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CHICAGO, Ill. (Jan. 21, 2010) - Freshman Sami Tucker had a career-high 17 points and nine rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to a 51-50 win over Illinois-Chicago Thursday evening at the UIC Pavilion.

The Panthers (7-10, 2-4 Horizon) never trailed and led by as many as 13 to snap a four-game losing streak. The Flames (7-11, 4-3 Horizon) closed the game on a 20-8 run to close out the game and make it close.

"I'm so proud of our team's effort. Defensively, we did such a great job. We executed game plane extremely well and took some of their primary scorers out of the game. Offensively, we did a great job of protecting the ball and were patient. Overall, this was just a great team effort."

Tucker added four assists and no turnovers in her second career start. Sophomore Danielle Jorgenson added 10 points and nine rebounds as Milwaukee's only other double-digit scorer. Three players added six points apiece, including senior Jodie McClain, who also had seven assists and three steals.

Shameia Green led UIC with 13 points. Jessie Miller was the next-highest scorer at nine points and Jasmine Bailey battled foul trouble to score eight points in just 21 minutes.

Milwaukee led 51-47 on a Tucker offensive putback with 3:15 to play in the game. Miller hit one-of-two free throws and Green got to the basket with a layup to set up the game's tense final moments.

UWM forced a shot clock violation with 1:00 to go, but were unable to score. The Panthers had the ball back again in the final minute after Green's layup, milking the clock before Tucker missed a jumper and Taylor Foulks got the rebound. Coming out of a UIC timeout, Bailey attacked the basket against junior Lindsay Laur, but saw her layup fall short.

Foulks came up with the loose ball rebound and her three-point attempt miss the target and land out of bounds giving Milwaukee the ball with 0.8 seconds to go. Botham called a timeout and Laur threw a touchdown pass that no one could corral as the clock expired.

The Panthers shot 36.8 percent for the game, including 5-of-13 from three-point range, and made all four free throw attempts. They lost the rebounding battle, 39-37, but turned the ball over just 16 times. The Flames shot just 33.3 percent on the night, 5-of-15 from long distance, and made 7-of-9 free throws.

Milwaukee led by as many as seven in the first half and by five at halftime, 28-23. The team came out of the break aggressive on offense and scored the first six points for an 11-point lead. The Panthers would lead by as many as 13 when a wild Jorgenson three-pointer at the end of the shot clock made it 43-30 with 12:31 to play.

UIC did not go away, rattling off its game-ending run to make it a one-point game in the end.

UWM continues its Chicago road trip at Loyola Saturday. The Panthers and Ramblers tip off at 12:30 p.m. at the Gentile Center.