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Feb. 22, 2004

MILWAUKEE -

League Leaders Come To Town

Despite dropping Saturday's game at Loyola, Monday's (Feb. 23) showdown with the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay still looms large for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team. The Panthers, who sit at 14-11 overall and in second place in the Horizon League at 10-4, will welcome the first-place Phoenix (19-6, 12-2) to the Klotsche Center for a 7:00 p.m. tipoff. The game will be aired live on both FOX SPORTS NORTH and FOX SPORTS CHICAGO. For those not near a television, the game can be heard live on WMCS 1290-AM or by visiting the official UWM Athletic Website, www.uwmpanthers.com. Eric Collins and Toni Roesch will call the action on the television side while Dan Pfeifer and Jason Clark will provide commentary for the radio broadcast.

Ramblers Rumble Over Panthers

The seven-game UWM winning streak was certainly fun, but, unfortunately, it came to an abrupt end on Saturday. The Panthers travelled back down to Chicago for the second time in three days and were handed a 79-62 defeat at the hands of Horizon League foe Loyola. Milwaukee led for much of the first half before deadly three-point shooting by the Ramblers helped the hosts pull away. The Ramblers drilled 11 three-pointers on the day, the most by a Milwaukee opponent this season. Maria Viall posted her eleventh double-double of the season with 16 points and 13 rebounds but it wasn't enough. The Panthers did get solid play off the bench as Teri Huff and Anne Witte added 15 and 13 points, respectively. Ciara Henderson led Loyola with 20 points, thanks to four three-pointers. Danielle Lonie added 17 while Marquise Hanser and Meshkhenet Lands added 10 points each. The loss dropped UWM to 14-11 overall and 10-4 in the league.

Scouting the Phoenix

Despite the graduation of four starters from a year ago and season-ending injuries to two more earlier this season, the winning has continued for the Phoenix of UW-Green Bay. The Phoenix currently boast a league-best 19-6 overall record, while its 12-2 loop record is good for first place and at worst a share of the regular season title. Do everything guard and Cleveland State transfer Abby Scharlow leads the Phoenix offensively, thanks to per game averages of 16.0 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. The junior shoots 45.0% from the floor while nailing a team-high 51 three-pointers. Freshman Nicole Soulis has been a welcome addition inside for head coach Kevin Borseth, as she leads the league in blocked shots (44), while averaging 13.6 points and 5.6 boards per contest. Mary Kulenkamp, the league leader in field goal percentage (52.0%), is averaging just less than ten points a game at 9.8 markers per outing. Coach Borseth is in his sixth season at UWGB where he owns a 133-45 career record.

Senior Salute

With the Horizon League tournament set to take place in Milwaukee, Monday's game won't officially be the last time senior Maria Viall suits up in the home whites on the Klotsche Center floor. However, it will still go down as "Senior Night" in the record books. The game marks the last regular season home game of the 2003-04 season, and, most importantly, the final regular season home game in Viall's illustrious four-year career. The Waukesha-native will leave UWM as arguably the most decorated and successful women's basketball player in school history. Among the many records already owned or within reach for Viall: all-time scoring leader, all-time blocked shots leader, career field goal percentage leader, single-season rebounding record, single-season rebounds per game leader, single-season blocked shots record holder. Joining Viall on senior day will be four-year manager Brian Botham. A cousin of UWM head coach Sandy Botham, Brian has been one of the most important parts of the UWM family during his tenure in Milwaukee.

Fantastic Finishes For UWM

Give the 2003-04 UWM women's hoops team this, it certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Following Saturday's one-point win over Cleveland State, the Panthers have now played 11 games that have been decided by five or fewer points this season while owning a 6-5 mark in those contests. Furthermore, of those 11 games many of those have come down to the final possession. In addition to Maria Viall's game winner versus CSU here are a few other "nailbiting finishes": Nichole Drummond hits a game-winning three-pointer with 19 seconds left versus Detroit on Jan. 29. Viall hits two free throws with no time remaining to send the Loyola game to overtime on Jan. 10. Kiley Johnson misses a potential game-tying three-pointer versus Marquette on Jan. 6. UWM hits four free throws in the final minute and sees a last gasp three-ball fall short at Detroit on Feb. 7.

Down The Stretch They Come

With just one week remaining in the 2003-04 Horizon League regular season, the race for the regular season-title and subsequent seeding for the league tournament is becoming more and more clear. As of Sunday (Feb. 22), UWGB has clinched at least a share of the regular season title and can claim the No. 1 seed for the tourney with a win in either of its last two games. Milwaukee currently sits at second at 10-4, and can finish second with a pair of victories, and no worse than fourth. Cleveland State is in third place with a 9-5 league mark after falling at home to fourth-place Detroit (9-6), on Saturday. Detroit's league title hopes took a severe blow last week when it was forced to forfeit two league games due to the use of an ineligible player. Butler is in fifth place with a 7-7 record and is followed by Loyola (6-8), UIC (6-9), Wright State (3-11) and Youngstown State (2-12).

Board Work Is Key

There is absolutely no denying that the UWM women's hoops team does one thing better than any team in the Horizon League. That thing, rebounding. Despite being outrebounded by Loyola on Saturday, UWM owns a +6.7 rebound margin this season, good for 20th-best in the country. That margin, which improves to +10.6 in Horizon League play, has been cushioned by some impressive rebounding games. In the first meeting between UWM and UWGB, the Panthers outrebounded the Phoenix by 31 boards, the second biggest margin in school history. Milwaukee followed that up two weeks later with a +30 showing over IPFW, which included a school-record 63 total rebounds. UWM has outrebounded the opposition 18 times this season and is just 3-4 when getting outboarded in a game. Senior center Maria Viall leads the league with 10.5 rebounds per game which is also good for 14th nationally.

Bench Provides Three-Point Spark

If you are looking for three-point scoring from the UWM starting lineup you probably wont find it. However, that doesn't mean the team is void of quality long-distance shooters. The duo of Anne Witte and Kiley Johnson have come off the bench as a major part of Sandy Botham's nine-player rotation and have established themselves as two of the better three-point shooters in the Horizon League. The two have combined for 65 of UWM's 116 three-pointers on the season, while connecting on a combined 37.7% from beyond the arc. Witte, who has been extremely hot of late, has hit 24-of-50 from downtown in the last 16 games and currently sits third in the league with 43.1% three-point marksmanship. Meanwhile Johnson, a freshman, leads the team with 37 triples, sixteen of which have come in the last ten games.

More On Witte

When freshman point guard Aubrey Hampton went down with a torn ACL earlier in the league season, UWM head coach Sandy Botham knew the point guard spot was still going to be in good hands. Why such confidence? Well, her current shooting guard at the time, Anne Witte, spent the majority of her freshman season running the offense for the Panthers last year, en route to Horizon League All-Newcomer honors. The Mukwonago-native has really turned her play up of late, which culminated in a season-high 13 points and 35 minutes in Saturday's game at Loyola. In the last three contests Witte has played an average of 29.3 minutes while scoring 10.1 points per game. Furthermore, the 5-9 sophomore has led the team in assists during that time with 11 while shooting 40.0% from the three-point line and 83.3% from the charity stripe.

Hometown Huff Adds a Spark

You ask UWM head coach Sandy Botham about Teri Huff and she will tell you she is her "X" factor. The hometown Huff and Riverside High School graduate has been up and down this season, but, fortunately for UWM, has been playing some of her best ball of late. In Saturday's game at Loyola Huff scored a season-best 15 points to go with six rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot. Huff, whol hit six-of-11 shots form the floor, also drilled both of her three-point attempts. The junior has always been active on the defensive end, as evidenced by her fifteen steals and six blocks in just 14.0 minutes of playing time per game.

The Countdown Is On

The Maria Viall scoring watch is officially on. With four regular season games remaining and at least one postseason contest, the senior is on pace to become UWM's all-time scoring leader. Viall, who has scored 1,770 points in her four-year career, needs just 45 points to eclipse Jaci Clark as the school's scoring champion. At her current pace of 17.9 points per game, Viall will break Clark's mark in the quarterfinal round of the 2004 Horizon League Tournament at the Klotsche Center on Thursday, March 4. In addition to the school's scoring record, Viall is quickly climbing the Horizon League scoring list where she sits third on the all-time chart. Viall is currently Milwaukee's all-time blocked shots leader with 160 while her 918 career rebounds place her third all-time.

Freshman Floor General Out For The Year

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.

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 fifth diary entry, which will highlight UWM's recent road trips and recent success, is currently online. Fans can read each diary by clicking on the Women's College Basketball Link from the ESPN.com homepage.

Panther Quick Hits

UWM is 1-2 in TV games this year, winning at Wright State and falling at Florida State and Wisconsin ... the Panthers have gone a season-best three straight games without reaching the 20 turnover plateau ... UWM owns a seven-game winning streak this year, the longest since the 2001-02 team won nine straight ...MIlwaukee is 68-43 since Maria Viall came to campus.