Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Jan. 4, 2009) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team shot just 27.9 percent from the field and committed 29 turnovers in falling to Green Bay, 47-36, Sunday evening at the Klotsche Center in the Horizon League opener for both teams.

The Panthers (5-7, 0-1 Horizon) posted its fewest points since Jan. 15, 2005, when they finished with 36 against South Dakota State. Meanwhile, the 83 total points made this the lowest scoring game in Milwaukee's Division I history.

"Give all the credit to Green Bay. They did a number on us defensively," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "(They were) very aggressive and we did not respond. They exploited the areas that we are weak in. That is being strong with the ball, taking care of the ball. They just took us out of what we wanted to do. I thought defensively we did some good things, but we just couldn't score."

Senior Traci Edwards finished with 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks to lead UWM, while sophomore Jineen Williams added 12 points, nine boards and three steals. No other Panther scored more than three points.

Green Bay (9-3, 1-0 Horizon) also had two players in double-figures with Rachel Porath and Lavesa Glover each tallying 10 points. Kati Harty finished with eight points, four assists and five steals.

The Phoenix jumped out to a 13-point lead in the first half with a 19-2 run to take a 21-8 lead with 5:36 to play in the half. Edwards hit a three-pointer at the 10:50 mark and UWM didn't score again until freshman Amanda Viehauser hit a lay-up with 5:09 to go.

Milwaukee fought back late and ended the half on an 11-3 run to make it a 24-19 game at the break. Unfortunately for the Panthers, Green Bay opened the second half on a 9-2 lead and didn't allow them back-to-back baskets until the final minutes of the game. In the meantime, the Phoenix built its lead as high as 18 when a Harty three made it 47-29 with 4:26 to go.

UWM scored the final seven points of the game to provide for the final score.

The Panther offense was never able to get on track with a swarming Green Bay defense. Milwaukee was limited to just 28 percent in the first half and a near-identical 27.8 in the second. The league's top three-point shooting team coming in (37.8 percent), UWM connected on just 2-of-13 from beyond the arc.

Defensively, Milwaukee turned in its best performance of the season, forcing GB into an opponent season-high 26 turnovers and coming away with 13 steals. The Phoenix was also limited to 37.3 percent from the field and 30 percent from three-point range.

"Defensively, we did what we needed to do. We just weren't able to connect on the offensive end," Botham said. "We just didn't have the balanced scoring. They have so many weapons, and because we didn't, we didn't have other people step up and relieve some pressure from Traci, and that really hurt us."

The Panthers hit the road next weekend, heading to northeast Ohio to take on Youngstown State Thursday (Jan. 8) and Cleveland State Saturday.