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Post-Game Wrap-Up

TOLEDO, Ohio (Dec. 19, 2010) - Anne Breland scored a career-best 22 points and capped an 18-point comeback with a late three, but it wasn't enough as the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team fell at Toledo, 63-59, Sunday afternoon at Savage Arena.

The Panthers (3-7) trailed 44-26 in the second half, but stormed back to lead 59-58 on Breland's sixth 3-pointer of the game. But, Naama Shafir hit a pair of free throws with 19.4 seconds remaining and the Rockets (7-4) intercepted a pass on UWM's last possession to seal the win.

"We're disappointed with the loss, but proud of our perseverance," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "We showed a lot of character to be able to fight back from an 18-point deficit. Things weren't going well and shots weren't falling for us, but to be able to battle back, put ourselves up one and in a position to win is a real positive for our program."

Breland keyed a 33-14 run over the bulk of the second half, scoring 19 of her game-high point total in that time. She buried all five of her three-point attempts during the run, eclipsing her career high and fueling a second-half run for the second-straight game.

Lindsay Laur had a double-double of 10 points and 10 rebounds to go with three assists and a steal. Sami Tucker chipped in 12 points and Angela Rodrigues was the only other Panther with more than two points, scoring seven. Both Tucker and Rodriguez had a pair of steals each.

Jessica Williams knocked down six 3-pointers of her own to score a team-best 19 points for Toledo. Lecretia Smith added 11 and Shafir 10. Williams and Shafir each had five assists, while Smith had five steals.

The Rockets opened the second half on a 14-4 run, capitalizing on turnovers on each of UWM's first two possessions of the half. After the run, the home team led 44-26 with 14:52 to play and it looked as though the Panthers we just treading water. But, they scored got their offense on track, hitting 13-of-19 shots from the field as they began fighting back.

By the time Breland hit back-to-back three-pointers with 52 seconds remaining, UWM led, 59-58.

Shafir drew contact on UT's ensuing possession and made both free throws. Then, Milwaukee got the ball across midcourt before calling timeout with 14.9 seconds on the clock. The Panthers came out in their play and looked as though they may have the shot they were playing for, but the final pass was intercepted by Smith.

Laur caught up to her with 1.5 seconds for the foul. Smith made the first free throw, but missed the second and Melissa Goodall tipped in the miss with 0.1 seconds to provide for the final tally.

Milwaukee overcame a cold start from the field to finish at 42.9 percent from the field, including 7-of-14 from beyond the arc, and made 10-of-11 from the free throw line. The Panthers conceded the 39-32 rebounding advantage and turned the ball over 21 times, leading to 29 UT points.

Toledo shot 37.7 percent in the game, but buried 11 three-pointers despite averaging just 5.5 per game coming into the day. The Rockets grabbed 19 offensive boards on her way to 23 second-chance points. They also turned the ball over 16 times, compared to 18 assists.

Neither team came out of the gates on fire, as they combined to miss their first 13 shots of the game and not score for nearly five minutes after the tip. UT eventually took control and did not trail after 8-6 until the final minute. The home team would lead by as many as 12 in the opening half before UWM scored the final four points of the half to make it 30-22 at intermission.

Milwaukee returns to action after the holidays, closing out the non-league portion of its schedule at Illinois State Dec. 28. The Panthers and Redbirds tip off at 7 p.m. in Normal, Ill.