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Feb. 7, 2003

The Sandy Botham File A 1988 Notre Dame graduate, Sandy Botham is in her seventh season at the helm of the UWM women's hoops program. The two-time MCC/Horizon League Coach of the Year owns a 129-86 career mark, good for a .601 winning percentage. The second- winningest coach in school history and the all-time leader in Division I victories, Botham is 107-82 in her six-plus seasons in Milwaukee. Last season, Botham led UWM to its first 20-win season in the school's ten-year Division I history. Botham's teams have posted a 60-28 record in Horizon League play over the years, including regular season and tournament titles in 2000-01. Assisting Botham on the sidelines are first year assistants Joe Conroy, Lea Robinson, and Nicole Luchsinger with 1997 Midwestern Collegiate Conference Player of the Year Jen Greger serving as Director of Basketball Operations.

Scouting The Vikings One of the best offensive teams in the Horizon League, Cleveland State University enters play today seventh in the conference after a 20-point home loss to No. 21 UW-Green Bay on Thursday. The Vikings are currently 6-14 on the season but 4-6 in conference action. CSU features two of the leagues best players in senior guar Erika Roudebush and junior forward Ashley Schrock. Roudebush leads the Viks with a 17.3 ppg average with a team high 41 three pointers made. An all-around talent. Schrock leads the squad in rebounding (7.9) and assists (4.9) and steals (1.9) while adding 12.1 points per game. CSU averages 70.5 points per game and 39.5 boards per game and have connected on 123 trifectas on the year.

First Time Around--Panthers By 16 The earlier season matchup between the two schools featured both programs looking for their first league wins of the season. The Panthers left the game on top, thanks to a strong second-half en route to an 89-73 victory. The 89 points are the most scored by UWM this season. Milwaukee shot 53% from the field in the second half in outscoring the visitors 45-32. Rebounding was the key to victory that night, as UWM outboarded CSU 57-29 on the game. Maria Viall led all players with 26 points and nine rebounds while Nichole Drummond added 17 points and nine boards. Nikki Perkins, who has since left the team, paced Cleveland State with 17 points while Roudebush added 15. With the win, Milwaukee now leads the alltime series between the two schools 11-10.

Moving On Up While the route may not have been as direct as UWM women's basketball coach Sandy Botham would have liked, her 2002-03 University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee hoops squad is making a steady climb up the Horizon League ladder. The Panthers, who started the league season 0-2 and in last place, have moved into a second place tie in the league standings, joining Illinois-Chicago with a 6-4 mark. If both Milwaukee and UIC win today, the two teams will square off for sole possession of second place on Wednesday (Feb. 12). UIC defeated the Panthers 84-73 earlier this season in Chicago.

A Quick Glance--The Horizon League Race We are just over the halfway point of the 2002-03 Horizon League Race and two words come to mind: jumbled mess. Here is what is known; UW-Green Bay is in the driver's seat with an 8-1 record. Youngstown State and Butler bring up the rear with 2-6 and 2-7 records, respectively. After that, only one game in the win column separates second place, Detroit at 5-3, and seventh place, Cleveland State at 4-5. Including tonight's game versus UDM, MIlwaukee has one more game left with 5-4 UIC, 4-4 Wright State, and 4-5 Cleveland State, to go along with a road-trip at UWGB and home contests versus Youngstown State and Butler.

Lovin' Life On The Road Who says playing on the road is tough? After dropping its first two road Horizon League games at Loyola and Illinois-Chicago, Milwaukee has now won four consecutive conference road games heading into today's game at the CSU Convocation Center. In the four games, the last of which was a 76-61 truimph at Detroit, the Panthers have outscored the opposition by 13.3 points per game. UWM is shooting 46.1% in the three games while holding the opposition to 34.0% accuracy from the field. One main difference, the free throw line as the Panthers have made 78 free throws to the home teams'53 while winning the rebounding battle by a remarkable 48.3 to 29.7 per game edge.

Taking Advantage Of Something Free The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team were near perfect in Thursday's (Feb. 7) win at Detroit. The Panthers finished the game 21-of-23 from the free throw line, good for a 91.3% clip. Milwaukee hit its first 20 free throws of the game before connecting on just one-of-three from the stripe in the game's final minute. For the season, the Panthers are shooting 72.1% from the on the season, led by Anne Witte at 87.8% and Jessica Wilhite at 84.7%.

Viall's Vision Is "20/20" To most players a game with 20+ points and 20+ rebounds would be considered a career night. But for UWM junior center Maria Viall, it's just another day at the office. Viall, who posted the league's first "20-20" with 28 points and 21 rebounds at Wright State on Jan. 25, accomplished the feat again last Saturday, this time torching Loyola for 27 points and 21 rebounds. The rebound numbers are good for tops among the UWM single-game rebound list. The 6-3 Viall is currently the only player in Division I basketball to post two "20-20" games this season.

Spreading The Wealth Double team Maria Viall, Kimberly Becker could burn you. Overplay on Jessica Wilhite, Anne Witte will knock down a three. Double down on the post, Nichole Drummond will find a seam. Thanks to balanced scoring on the offensive end of the floor, UWM has become a much better offensive team of late. This was no more evident than Thursday versus Detroit when the Panthers placed five players in double figures for the first time all season. Wilhite led UWM with 16 points while Viall added 13. In addition, Witte added 11, Becker 10 and Drummond 10 of her own.

Wilhite Provides Backcourt Stability While junior center Maria Viall has received most of the limelight of late, UWM senior guard Jessica Wilhite has quietly been playing consistent basketball of late. The senior sharpshooter has elevated her game in recent weeks, and continues to be the Panther's best perimeter player. Over the last nine games, Wilhite is averaging 13.3 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 2.1 assists all while shooting the ball better than she has all season. No. 15 has drilled 44.3% (39- 88) of her field goals, 42.6% (23-54) from three-point land, and 94.7% (18-19) from the free throw line during the stretch.

Youth Is Served Thanks to some strong performances of late, two UWM Panther freshmen are stating their cases for Horizon League All-Newcomer Team accolades. Forward Nichole Drummond has become the Panthers most versatile player of late and a reliable inside-out scorer. The 5-10 Drummond is currently averaging 9.2 points and 5.0 boards per game in conference play, to go with 22 assists and a team- best 14 steals. Meanwhile, point guard Anne Witte has been a model of consistency while increasing her role on the offensive end. No. 23 is now averaging 7.6 points and 2.5 boards per game in league action while leading the team in assists with 30. Witte is second on the team with 12 three's in league play while posting a team-best 14-16 showing from the foul line.