Box Score

DETROIT, Mich. (Feb. 12, 2009) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team spotted Detroit a 13-1 lead before hitting its first field goal in falling to the Titans, 59-50, Thursday evening at Calihan Hall.

The Panthers (10-13, 5-7 Horizon) cut a 17-point second-half deficit to just two, before fading down the stretch as the Titans (8-15, 4-8 Horizon) converted offensively down the stretch to hold onto the lead.

"We didn't come in focused and we didn't have our concentration, intensity," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "We fell down big and had to play catch-up. We made a great run, good comeback. We had great opportunities to go ahead, but beat ourselves with turnovers. Give Detroit credit, they hung with it, hit big shots down the stretch and we didn't."

Sophomore Ashley Imperiale led Milwaukee with 12 points, six rebounds and three steals while playing all 40 minutes. Senior Traci Edwards also scored 12 points, while pulling down seven boards on the night. Sophomore Jineen Williams had seven points and six rebounds, while sophomore Lindsay Laur had seven points and five boards.

"Ashley is a scorer for us and she has great endurance," Botham said. "She provided that scoring stability. She wasn't making a lot of mistakes. These are great minutes that she is getting that are going to help us as we finish this year and going into next year. In this game we needed offense and we need poise. She provided that."

Detroit had four players score in double-figures, led by Brigid Mulroy's 14 points. Sandi Brown had a double-double of 10 points and 11 rebounds, while Chanica Hall scored 13 points and Talicia Washington 11.

UWM fell behind 17 points at 47-30 on a third-straight Washington layup. Botham called a timeout and, from that point on, the Panthers rattled off a 20-5 run to make it 52-50 with 2:21 to play.

"We talked about their intensity level and playing harder," Botham said. "I just tried to light a fire under them and get them to pick up the intensity level and be more aggressive. I was telling them, `We are a better team than this, but we're not playing like we are capable of.' We also switched to the zone. Their shooter was in foul trouble and they were beating us off the dribble. We went to the zone and we stymied them."

They had three possessions while trailing by four before making it a two-point again. Then, with a two-point deficit all it faced, Hall hit a three to make it 55-50 and Milwaukee would not score again.

The Panther offense looked lethargic the entire game, going away during runs, but returning as they attempted to get over the hump. UWM shot 35.2 percent on the night, hitting just 4-of-14 three-point tries, and turning the ball over 20 times.

Detroit shot a near-identical 35.1 percent and committed 17 turnovers. The Titans won the battle of the boards most of the night, but Milwaukee bounced back late and won the battle of the boards, 37-35.

Milwaukee was ice cold out of the gates, falling down 13-1 before hitting its first field goal of the game at the 12:35 mark. Imperiale later kick-started the offense with a jumper at 11:08 to make it a 15-5 game. Prior to that, the Panthers were 1-of-9 from the field with five turnovers.

Imperiale's jumper was the beginning of an 11-2 run, that ended with freshman Amanda Viehauser sinking a pair of free throws to make it 17-14 with 6:22 remaining in the half. UWM then struggled until the break, unable to put together back-to-back scoring possessions, going into the break down 27-22.

Neither team was much of an offensive dynamo in the first half, with the two teams shooting a combined 34 percent and turning the ball over 21 times. Detroit did get to the free throw line nine times, making eight, as Milwaukee committed an uncharacteristic 10 first-half fouls.

Mulroy paced all scorers in the half with nine on three-straight three-pointers, while Imperiale had eight to keep the Panthers within striking distance.

UWM returns to action in the second half of this two-game road trip Saturday at Wright State. The Panthers and Raiders tip off at 3:30 p.m. central time in Dayton, Ohio.