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Jan. 30, 2004

MILWAUKEE -

Panthers Look For Two Straight

Fresh off arguably its biggest win of the season, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team will look for its second straight victory when Youngstown State University comes to town on Saturday (Jan. 31). UWM has won two consecutive games on two separate occasions this season, with the last coming Jan. 6 and Jan. 8 versus Butler and Loyola. The Panthers are currently 8-10 overall on the year and 5-3 in the Horizon League. Gametime is set for 2:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. Live audio of the contest can be heard via the Official UWM Athletic Website at www.uwmpanthers.com. Dan Pfeifer will call the action with Assistant Sports Information Director Bret Seymour providing color commentary.

Late Three-Pointers Key Clutch Victory

The talented sophomore trio for the UWM women's hoops team certainly picked a good time to find their range from downtown. The three players, Anne Witte, Molly O'Brien, and then Nichole Drummond all hit clutch three-balls in the second half while Drummond's trifecta with 32 seconds left proved to be the game-winner as UWM posted a 49-47 win over Detroit in Horizon League play on Thursday (Jan. 29). Witte's three at the 5:39 mark brought the Panthers to within four while O'Brien's trifecta with 1:42 left made it a one-point game. Then, on Milwaukee's final possession Drummond drilled a bomb from the corner for the final points of the game. Maria Viall led UWM with 19 points, 17 of which came in the second half. O'Brien added eight points, ten rebounds, and three steals while Witte added seven points and three assists.

Scouting the Penguins

The Penguins of Youngstown State University have struggled a bit in their first season under new head coach Tisha Hill. YSU enters Saturday's game with a 2-17 record overall and 0-8 mark in league play. The Penguins have played well of late, however, with a 72-62 defeat of IPFW on Jan. 24 and a tough, five-point league loss at UIC on Thursday. YSU boasts a balanced offensive attack with junior guard Cathy Hanek leading the way at 10.0 points per game. Fellow junior Jessica Olmstead averages 9.7 tallies per contest while 6-3 senior Jessica Forsythe averages 6.4 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds per game. The Penguins get the bulk of their scoring from long-range, as evidenced by 114 made three-pointers on the season. YSU is averaging 54.9 points per game while giving up 65.5 per contest. UWM swept the two games between the teams last year, winning by 20 points in both Youngstown and Milwaukee.

Protecting Your Turf

Controlling your turf. Defending your palace. Taking care of business. Whatever you want to call it, obtaining success in any conference race begins with one major concept: winning at home. Fortunately for UWM, domination at home has been a staple of Sandy Botham's programs. In the seven-year Botham tenure, Milwaukee boasts a 47-9 home record in conference play, good for an 83.9% winning percentage. That number has even increased recently as UWM has won 91.2% of its home Horizon League games, 31 of 34, in the last four-plus seasons. During those four years UWM went two consecutive seasons, 1999-00 and 2000-01, without dropping a single home conference game, going 14-0 during that time frame.

Home Cookin Sure Helps

The UWM women's hoops team sure was glad to get back to the Klotsche Center on Thursday. The Panthers, who have played just six home games out of 18 this season, are in the midst of a three-game home stretch and a stretch where they will play five-of-six in the friendly confines. Following Thursday's 49-47 win over Detroit, UWM is 5-1 at home with the only blemish a three-point loss to Marquette on Jan. 6. Milwaukee averages 65.3 points per game at home to just 57.9 on the road. Shooting has been better at home as well, as evidenced by 41.4% marksmanship from the floor and 78.2% shooting from the free throw line. Conversely, UWM has hit just 38.3% of its shots from the field on the road and 66.0% from the free throw line. While the Panthers turn the ball over 24.8 times away from home they commit just 17.5 miscues at the Klotsche Center.

Owning The Glass

In a continuation of last season, the 2003-04 Panther hoops unit is absolutely dominating Horizon League opponents on both the offensive and defensive glass. On the season, UWM owns a league-best +5.8 rebound margin, but that number has grown exponentially in league action. Through eight conference games Milwaukee has grabbed 355 total rebounds to 239 for the opposition, good for an astounding +14.5 league-leading margin. While the Panthers are clearly owning the defensive boards, it's the offensive glass where UWM is really excelling. Milwaukee has grabbed 144 offensive rebounds in the eight games to just 78 O-boards for the opponents. Furthermore, UWM has held the opposition to just 161 defensive rebounds, just 17 more than Milwaukee has offensive boards. In the last three games, UWM has grabbed a total of 146 rebounds, with a season-high of 57 coming against UW-Green Bay. In the three contests the Panthers have outrebounded their opponents an average of 48.7 to 26.3.

Witte Delivers From Downtown

While her duties may have changed due to the injury of point guard Aubrey Hampton, UWM sophomore Anne Witte continues to be one of the top three-point shooters in the Horizon League. The sophomore from Mukwonago sits second on the team with 19 three-pointers on the season while placing sixth in league only games with 1.63 trifectas per contest. Witte has really dialed in of late, nailing at least one three-pointer in eight straight games while connecting on 13-of-27 (48.1%) during the stretch. Witte, who ranks as UWM's all-time leader in career free throw shooting, has drilled 43 three-ball's in her two-year career while shooting 36.9% from the arc.

Cardiac Kids Do It Again

If this keeps up, UWM head coach Sandy Botham may develop ulcers by the end of the season. Following Thursday night's 49-47 win over Detroit which went down to the final possession, Botham's troops have now played nine game this season which have gone to overtime or whose final margin was five points or less. The Panthers own a 3-6 record in such games and are 1-1 on the season in overtime. Things have become particularly hairly in Horizon League play as five of UWM's seven league games have gone down to the wire with Milwaukee owning a 3-2 mark in the gutwrenching contests.

Maria, Maria

When you face double-teams every night you know you are a good player. But when you start getting triple-teamed, well, thats a whole different level. What's amazing is that UWM senior center Maria Viall is still nearly an automatic "double-double" every night despite facing constant double-and-triple teams in the low block. Viall, who scored 17 second half points versus Detroit, has reached the 20-point plateau eight times this season with the Panthers holding a 6-2 record in those games. The Preseason Horizon League Player of the Year is also a force on the boards, as evidenced by her league-best 11.1 rpg in league-only games and her nine double-digit rebound games. On the season, Viall has led UWM in scoring 14 times while posting eight "double-doubles."

Miss Molly Gets It Done

Sure, anyone can score points, but it's the little things that win ball games. And for UWM sophomore Molly O'Brien, the little things are what make her so great. The versatile forward has made a name for herself of late while playing nearly every position on the floor for coach Sandy Botham. Over the last six games, O'Brien has averaged 4.7 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.2 steals. The assist and steal numbers are tops on the squad during that stretch while the rebounding marks are good for second on the team. In league only contests, O'Brien ranks sixth in the Horizon League in steals (2.12), ninth in rebounding (6.6), and 12th in assists (2.50) all while guarding the opposing teams top offensive player.

Sizing Up The Horizon League

With the 2003-04 season at the halfway point two things are known: 1) there is no clear cut league favorite and 2) the race will go down to the wire. Cleveland State, the clear surprise of the first half, currently sits alone in first place with a 6-1 record. UW-Green Bay and Detroit, UWM's last two opponents, are in a second place tie at 6-2 with the Panthers a game back in fourth place at 5-3. Loyola and Butler are in a sixth place tie at 3-4 with Wright State (3-5), UIC (3-6), and Youngstown State filling up the bottom. Milwaukee still has home games left with UWGB and CSU while facing Detroit on the road. Saturday's league games feature Loyola at Green Bay, Butler at Wright State, and Detroit at UIC.

Injury Bug Bites Freshman Leader

Reality sure can bite. Just ask UWM point guard Aubrey Hampton. The freshman floor general had been playing some of the best basketball of her young career before a knee injury more than likely ended her rookie season in the Horizon League. Hampton, who leads the Panthers in assists (3.5 per game) and free throw shooting (80.8), was averaging 10.0 points and 2.5 rebounds per game in Horizon League play before being hurt. The fearless Hampton injured her right knee on a drive to the basket versus Cleveland State and will miss the rest of the year with a torn Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) in the knee.

Climbing The Charts

With each passing game, not only does Maria Viall solidify her place as the potential Horizon League Player of the Year, she also creeps up the all-time UWM and Horizon League statistical charts. The senior recently moved into second place on the school's all-time scoring list. Viall, who has 1,662 points in her career, needs just 169 points to break the all-time scoring mark of 1,830 set by Jaci Clark (1979-83). At her current pace of 18.0 points per game, Viall would break the mark in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament on March 4. Furthermore, Viall already owns two UWM career records, thanks to 152 blocked shots and a .549 field goal percentage. The Waukesha-native is currently fifth all-time in the Horizon League in scoring while ranking fifth in blocked shots and seventh in rebounding.

League Tourney Comes To Milwaukee

On the heels of the hugely successful 2003 Horizon League Men's Basketball Tournament, the 2004 Horizon League Women's Tournament will look for similar excitement when it comes to Milwaukee in March. The tourney, which is scheduled for March 2-8 at the Klotsche Center, has changed formats from the previous years. The four quarterfinal games on March 4 will be held at the campuses of the top four seeds. If UWM is a top four seed and it wins it's quarterfinal game then the two semifinal battles and championship match will move to Milwaukee on Sunday, March 7 and Monday, March 8.

Dear Diary

For those that really want to get to know UWM All-America Candidate Maria Viall, nows your chance. The Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year has been selected by ESPN.com to keep a diary throughout the 2003-04 season. Viall will share her thoughts on the team, classes, life on the road, and what its like as a Division I women's basketball player. The Waukesha-native will report twice a month to the women's basketball section of the national sports website. Viall's fourth diary entry, which talks about her time at home during the Holiday season and the squad's "secret santa" get together is now online. Fans can read each diary by clicking on the Women's College Basketball Link from the ESPN.com homepage.