Box Score |  Notes

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Feb. 21, 2009) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team put four player in double-figures and held UIC to 25.8 percent shooting from the field in rolling to a 70-49 victory on Senior Day, Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

The Panthers (12-14, 7-8 Horizon) never trailed and led by as many as 24 in running past the Flames (13-12, 7-7 Horizon) and sending off their five-player senior class with a win.

"It was a good win, great defensive effort," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "I though we really frustrated them, held them at bay for the entire game. Offensively, we executed well, got some good looks, had four people in double-figures and a lot of people stepping up for us. It was just a good win to go out for our seniors, too. With all they've committed to this program over the four years that they've been here. So, it's nice for them to go out with a win."

Three of those seniors reached double-figures in scoring, with Turquoise McCain scoring 14 points, Traci Edwards 11 and Markita Barnes a career-high 10. Sophomore Lindsay Laur led the scoring attack with 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting.

"We've got a lot of weapons, the key is them coming every game," Botham said. "When they can't key in on just Traci, we are that much more dangerous. It was nice to see Markita shoot as well as she did, too."

Jasmine Bailey led UIC with 10 points, while Jessie Miller added eight points to eclipse 1,000 points for her career.

UWM's win helped it keep pace with Wright State, with which it is tied for sixth place in the league standings at 7-8. Both teams pulled within a half game of the fifth-place Flames (7-7). The Panthers also continued their streak of alternating wins and losses to 12 games.

Milwaukee scored the first six points of the game and jumped out to a 24-9 lead with 6:55 to play in the first half. The Flames responded with six-straight points to cut their deficit below 10 points, but UWM ended the half on a 10-2 run for a 34-17 lead at halftime.

Barnes opened the second half with a three-pointer and McCain followed with a reverse layup to make it a 22-point game at 39-17. UIC would get no closer than 15 the rest of the way, while the Panthers built their lead as high as 24 at 70-46 with 1:11 remaining. Kiara Strickland hit a three-pointer from well beyond the three-point line at the final buzzer to make it a 21-point game at the end.

The Panthers limited the Flames to just 25.8 percent shooting and forced them into 18 turnovers.

"They weren't at full strength, without their point guard, so we tried to take that to our advantage and press them early," Botham said. "That kind of got them off balance a bit and we forced the turnovers. We backed off a bit, they got some layups, then we turned it on again. We really tried to exploit them more in the full court then we would in the half court and it just kept them off rhythm."

On the offensive end, UWM shot 42.6 percent and went to the free throw line 22 times, making 20 (90.9 percent). That led to a 30-18 advantage on point in the paint. Milwaukee also had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio with 18 helpers and just 16 miscues.

Edwards struggled from the field (4-of-13), but made up for it with a team-high seven rebounds, three blocked shots and a career-best tying five steals. McCain added three steals and also blocked a shot.

UWM hits the road for its final three regular season games, kicking off the road trip at second-place Butler Thursday (Feb. 26).