give the ball up just 17 times.

"It was a great road win, it's nice to string some wins together, especially on the road," Botham said. "I thought we played good. We put two solid halves together. I don't we've done that yet this year. It was a balanced effort, a lot of different people stepping up, being scorers for us. Defensively, we just played intense. We executed our game plan, we were poised and we willed to win."

On the glass, UWM held a 36-35 advantage, pulling down 17 boards on the offensive end.

Northern Illinois shot 46 percent for the game, struggling from three-point range (1-for-8), but knocking down all but two free throw attempts (14-of-16).

The game was tied at 33 at halftime, but Edwards scored the first five points of the second half and never looked back. The Panthers' lead fluctuated between one and five points before they pulled away midway through the frame.

In the first half, NIU led for much of the frame, but it was a back-and-forth affair with 10 lead changes and eight ties in the opening 20 minutes. Milwaukee shot well from everywhere on the floor, 50 percent from the field, 2-of-3 from three-point range and 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Its hot shooting afforded the team 12 first-half turnovers and kept them in the game.

The Panthers continue their three-game road trip, returning to action Tuesday, Dec. 2, at Wisconsin in Madison. UWM and the Badgers tip off at 6 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.