March 9, 2001

GAME TIME * UWM women's basketball will challenge Loyola in the semifinals of the MCC Tournament on Friday at 5 p.m., hosted by UIC. The winner will advance to the MCC Championship against the winner of the #1 Green Bay and #5 UIC semifinal on Saturday at 5 p.m.

AIR TIME * Friday's game against the Ramblers will be broadcast on 1340 AM WJYI. Both semifinal games on Friday and the championship game on Saturday will be televised live on Milwaukee's local channel 41.

UWM (17-10) * The Panthers are coming off their seventh-straight-win, capturing the 58-34 victory over Wright Straight in Thursday night's quarterfinal.

Maria Viall led all scores with 21 points, and was the only player to score in double digits. Leading by only three points with 12:44 remaining in the game, UWM fueled an 11-0 run over a span of four minutes to keep the momentum for good. Viall sparked UWM's attack with a layup, followed by freshman Charlene Smith's swipe on defense and made layup. Seconds later, senior Teri Stoltenberg bombed a three-pointer after UWM stopped Wright State off the inbound. Viall again provided the Panthers with a basket inside the paint, and senior Nicole Luchsinger added two at the line to put UWM out of reach, 40-26, with eight minutes left. Milwaukee finished with 38 percent FG shooting, while Wright State shot 22 percent from the floor. Shooting 0-of-2 from beyond the arc, Wright State recorded 23 turnovers and just six assists. UWM committed 16 turnovers while tallying 12 assists. UWM took the 39-38 advantage on the boards.

LOYOLA (11-17) * Seeded #6 in the tournament, the Ramblers upset #3 Detroit, 73-58, Thursday afternoon at the UIC Pavilion.

Detroit led 36-31 at the half while shooting 43 percent, but Loyola turned gears after the half to shoot 55 percent while the Titans struggled with 22 percent shooting from the field. Five Ramblers scored in double digits, and were led by Laruen Yops' 17 points, including four three-pointers. Center Lauren Sirus recorded a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.

UWM SERIES AGAINST LOYOLA UWM leads the all-time series, 13-7, including a sweep of two games this season. Milwaukee defeated the Ramblers 70-55 in Chicago and 82-68 at home. Jessica Wilhite led UWM with 16 points in Chicago and again with 17 points in Milwaukee. In the Panthers last meeting with the Ramblers, UWM's bench contributed alot of points to help the cause. Allison Klaas complimented Wilhite's 17 points with 16 of her own, while Maria Viall pitched-in 14 off the bench and Janelle Jonason added 10.

INSIDE the GAME AGAINST WRIGHT STATE Maria Viall was the game's only player to score in double-digits while shooting 8-of-14 from the floor. She also scored 5-of-8 from the line while adding three blocks, two steals, and four rebounds. "There is really no one in the MCC who can guard her, so she has become our primary look," said Botham. "But getting her the ball inside also opens up everything else on the floor." Junior reserve Allison Klaas contributed nine points, including a couple tres, and senior forward Nicole Luchsinger added eight points, including 6-of-6 from the line. Junior Stefanie Kaufmann led the game on the boards with seven rebounds. After Wright State went on a 7-2 run early in the first half, but Milwaukee's Holly Tamm tied it up at 11 apiece with a pair of free throws at the 10:16 mark. The Raiders' Reggen Stewart quickly took the lead back at the line, but UWM went on a 12-3 run over the remaining 8:30 of the half. Maria Viall's 11 points helped the Panthers to take the 23-16 advantage at halftime.

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