Milwaukee To Play Michigan State In NCAA TournamentPrintable Selection Monday Quotes MILWAUKEE, Wis. (March 13, 2006) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team will play No. 16 Michigan State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament Saturday in Chicago. UWM (22-8) drew the No. 13 seed and will face fourth-seeded MSU (22-9) for the right to take on the winner of Kentucky and Chattanooga in the second round Monday. The game will be played at 11 a.m. central time and be carried live in ESPN2 from the Allstate Arena. The Spartans are the defending national runners-up and finished third in the Big Ten standings this season. They fell in the semifinals of the conference tournament to second-ranked Ohio State. Milwaukee is appearing in its second NCAA Tournament, last appearing in 2001. The top-seeded Panthers won the Horizon League Tournament championship with a 71-63 victory over UIC in the league title game March 6. UWM has set school records with 22 wins this season and the 12-game winning streak it carries into the NCAA Tournament. Fans interested in placing their name on a waiting list for tickets to UWM's first round game should call the UWM Ticket Office at 414-229-5886. Priority will be given to UWM season ticket holders and students, with any remaining available tickets then made available to the general public. Milwaukee NCAA Tournament Pairings Quotes Milwaukee Coach Sandy Botham On going to the NCAA Tournament "It's what we've been working for. We set three goals. We wanted to win the regular season and we did that. We wanted to win the tournament and we did that, and now we get to go to the NCAAs. I'm proud of our players. It's been a dream season. It's what it's all about - going to the big dance - and to have the opportunity to stay close to home is great. I feel confident about the matchup. I think it's a beatable team. That's half of it, with the players believing they can do it and then going out and executing." On staying close to home in Chicago "It will be just an hour and a half trip for our fans. It made such a difference hosting the Horizon League Tournament here and hopefully the fans can come out and support us on Saturday." On the matchup with Michigan State "I feel comfortable. This is the type of team we have seen in the non-conference. We played Iowa, we played Wisconsin - these are the kinds of teams we have matched up with consistently." On getting a 13 seed "I think a lot of things contributed to it. I think that fact that we won 12 in a row, the fact that we beat Green Bay twice this year. Having a Traci Edwards who is second in the nation for freshmen in field-goal percentage helps. I think the competitive non-conference that we played and we were competitive against helped. I think it's a tribute to a lot that we have done. We're playing great basketball right now. We're peaking, and I'm sure the selection committee saw that. I am so excited about the 13 seed." Senior Nichole Drummond On playing their best basketball heading into the tournament "It just gives us so much confidence, especially with the 12-game winning streak. I just know we are very confident right now and feel like we can compete with anybody." On seeing UWM pop up on the screen "It was the best feeling in the world, especially for the seniors because we 've been waiting for this for four years. To be able to go out by going to the tournament is great because not a lot of people get to do that. I was just screaming and jumping around. We really didn't believe it." On whether the team was surprised by getting a 13-seed "I think we kind of were because we're not that well-known of a school around the country. We feel like we earned it, actually, we gained the respect and that's great to know. I think the winning streak did help, especially coming at the end of the season because we peaked at just the right time. I think people saw that, and I think in the preseason people saw we competed against some really good teams." Milwaukee NCAA Tournament Quick Notes • The Panthers earned the Horizon League's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament by defeating UIC, 71-63, March 7 at the Klotsche Center. UWM defeated the Flames for the third time this season in that game. • Milwaukee is making its second NCAA Tournament appearance. The Panthers last earned a bid in 2001 after winning the then-Midwestern Collegiate Conference Tournament. They were seeded 16th and sent to Durham, N.C., to face No. 1 seed Duke. The Blue Devils prevailed 96-63. • UWM also won the Horizon League Regular Season title. It tied with UW-Green Bay for first in the league standings at 14-2, but earned the tie-breaker with a 2-0 record against the Phoenix during the regular season. It was Milwaukee's second regular season title, and first time as the No. 1 seed in the league tourney, after it earned a co-championship in 2001, also sharing it with UWGB. The Panthers have also finished second or better in the league seven-straight seasons. • Freshman center Traci Edwards led the Panthers honored by the league following the season, earning Newcomer of the Year honors, as well as All-League First Team accolades. Edwards was joined on the first team by senior Nichole Drummond and on the All-Newcomer team by sophomore Meredith Onson. Drummond was also named to the All-Defensive Team. • Head Coach Sandy Botham was named Coach of the Year for the third time in her career, including her first season in 1997 and UWM's last NCAA Tourney year of 2001. • Sophomore Dana Schultz is the only starter to lose time to injury this season. She suffered a season-ending knee injury in practice prior to the Horizon League Tournament. Schultz had started 26-of-27 games before the injury, her first season after injuring her other knee as a freshman and sitting out the 2004-05 season. Freshman Kim Wypiszynski has started in her place, averaging 9.7 points and 5.7 rebounds during the league tourney. She also had four blocks and four assists over the three games. • The Panthers led the league in field goal defense (42.0%), assists (16.8/g) and every rebounding category (38.5 per game, 32.1 allowed, +6.4 margin). They were also second in field goal percentage (44.6%). • Milwaukee is also 17th in the nation in assists, 21st in rebounding margin and 27th in field goal percentage. • Sandy Botham is in her 10th season as head coach at Milwaukee, boasting a 165-118 record in that time. She is also the second coach in league history with 100 career league wins (110). This is her third coaching NCAA Tournament after leading Beloit College to the second round of the Division III NCAA Tournament in her only season there (1995-96). The Buccaneers finished 22-4 that season to give Botham a 187-122 career coaching mark. • UWM has faced Michigan State one time, while having never met either of its two possible second round opponents (Kentucky, Chattanooga). MSU defeated the Panthers, 61-48, Dec. 12, 1992, in Milwaukee. • The Spartans are also the fourth Big Ten team Milwaukee has faced this season. It has a win over Northwestern, but fell to Iowa and Wisconsin. • The UWM men's basketball team also earned an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament and earned the 11th seed. It will face sixth-seeded Oklahoma Thursday at 11 a.m. in Jacksonville, Fla. This is the first time both teams will be in the NCAA Tournament in the same season, and the first time in Horizon League history the same school has won both the men's and women's regular season and tournament titles in basketball.
|
