Box Score |  Notes
Quotes - Head Coach Sandy Botham

PULLMAN, Wash. (Dec. 7, 2008) - Washington State used a 22-4 run coming out of halftime to erase a five-point deficit and hand the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team a 73-52 loss Sunday afternoon on Friel Court.

The Panthers (3-4) led 27-22 at halftime, but the Cougars (5-2) made their first eight shots of the second half to take a 44-31 lead with 14:34 to play. WSU would build its lead as high as 23 before coasting to the home win.

"(Washington State's) intensity level was really strong and we didn't match it," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "That was the difference in the second half. So, give them a lot of credit. It took us out of what we wanted to do and we never recovered."

Sophomore Jineen Williams was the lone UWM player in double-figures with 12 points. She added five rebounds, two assists and three steals in a string all-around game. Senior Turquoise McCain added a strong effort of six points and eight rebounds, while sophomore Maurika Hickman added nine points.

April Cook quietly scored a game-high 18 points for Washington State to lead three players in double-figures. Rosie Tarnowski scored 14 points and Jazmine Perkins added 12, while both players picked up five assists apiece.

Anything that could go wrong, went wrong for the Panthers in the season half. They shot just 38.1 percent and committed 17 turnovers. On the other end of the floor, Washington State shot 58.3 percent from the field in the half to take control of the game.

For the game, Milwaukee shot 45.5 percent for the game, including 4-of-11 from three-point range. It ended with 30 turnovers in the game. The Cougars finished at 44.1 percent from the field on the day, gained a 41-32 advantage on the boards and tallied 12 steals. The Panthers were, however, able to force the home team into 20 turnovers of their own.

"We knew the key to the game was handling their pressure," Botham said. "We knew we were going to see it in the full court, but also in the half court, and we just didn't do the little things. They got us back on our heels and we were just fundamentally poor and that showed in the turnovers."

For Washington State, of its 41 rebounds, 22 came on the offensive glass.

"They just killed us on the boards," Botham said. "We didn't match their intensity. We didn't have that fight. And they just took advantage of us on the offensive boards and that was the difference."

Senior Traci Edwards, who became UWM `s all-time leading scorer Tuesday with a season-high 30 points was limited to just fur points and one rebounds in 16 minutes due to foul trouble. She was held scoreless in the first half, picked up foul number three early in the second half and did not return as the deficit mounted.

The first half looked like the Panthers would be able to take control of the game and dictate the pace of play in the second half. Despite an early 10-0 Cougar run that made it 12-6 just over five minutes into the game, Milwaukee turned the game around with a 13-2 run to make it a 19-14 game. WSU would tie the game at 19-19 and again at 22-22, but the Panthers took carried the game's momentum with the final five points of the frame and took a 27-22 lead into the break.

Williams set the table for a big game with 10 points in the first 20 minutes to go with four rebounds, two assists and three steals.

"I think we attacked them well," Botham said of the first half success. "We knew (penetration) was going to be a part of their defense we could really exploit. I thought we did a really good part of it, Jineen especially. We had a lot of easy looks, handing their pressure fairly well and attacking the basket."

UWM shot 52.2 percent from the field in the first half and, despite turning the ball over 13 times, forced the Cougars into 14 turnovers. The Panthers also held the home team to just 28.1 percent shooting.

After playing six of their first seven away from home, the Panthers return to the Klotsche Center for a three-game home stand. UWM hosts Illinois Wednesday at 7 p.m.