March 3, 2004

MILWAUKEE -

Postseason Play Set To Begin

With the 2003-04 regular season under wraps, the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball is now set for the "final phase" of the campaign. The Panthers, who finished the regular season 16-11 overall and 12-4 in the Horizon League, will take a No. 2 seed into the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament on Thursday (Mar. 4). UWM, the host school for the tournament, will play No. 7 seed Illinois-Chicago beginning at 7:00 p.m. at the Klotsche Center. The game will be one of four Horizon League Tournament quarterfinal games taking place around the league. The winners of all four games advance to the semifinals which will begin on Sunday (Mar. 7). The Panthers lead the all-time series with the Flames 17-9, including a pair of victories this season. The quarterfinal game can be heard live on WMCS 1290-AM or by visiting UWM's official athletic website, www.uwmpanthers.com. Dan Pfeifer will call the play-by-play with Assistant Sports Information Director Bret Seymour providing commentary.

Viall's Record-Breaking Night Comes With Win

Things went about as well as possible Saturday (Feb. 28) night in Youngstown, Ohio. Not only did the UWM women's basketball team lead for nearly all 40 minutes in a 59-51 win over Youngstown State University, but senior center Maria Viall had a night to remember as she became the school's all-time leading scorer. A pair of Kiley Johnson three-pointers midway through the first half gave the Panthers the lead for good while Viall scored 10 first half points to give the Panthers a 31-25 halftime lead. UWM controlled the game throughout and, with six seconds remaining, two Viall free throws gave her 21 points for the game, and more importantly, 1,831 for her career. That number eclipsed the mark of 1,830 scored by Jaci Clark from 1979-1983. Viall, who already owned four other Milwaukee school records, is currently third all-time on the Horizon League scoring list.

Scouting the Flames

The Flames of the University of Illinois-Chicago enter the 2004 Horizon League Tournament as not only one of the youngest teams in the league, but one of the more explosive offensively. UIC head coach Lisa Ryckbosch starts three freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior in her starting five. All-Horizon League Second-Team performer Chrissy Dizon leads the Flame attack, as she averages 14.6 points per game, 3.9 rebounds, and a team-best 3.4 assists per contest. Freshmen Krystal Hugelier and LaShonda Grant have become bigtime outside scoring threats and average 8.9 and 7.2 ppg respectively. The two players were both named to the league's All-Newcomer Team and have a combined 79 three-pointers between them. UIC averages 65.2 points per game this season, good for third-best in the loop. The Flames have struggled to take care of the ball, however, as evidenced by their 20.4 turnover per game average. Ryckbosch is in her second season at UIC after serving as the head assistant at crosstown rival DePaul.

Tournament Comes To Milwaukee

History will be made Thursday evening when the UWM women's hoops team hosts its quarterfinal Horizon League Tournament game versus UIC. The game will mark the first time in league history that a league tourney contest will be played in the city of Milwaukee. The Panthers hope things continue throughout the weekend as UWM is set to host the remaining 2004 Championship. If Milwaukee defeats the Flames on Thursday then the tournament semifinals and finals will be played at the Klotsche Center on Sunday and Monday. If the tourney stays in Milwaukee, UWM will play in the 2:00 p.m. semifinal on Sunday with the second semifinal set to begin at 4:30 p.m. Monday's night championship game, which will be televised regionally on FOX SPORTS NET, is set to tipoff at 6 p.m. The winner of the 2004 Horizon League Women's Basketball Tournament receives the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Horizon League Tournament History

With the exception of the 2000-01 season, the Horizon League (formerly Midwestern Collegiate Conference) Tournament has not been kind to the UWM women's basketball program. The Panthers, who went 3-0 en route to the program's only tournament title and NCAA berth in 2001, are just 4-7 all-time in the Horizon League Tournament and 4-6 under current head coach Sandy Botham. In fact, outside of the 2001 campaign UWM has advanced past the quarterfinals of the tourney just once, thanks to a 79-61 win over Cleveland State in 1997. Milwaukee, which has dropped quarterfinal games each of the last two season's as the favored team, has been "upset" in the first round three different times. While UWM has been upset in the quarterfinals twice as a No. 2 seed, it was also the second seed during the run to the championship in 2001. Last season No. 3 Milwaukee dropped an 83-69 decision to No. 6 seed Cleveland State in Green Bay.

Horizon League Homestands

While playing at home is certainly a plus for UWM this 2003-04 postseason, having home court advantage for the league tournament has not been an indicator of past success. Including UW-Green Bay last season, only two host institutions have won the league tournament on its home floor. UWGB, who went 3-0 en route to the 2003 title and the 1995 Northern Illinois squad which posted a 3-0 mark at Chick Evans Fieldhouse in DeKalb, are the only two Horizon League/MCC teams to hold serve at home. Four other teams, Butler in 1998, Green Bay in 1997 and 1996 and Xavier in 1992, hosted the tournament but lost in the championship game. The host schools boast a 17-12 record all-time in the 15 years of postseason play.

Fantastic Finishes For UWM

Give the 2003-04 UWM women's hoops team this, it certainly has a flair for the dramatic. Following last Monday's two-point win over UW-Green Bay, the Panthers have now played 12 games that have been decided by five or fewer points this season while owning a 7-5 mark in those contests. Furthermore, of those 12 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.

Dominating The Glass

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. UWM owns a +6.9 rebound margin this season, good for 17th-best in the country. That margin, which improves to +10.4 in Horizon League play, has been cushioned by some impressive rebounding games. In the first meeting UWM-UWGB meeting, 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 10.4 rebounds per game which is also good for 16th nationally.

Maria, Maria

If there was every any doubt about where UWM senior Maria Viall stood among the great players in Horiozn League history there shouldn't be any now. The center from Waukesha was named the 2003-04 League Player of the Year on Monday along with First-Team All-League and All-Defensive Team accolades. Viall, who was named the POY as a sophomore in 2001-02, joins Notre Dame's Karen Robinson (1989-91) as the only dual Player of the Year winners in league history. Furthermore, with three straight First-Team All-League nods, Viall became just the third play in league history to earn first-team honors three straight seasons. No. 24 finished the regular season leading the Horizon League in scoring (18.3 ppg), rebounding (10.4 ppg), field goal percentage (52.5%) while placing fourth in blocked shots (1.15 bpg) and eighth in free throw percentage (73.4%).

Peaking At The Right Time

Talk about peaking at the right time. Following a 20-point loss at UW-Green Bay on January 26th, the fortunes for the UWM women's hoops team didn't look great. The Panthers owned a 7-10 overall record and a 3-3 mark in the Horizon League with tough games up ahead. However, something started to click from that day forward as the Panthers have won nine of their last ten games to improve to 16-11 overall and a second-place Horizon League finish and 12-4 mark. Defense has been the name of the game during the stretch as UWM has help opponents to 58.1 points per game and 38.9% shooting from the field. Meanwhile, UWM has averaged 62.9 ppg to go with a +9.4 rebound margin. Senior center Maria Viall has continued her dominant play, averaging 18.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game during the stretch while sophomore forward Nichole Drummond boasts 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in the ten contests.

Home Sweet Home

Familiar rims. A normal schedule. No bus rides. Good old fashioned dorm food. Whatever it is, the UWM women's hoops squad has played some impressive basketball at home this season. Entering Thursday's Horizon League quarterfinal game UWM is 10-1 at home while boasting a current eight-game home court winning streak. The Panthers have outscored the opposition 65.9 to 57.3 at home this year with their only blemish a 58-55 loss to crosstown rival and Top 50 team, Marquette. UWM has shot 41.6% from the floor and 72.1% from the free throw line in the friendly confines while holding the opposition to 39.1% marksmanship from the floor and 65.1% shooting from the charity stripe. Furthermore, Milwaukee has lived at the line at home this year, connecting on 150 free throw makes while holding the visitors to just 126 total free throw attempts.

Home Court Dominance

You hear coaches talk about it all the time. You see the truly successful programs do it all the time. And, thankfully for UWM, that thing, winning at home, has become commonplace in recent years. During the Sandy Botham era homecourt domination has become a staple of the program. In the eight-year Botham tenure, Milwaukee boasts a 51-9 home record versus Horizon League opponents, good for an 85.0% winning percentage. That number has even increased recently as UWM has won 92.1% of its home Horizon League games, 35 of 38, in the last five seasons. Including this season, UWM has gone undefeated at home three times in Horizon League play, going 8-0 this season and 7-0 in both 2000-01 and 1999-2000.

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.

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 sixth diary entry, which highlight's senior day, the scoring record, and a fun road trip to Youngstown, Ohio, is now currently online. Fans can read each diary by clicking on the Women's College Basketball Link from the ESPN.com homepage or by doing a Maria Viall search on ESPN.com.