March 3, 2003

MILWAUKEE - University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee junior center Maria Viall was named Horizon League Player of the Week here Monday (Mar. 3) thanks to her impressive showing during the Panthers final week of regular season play. The award is the second of the year for Viall, who won the honor Jan. 27. Viall joins senior guard Jessica Wilhite (Dec. 2) as Milwaukee POW recipients this season.

The 6-3 junior averaged 20.0 points and 13.0 rebounds while shooting 60.7% from the floor as UWM won both of its games last week. Viall scored 12 points and grabbed nine boards in Thursday's 83-75 win over Wright State. No. 24 then exploded versus Butler on Saturday, tying a season-high with 28 points while ripping down 17 rebounds in a 68-55 victory. Versus the Bulldogs, Viall added two blocked shots while connecting on 12-of-21 shots from the floor.

The reigning 2001-02 Horizon League Player of the Year, Viall currently leads the league in field goal percentage (57.0%) and blocked shots (1.85), and is second in rebounding (10.3) and fourth in scoring (17.9).

The Panthers, who are currently 15-12 on the year, will open up play in the Horizon League Tournament at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday. As the No. 3 seed, UWM will face sixth-seeded Cleveland State University in Thursday's second quarterfinal.