Feb. 1, 2014

Box Score | Postgame Report | "Star of the Game" postgame interview

MILWAUKEE - Sophomore Avyanna Young put together an impressive double-double of 36 points and 10 rebounds to lead the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team to an 85-80 victory over Valparaiso University Saturday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.

"To Valpo's credit, they came out firing," Milwaukee head coach Kyle Rechlicz said. "They were hitting a lot of their shots and played extremely well. I felt like we locked into our defensive game plan but they just hit tough shots. On the opposite end, Avyanna was incredibly poised; she was balanced in the post and did an amazing job of handling it inside."

The Panthers (7-13, 3-4 Horizon League) led the Crusaders (3-17, 1-6 Horizon League) by as many as 11 points during the game, but needed an 8-for-10 showing from the free throw line in the final 52 seconds to put the victory away.

Young was, in a word, dominant. Her 36 points marked the most for any player in the Horizon League this season and ended up fourth all-time on the single-game UWM scoring list. Her 15 made field goals was the second-most in program history and she did it all by making an impressive 15-of-19 (78.9 percent) of her shots on the day. Her 10 boards marked her eighth double-double of the season and she also chipped in two assists and a steal.

"She just took her time," Rechlicz said. "She's so fast and sometimes when she plays fast, she plays a little out of control. Her first step is quicker than, I think, anybody in the league. She was great tonight. She has been putting in a lot of work outside of our practices on her own and you can tell. It's starting to really pay off. And to our guard's credit, they got her the ball. We passed up a number of wide open shots to make sure that we got her touches in the paint tonight and it helped us secure the victory."

Senior Angela Rodriguez added 17 points and six assists and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line to extend her streak to 39 in a row on the year. Junior Ashley Green chipped in nine points and six assists.

Five players ended the day in double-figures for Valparaiso, led by 15 points from Liz Horton.

Milwaukee led by as many as eight, but could not pull away in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Valpo continued to hit big three-pointers and tied the game at 56-56 on a pair of free throws at the 10:45 mark. In fact, the game was also tied at 58-58 and 60-60 before a big three-pointer from the corner by senior Emily Decorah at the 8:51 mark opened up a 12-2 run and gave Milwaukee control the rest of the way.

UWM shot 52 percent in the first half and settled for a 38-33 advantage at intermission. The first half was all Young, who came up with 20 points and seven rebounds of her total on the day in the first 20 minutes. She was hitting from everywhere, making 8-of-10 shots in the period, even adding a couple on the fast break. In fact, she became just the second Panther in the last eight years to score at least 20 points in one half of play.

It was a game of runs at the start, with the Panthers jumping out to an 11-0 lead before Valpo even dented the scoreboard at the 16:13 mark. But, the Crusaders didn't just roll over at that point, responding with a 12-2 run of their own to essentially even the contest at 13-12.

Young got more involved and was the key part of a 9-0 UWM spurt, scoring seven of it to give her team a 22-12 lead at the 12:15 mark. The team started red-hot and was hitting at over a 70 percent (10-for-14) clip at that point. Valpo then started warming up, getting as close as a basket on a couple of occasions before the halftime horn.

The Panthers shot a season-best 54.7 percent (29-of-53) from the floor on the day and finished 22-for-34 from the free throw line. Despite getting out-rebounded, 36-27, UWM turned a 15-8 advantage in turnovers into a 23-9 disparity in points off those miscues. The Panthers took care of the ball very well all day - the eight turnovers tied for second-fewest in program history.

Up next, the Panthers head to the state of Michigan for a two-game swing. Up next is the first official league contest against Horizon newcomer Oakland, Thursday at 3 p.m. CST.