March 3, 2001

GAME TIME

* UWM women's basketball takes-on the Wright State Raiders Sunday afternoon at noon central time at the Nutter Center in Fairborn, Ohio.

AIR TIME

* Sunday's game will be broadcast live on Milwaukee's local channel 41 off the MCC feed.

UWM (15-10, 11-2 MCC)

* The Panthers are coming off their fifth straight-win, capturing the 67-62 victory over Butler in Thursday night's road game.

Maria Viall tied a career-high by scoring 25 points, while also adding 10 rebounds to battle out the close game at Hinkle Fieldhouse.

With three minutes left on the clock, senior Teri Stoltenberg bombed an open three to open the game up at 59-54. The Bulldogs quickly closed the gap with a field goal, but Viall grabbed the offensive board and scored a layup to put UWM up by five again.

The baskets seesawed down the stretch, but consecutive free throws by Viall and Allison Klaas allowed the Panthers to earn the five-point advantage at the end.

Milwaukee finished up to shoot 42 percent from the field, while Butler hit 44 percent. UWM was huge on the boards, outrebounding Butler 44-25.

WRIGHT STATE (6-20, 3-10)

* The Raiders are coming off Thursday night's loss to Green Bay at home, 75-46.

UW-Green Bay outshot Wright State 59 percent to 37 percent as the lost their third-straight game and their eighth in ten games.

With Green Bay leading 37-21 at halftime, both teams started out sluggish for the second half until WSU's Ieash Gray scored at the 17:43 mark on a layup. The

Phoenix answered with its first field goal in the second half, but it wasn't until the 14:30 mark that the Phoenix got its steam. An 11-1 run over a 3:30 span gave the Phoenix a 59-35 lead, and the Phoenix never dropped below 21 points for the rest of the contest on the way to the 29-point victory.

UWM SERIES AGAINST WRIGHT STATE

The Raiders lead the all-time series against UWM, 8-5. However, the Panthers have won the last three meetings between the two MCC rivals, including the 72-59 victory at home this season.

Maria Viall led Milwaukee with 16 points, and Liz Fletcher led on the boards with sever rebounds.

INSIDE THE GAME AGAINST BUTLER

Viall's efforts came from 10-of-14 shooting, including 5-of-6 from the line. Senior Nicole Luchsinger also figured in double-digits for the Panthers, scoring 10 points including six free throws.

The game's biggest lead came when the Panthers were up by eight points late in the first half, but the Bulldogs played tight throughout the rest of the game. Milwaukee received a small relief when Viall hooked in a bucket over a Butler defender to lead 53-50 with 6:00 remaining in the game.

Butler trailed Milwaukee by five points at the half, but gradually tied it up at 37 apiece after scoring on a three-point play with 16:30. After about two minutes without a basket, UWM broke the ice when junior guard Holly Tamm sank a three-pointer to go back up by three points.

The first half opened with teams exchanging the lead, but UWM soon took over to grab the slight advantage. Freshman center Maria Viall scored eight points to give the Panthers the 12-9 lead at 14:55. Milwaukee then built an 8-0 run with help from two consecutive Janelle Jonason layups, while Viall and Holly Tamm added jumpers.

Down 24-16, the Bulldogs scored six straight points to trail by a basket before Jessica Wilhite nailed a three-pointer at the 3:53 mark. Both teams scored again down the stretch, but Viall's jumper off an inbound pass with three seconds left on the shot clock gave UWM the 31-24 lead at halftime.

Viall finished the first half with 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, while UWM shot 52 percent as a team.

UWM COACH SANDY BOTHAM

With Botham's guidance, the Panthers earned the second seed - their highest-ever - seed for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference post-season tournament.

But Botham has been leading the Panthers to milestones since her first season at UWM (1996-97). She led her first team to a 16-win season , 12 more than the previous season -- the fifth-best turnaround in NCAA Division I that year. She won MCC Coach of the Year honors in that season.

In the years since, Botham and her teams have collected several accomplishments. Botham's players have been named MCC Player of the Year and MCC Newcomer of the Year. In the last four seasons, the Panthers have seen 10 selections to the All-MCC teams and All-Newcomer teams. Attendance at UWM women's basketball games has increased more than fourfold since Botham has taken over at UWM. Last year, the Panthers' home attendance average of 1,646 fans led the Midwestern Collegiate Conference and the 2,629 fans that filed into the Klotsche Center on Feb. 20, 1999 set a single-game attendance record.

Botham Coaching File At UWM:

	* 1996-present		Head Coach, UWM (58-52)
	*  1996-97		16-12	MCC Coach of the Year
					UWM's first-ever MCC tournament win
					Added 12 wins to previous season total
					(5th best turnaround in NCAA Div. I)
	*  1997-98		15-12	Eight-game winning streak,
					Win over top-20 team
	*  1998-99		11-16
	*  1999-00		16-12	MCC 2nd place finish

SECOND SEED

If Milwaukee captures a victory against Wright State, it will wrap up the regular season with a 12-2 conference record.  That would allow Milwaukee a share of first place in the MCC with Green Bay.

	Ending the regular season as co-champions of the league would be a first for UWM in the program's Division I history.  However, with or without Sunday's win, the Panthers would still enter the tournament as the number two seed.  Since UWM and UWGB both split the series during the regular season, the highest seed goes to whichever teamposts a better record against the next-best team in the MCC.

	Since Detroit ended the regular season in third place, Green Bay grabs the highest seed in the MCC because of its 2-0 record against the Titans.  The Titans were the only other team in conference that the Panthers lost to this season.

FIRST-ROUND IN MCC

	Because of its second spot entering the tournament, UWM will play at the earliest game in the MCC quarterfinals on Thursday, March 8, at host UIC.  The 1 p.m. game will feature UWM against either Butler or Wright State, depending on who finishes as the seventh seed.  If UWM beats Wright State, the Raiders and Butler will both end the season the bottom of the league with a 4-9 record.  Both teams remain even throughout the tie-breakers, so the teams would have to flip a coin for the lower of the remaining seeds.

STREAKING

	UWM is currently enjoying its longest winning streak of the season.  Heading into Sunday's game againstWright State, the Panthers are searching for their sixth straight win.  The last time the Panthers garnere six consecutive wins was in the 1997-98 season.

	The longest streak UWM has reached since that time is five, during last season as well as their current streak.

MARIA MARIA

	Freshman center Maria Viall tied her career-high in points on Thursday night, scoring 25 against the Bulldogs.   Maria previously scored 25 points on Dec. 17 against Central Michigan.  Also on Thursday night, Maria tallied 10 rebounds to give her a double-double, her fourth of the year.

	Viall has recorded 17 games this season in which she has scored in double figures for the Panthers, while averaging 12.6 ppg.

HOME SWEET HOME

	UWM ended its regular conference season at home with a perfect 7-0 record, marking the second straight year it has done such a feat.  UWM's overall record at home is 11-2, with tough losses coming against Missouri and Wisconsin.

D-FENCE

	The Panthers fiesty defense has recorded 256 steals this season, averaging 10.2 per game.  Their opponents have tallied only 186 steals, or 7.4 per game.  They currently rank third in the conference in steals, as well as thir in scoring defense by allowing opponents about 65 ppg.

	The Panthers' defense has also recorded less turnovers than their opponents, forcing other teams to turnover the ball 497 times, or an average of 20.7 per game.  Their turnover margin of +3.25 ranks second in the MCC.

TERI-STARTENBERG

	Senior guard Teri Stoltenberg will be starting her 95th career game for the Panthers when they take on Wright State.  Since her freshman years in 1997 when she started all 27 games, Teri has played in 102 of the team's 107 games and started 94, missing only five games and eight starts due to injury.

	While eight different Panthers have found themselves rotated into the starting line-up for Coach Botham, Stoltenberg is the only player to start every game for UWM this season.

FAN APPRECIATION

	UWM's game against UW-Green Bay on Feb. 17 at the Klotsche Center set a single-game attendance record for the women's team at home.  2,796 fans filed in to watch the exciting conference showdown, beating the previous attendance record of 2,629 set on Feb. 20, 1999, against UWGB.

	The Panthers' annual "Krowd the Klotsche" helped take in fans, as they saw the great in-state rivalry between the top two.  That game's attendance also set a record in the MCC.