UWM (18-10) Battles UWGB (21-7) For MCC Championship Title
March 10, 2001
GAME TIME * The Panthers meet the Phoenix for the third time this season in the MCC Championship game on Saturday, 5 p.m., at the UIC Pavilion. AIR TIME * Saturday's championship game will be televised live on Milwaukee's local channel 41, and can also be heard on 1340 AM WJYI. UWM (18-10) * The Panthers are coming off an 80-49 victory over Loyola in the MCC semifinals Friday night. The Panthers' depth was key in the game as 11 players contributed baskets. With plenty of minutes shared throughout the team, UWM's starters should be rested for Saturay's championship game. Jessica Wilhite led all scores with 23 points, sinking six three-pointers and converting 5-of-5 at the line. Allison Klaas came off the bench to score 12 points, adding two from beyond the arc and making 6-of-6 free throws. UWM shot 42.9 percent from both the field and from three-point range. The Panthers defense forced Loyola to commit 19 turnovers, while shooting 30 percent from the field and connecting on 2-of-12 tres. UWGB (21-7) * The Phoenix defeated UIC, 72-55, in the second semifinal game on Friday night. Green Bay had to battle hard in the first half to take a five-point lead at the half, but pulled away midway in the second half to take the win. Mandy Stowe led all scores with 27 points in 30 minutes, while Amanda Leonhard added 14 points and reserve Sara Boyer scored 13. Green Bay shot 48 percent from the field, but were 3-of-11 from the arc while UIC shot 38 percent and made 2-of-14 three-pointers. Green Bay outrebounded the Flames, 41-28, while recording 18 assists and 16 turnovers. UWM SERIES AGAINST GREEN BAY This is the third meeting this season for the instate rivals, with each team winning their games at home. Green Bay leads the all-time series, 32-12, which dates back to when both were AIAW and NAIA affiliated. UWM defeated the Phoenix in their last match-up, 72-66, at the Klotsche Center on Feb. 17. Jessica Wilhite led UWM with 21 points over UWGB, who were playing without their leading scorer Mandy Stowe. Earlier in the season, UWM lost, 67-63, in Green Bay on Jan. 20. Wilhite also led all scores in that game, recording a career-high 32 points while an NCAA record for most three-pointers (10) this season. She also set all-time school and MCC records with her hot shooting. WILHITE VS. GREEN BAY The first time Jess Wilhite met the Phoenix this season, she scored 10-of-17 three-pointers, smashing records all over. She beat the the previous MCC record of nine, held by UWBG's Trisha Ebel set last year. Wilhite also broke UWM's record of seven, recorded by Andrea Filipek in last season's game against Green Bay. Wilhite also set a new season-high in the NCAA with her 10 tres, surpassing the previous high of nine by Rachael Gobble of Tennessee Tech and Michelle St. Clair of Cal-State Sacremento. The all-time NCAA recor of three-pointers in a game is 12. After Wilhite's eighth three-pointer of the evening, she became the fourth Panther to record 100 career three-point field goals. She joins Tracey Freund, teammate Teri Stoltenberg, and assistant coach Jen Greger as the only Panther women to do so. With accomplishing the feat in 43 games, she set a school record for fewest games to do so.
CHAMPIONSHIP FIRST Advancing to the championship game of the MCC Tournament is a first in the program's history. Since joining the conference in 1994, the farthest the Panthers have gone is advancing to the second round. In Botham's first year at the helm in 1996-97, she led UWM to the semifinals before falling to Detroit, 98-63. STREAK Capturing their eighth-straight win on Friday, UWM tied its longest winning-streak while in the MCC. Milwaukee enjoyed an eight-game winning streak during the 1997-98 season until they lost to Cleveland State on 1/15. If the Panthers win Saturay's game, they would set a new winning streak for the school since entering Division I. CLEAN HANDS MCC first team all-conference selection Jessica Wilhite got back into sync after a brief time off. After averaging 5.5 points the past three games, the sophomore guard recorded 23 points in UWM's blowout over Loyola. The three-straight games were the longest Wilhite has gone this season without scoring in double digits for the Panthers. MY KIND OF TOWN UWM holds a 4-0 record in playing games in Chicago this season. Milwaukee beat UIC, 55-51, and Loyola, 70-55, during the regular season and have captured two neutral wins at the UIC-hosted conference tournament. MARIA MARIA Before scoring 21 points against Wright State, greshman center Maria Viall tied her career-high in points on March 1 at Butler, scoring 25 against the Bulldogs. Maria previously scored 25 points on Dec. 17 against Central Michigan. Also against Butler, Maria tallied 10 rebounds to give her a double-double, her fourth of the year. Viall has recorded 19 games this season in which she has scored in double figures for the Panthers, while averaging 12.9ppg. 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. The last time UWM lost to an MCC foe at the Klotsche Center was on Feb. 20, 1999, when the Panthers dropped a 73-59 decision to UW-Green Bay. D-FENCE The Panthers fiesty defense has recorded 274 steals this season, averaging 10.2 per game. Their opponents have tallied only 205 steals, or 7.5 per game. They currently rank third in the conference in steals, as well as third in scoring defense by allowing opponents about 64.7 ppg. The Panthers' defense has also recorded less turnovers than their opponents, forcing other teams to turnover the ball 542 times, or an average of 20.7 per game. Their turnover margin of +2.9 ranks second in the MCC. TERI-STARTENBERG Senior guard Teri Stoltenberg will be starting her 98th career game for the Panthers when they take on Wright State. Since her freshman year in 1997 when she started all 27 games, Teri has played in 105 of the team's 110 games and started 97, missing only five games and eight starts due to injury. While nine 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. ILLINOIS-GROWN Chicago is familiar territory for the Panthers. Along with playing two teams from south of the border twice a year, UWM also features seven on 13 players on their roster with ties to the state of Illinois. Three players have transferred from Illinois schools: Holly Tamm (Illinois-Chicago), Angela Wenzel (Illinois-Chicago), and Allison Klaas (College of DuPage C.C.). Five players hail from Illinois as well: center Liz Fletcher (Wilmette), forward Stefanie Kaufmann (Ottawa), and guards Klaas (Wheaton), Jessica Wilhite (Glen Ellyn), and Charlene Smith (Bellwood). UWM COACH SANDY BOTHAM It has been another year and another major achievement for UWM women's basketball coach Sandy Botham. Currently in her fifth season at the helm, Botham garnered her second MCC Coach of the Year honors this season after guiding the Panthers to a share of the 2001 MCC regular-season title. Taking first place in the MCC is a first for the program since entering Division I, and they entered the 2001 MCC Championship as the second seed for the second year in a row. With Botham's guidance in 1999-2000, the Panthers earned their highest-ever - seed for the Midwestern Collegiate Conference post-season tournament, finishing second during the regular season. 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 2,796 fans that filed into the Klotsche Center on Feb. 17, 2001, 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. * 2000-01 18-10* Co-Champions of the MCC in regular season. MCC Coach of the Year. Advanced to the championship game, a program-first. Currently riding an eight-game winning streak, tieing the school's record since entering Division I.
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