Feb. 2, 2002

Box Score

MILWAUKEE- The UWM women's basketball team (15-6, 9-1 Horizon) buried Youngstown State from the outside, sinking a school-record 14 three-pointers en route to a 100-46 win Saturday afternoon. The 54-point margin of victory also reset the school record for the Panthers, who grabbed their 22nd straight win over a league opponent at the Klotsche Center.

After missing some early shots, UWM ran away with 17-consecutive points off of sharp shooting from the arc. The Panthers connected on 5-of-6 three pointers in a three-minute span, and finished with 10-of-18 treys to bolster a 50-17 lead at halftime.

Milwaukee's starters came out just as impressive in the second half, scoring on a 19-5 run following a Holly Tamm three pointer at the 14:38 mark to lead, 69-22. A few minutes later, UWM's reserves came in to finish the game with the largest margin of victory, beating the previous record of 47 points from the 1990-91 season.

UWM finished with 53 percent shooting from the field, including 58 percent from three-point range on 14-of-24 shots. The 14 treys also tied a Horizon League record and also beat UWM's record of 13 set last season.

"We knew Youngstown State would play a 2-3 zone and my goal was to get them out of the game as soon as possible by taking the open shot," UWM coach Sandy Botham said. "I told the team to not hesitate and just catch and shoot. And it ended up being a domino effect, one fell from the outside and they just kept going down."

Tamm led UWM with 15 points and five assists in 19 minutes, while Malika Willoughby tied a career high with 13 points in just 16 minutes of action. Angela Wenzel added 11 off the bench for UWM, while Maggie Johnston led Youngstown State with 15 points.

"(Youngstown State) came out in a zone and we did a great job of moving the ball around and playing unselfish," said UWM guard Jessica Wilhite, who added nine points and five assists in 19 minutes. "I think at halftime we only had like four points in the paint, but we had to take what they were giving us on the outside."

UWM stayed consistent in the second half by scoring another 50 points, and finished strong on the boards to record the 47-20 advantage over the Penguins. The Panthers had been outrebounded the past two games, including the game against Green Bay which UWM lost in overtime after leading most of regulation.

"Our goal was to not let up in the second half," Tamm said. "Though we had a significant lead, we still set goals for the second half. We wanted to keep their points down and we wanted to keep taking it to them."

"Our focus was to stay disciplined in the second half and come out strong," Botham said. "Our biggest weakness has been our lack of focus when we have a comfortable lead. We've let things slip away. But today, it was great to see our team play disciplined and have not let ups."

UWM travels to Loyola on Monday to take on the Ramblers at 4:45 p.m. The Panthers then return home Thursday to host Wright State at 7 p.m.