Jan. 7, 2012

Box Score

MILWAUKEE - Julie Wojta scored 27 points and set a Horizon League record with 12 steals to highlight an 88-53 victory by the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay over the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers (4-9, 0-3 Horizon League) jumped out to an early lead, but a decisive scoring run by the Phoenix (13-0, 3-0 Horizon League) gave it control of the game and never looked back from there.

Sophomore Courtney Lindfors paced Milwaukee with a double-double, scoring a team-high 20 points and adding a game-best 10 rebounds. Sophomore Angela Rodriguez and freshman Ashley Green each added eight points, with Green chipping in with five rebounds and three assists in front of a crowd of 1,207.

"These kinds of losses are not easy," UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. "I felt so good about the way we came out of the blocks. We were playing even with them. They were executing the game plan defensively and offensively. I saw tenacity in our players' eyes; I saw confidence in our players' eyes. I feel good about that, which is not something that we have done consistently."

Jenny Gilbertson had 12 off the bench and Lydia Bauer 10 to round out the players in double-figures for Green Bay, which came in to the game ranked No. 17/14 in the country. All 10 players who saw game action made their way into the scoring column for the visitors.

The Panthers came out strong, taking a 12-10 lead on a three-pointer by Rodriguez at the 14:03 mark of the first. That was when Green Bay took over, scoring 24 consecutive points to take a 34-12 lead, holding UWM without a made field goal the rest of the half in taking a 47-21 lead at intermission.

"They went on that 24-0 run and it was the `buzz' defense," Botham said. "We worked on it, but simulating what we are going to see is really difficult. Just way too many turnovers and that was the difference. We never recovered off that."

Wojta played a key role in the big run, scoring 15 of her points and recording seven of her steals in the span of about six and a half minutes of play. Her 12 steals on the day broke the league record of 11 and was within striking distance of the NCAA record of 14.

"She's a great player," Botham said. "She can score in a lot of different ways. She is a tough matchup for us and was the one that started that run."

Turnovers were the story for the Panthers. Despite turning the ball over just five times after the half, 27 miscues overall led to a 36-to-11 advantage in points off turnovers for the Phoenix.

Milwaukee did outrebound its opponent, 30-28, on the day, but Green Bay shot well all game, finishing at 59.3 percent (32-of-54) overall, including 65 percent in the second half. It also hit 13 three-pointers in the game, making 7-of-9 in the second half. UWM also made 25 free throws compared to 11 for Green Bay.

The Panthers are back on the road, headed for a weekend trip that starts in Michigan against Detroit Jan. 12. Tip-off against the Titans is set for 6 p.m. CST.