Traci Edwards
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Milwaukee Takes On Wright State In League Semifinals
Panthers and Raiders square off for spot in league championship game
Game #31 - Horizon League Semifinals
Milwaukee vs. Wright State
Friday, March 14 • 5:30 p.m.
Green Bay, Wis. (Kress Center/4,000)
Radio: WOKY - 920 AM (Scott Warras)
TV: None
uwmpanthers.com: Live Stats, Video, Audio
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (March 13, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team heads to Green Bay, Wis., to play Wright State in the Horizon League Semifinals Friday. The Panthers are playing for their third trip to the league title game in team history. UWM and WSU tip off at 5:30 p.m. at the Kress Center.
Panther Bites
Traci Edwards is one point shy of tying her own school record for points in season (615) ... the Panthers need just one three-pointer to tie the school record for threes in a season (202) ... Milwaukee and Wright State last met just last Saturday, with the Panthers scoring a 67-54 win to lock up the tourney's third seed ... UWM got by Valparaiso in the league quarterfinals Wednesday, 67-60 ... Wright State advanced to the semis with a 69-60 win over Youngstown State ... Edwards was named the 2008 Horizon League Player of the Year, the league office announced this week ... Turquoise McCain was selected to the league's all-defensive team.
Next Up
Milwaukee and Wright State are playing for a spot in the league championship game. The winner will square off with the winner of Green Bay and Cleveland State Sunday at noon. The league title game will be televised live on ESPNU.
Reading Up On The Raiders
Wright State has certainly exceeded expectations this season under Horizon League Co-Coach of the Year Bridget Williams. Picked seventh in the league preseason poll, the Raiders went 11-7 in league play to tie the Panthers for second in the league standings and pick up the second seed in the tourney. The team is led by league newcomer of the year and first-team all-league member Sheylani Peddy. Peddy leads the team with 16.3 points, 3.3 assists and a league-best 94 steals. Whitney Lewis is adding 11.5 points and a team-best 5.5 rebounds per game, and is among the nation's elite in three-point shooting (50.0%).
Series History
Milwaukee and Wright State have alternated wins in the last eight meetings, a trend the Panthers would like to end. UWM won the last meeting, 67-64, in the regular season finale less than a week ago. Milwaukee has won both meetings with the Raiders that have come in the league tournament, including last season (2001).
Memorable To An Extent
The Panthers may want to remember their two previous league tournament contests with Wright State. But, the Raiders might want to forget them. The teams met in 2001, with UWM winning 58-34. Milwaukee held WSU to a school and league-record 20.4 percent shooting and a school-record 34 points. In their other meeting, in last season's quarterfinals, the Panthers were victorious in overtime, despite falling in a 23-4 hole 9:41 into the game. It was the second-largest comeback in school history.
Highlights Of Two Meetings
UWM and WSU split their regular season meetings with the Raiders scoring a 57-56 win at home and Milwaukee winning 67-54 at Klotsche. The Panthers' shot a school-record 64.3 percent in their win, but shot just 34.6 percent in the loss.
Last Time Out: Milwaukee 67, Valparaiso 60
Traci Edwards scored 26 points and pulled down 11 rebounds to lead Milwaukee to a 67-60 win over Valparaiso in the quarterfinals of the 2008 Horizon League Tournament Wednesday evening at the Klotsche Center. Edwards picked up her 17th double-double of the season, while adding a pair of blocks. She pushed her season scoring total to 614, just one point off the school record she set last season. Aubri Rote added 10 points, knocking down three 3-pointers, while Jody Crumble chipped in seven points, nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Notes From The Valparaiso Game
Milwaukee defeated the same team three times in a season for the fifth time ... Aubri Rote pushed her career three-point total to 80, tying her for seventh in school history ... the Panthers have now hit 201 three-pointers on the year, one off the school record they set last season ... Traci Edwards is now 18 rebounds from tying Maria Viall's school record of 315 rebounds in a season ... she also moved into the league lead in field goal percentage at 56.6 percent.
Look At The League Tourney
Milwaukee finished the regular season in a tie for second in the league standings, but holds the third seed due to tiebreakers, more specifically UWM's record vs. Butler (1-1, Wright State was 2-0). Milwaukee has been the third seed just one time before, in 2003, and will look to be the first team seeded lower than second to win the league tournament since 1994-95 (No. 4 Northern Illinois). In fact, the `95 Huskies are the only champ not to be seeded first or second. Green Bay has won eight of the last 10 tournaments, with the Panthers collecting the other two (2001, 2006).
Numbers To Watch
Traci Edwards has found herself on the cusp of a pair of lofty school records. With just two points Friday, she will break her own school record for points in a season (615), which she set as a sophomore. She is also 19 rebounds away from breaking Maria Viall's single-season rebounding record of 315, set in 2003-04. Edwards is also one scored point off her school-record scoring average from last season (20.5).
Team Treys
With an inside-outside game like the one the Panthers feature, there are bound to be three-pointers aplenty. Milwaukee has hit on 201 three-point tries this season, just one off the school record the team set last season. UWM is also averaging 6.70 three-pointers per game, good for 28th in the nation entering the week. UWM is also knocking down 37.4 percent of its chances, up from 37.3 at the start of the week which was 17th in the nation. In addition to the three-pointers made mark, the Panthers are also hovering just below the school record of 37.8 percent set during the 1996-97 season. Seven times the Panthers have hit on 10-or-more three-pointers this season. They have also built up a modest streak of 175-straight games with a three-pointer. While that is far less than halfway to any NCAA records, it is a school record or the most consecutive games with at least one 3-pointer.
Edwards Named Player Of The Year
Traci Edwards was named the Horizon League Player of the Year, the league office announced this week. She is the third Panther to be named player of the year, following Maria Viall in 2001-02 and 2003-04 and Jen Greger in 1996-97. She was also named to the all-league first team for the third time, making her just the third player in league history to earn first-team honors in each of her first three seasons.
Turq On The Defensive Team
Junior Turquoise McCain was also honored, being named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team team. She is the first Panther to make the team since Nichole Drummond in 2005-06. McCain is second on the team in steals, with 34, and rebounding, with 4.1 per game.
Injury News
McCain will likely miss the rest of the season with a broken toe. She first missed the Panthers' March 1 game at Green Bay after starting the first 26 games of the season. She had been averaging 6.8 points per game, good for third-best on the team.
Hot Shots
The Panthers shot a school-record 64.3 percent from the field against Wright State last Saturday. That broke the school record of 61.5 percent, also set against the Raiders, Feb. 27, 2003. Milwaukee shot over 60 percent in both halves, including a blistering 68.4 percent in the first half. The last time UWM shot 60 percent in a game was Nov. 19, 2006, when it shot 60.0 percent against Central Connecticut State.
JLee's Stepping Up
Over the last five games, freshman Jenilee Klomstad has been sharing court time with Traci Edwards rather than subbing in for the junior center. The 6-foot-4 Klomstad has shined in that time, averaging 8.8 points in 15.8 minutes per game over her last four games. She is also shooting 76.0 percent from the field in that time. Last Saturday against Wright State, Klomstad scored a career-high 15 points on 7-of-7 shooting in a career-best 23 minutes. In the first 12 games she played in this season, she had just 57 minutes and 13 points, and shot 26.7 percent.
Now THAT Is Rebounding
Since being held to double-digit points in back to back games vs. Green Bay and at Cleveland State, Traci Edwards has averaged 26.0 points per game. In the nine games since, she has topped 20 points seven times and 35 points twice.
Tracking The League Leaders
Traci Edwards is making a push for her second-straight league scoring title and third-straight rebounding crown. While she has virtually locked up the rebounding title, Edwards has been vying with Cleveland State's Kailey Klein for the scoring lead and currently holds the top spot at 20.5 points per game. Klein cut into the lead some last week by averaging 26.5 ppg, and is now averaging 19.7 ppg. Edwards, on the other hand, averaged 19.0 ppg last week and, with 26 points Wednesday, holds a 0.8 ppg lead. Overall, Edwards currently maintains a 614-to-591 advantage in total points.
What That Means...
There has been just one player to lead the Horizon League in scoring in back-to-back seasons and that was Loyola's Sheryl Porter back in the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons. Meanwhile, there have been two more players to lead the league twice in their careers. Edwards also could be just the third player to lead the circuit in rebounding three-straight times. No player has ever done it four times. Lastly, Edwards' 2006-07 season was just the third in league history that a player finished atop both the scoring and rebounding charts, while she could become the first to do so in back-to-back seasons.
Close, But No Cigar
UWM's one-point loss at Green Bay March 1 was its second-straight one-point defeat and its eighth loss this season by three points or less. The eight losses have come by a combined 15 points. Milwaukee is 2-8 in games decided by five points or less.
Lordy, Lordy, Look Who Scored Forty (Five)
Traci Edwards went off for 45 points at Loyola Feb. 21, breaking her own school record of 42 points she set last season. Her point total is tied for the second-highest point total in NCAA Division I this season and is the third-highest in league history. She did it in an efficient manner, as well, making 12-of-14 shots for the second-best field goal percentage in school history. Edwards also went 20-for-22 from the free throw line, setting a school record for free throws made in a game. Corrin Von Wald had held that mark with 18 made Jan. 19, 2000.
Double Or Nothing
Jan. 10 against Youngstown State, Traci Edwards broke the school record for career double-doubles. Then, March 6, she broke the school record for double-doubles in a season with her 16th and now has 17. Edwards has wasted little time in racking up the double-doubles in her career, tallying 45 in 91 career games thanks to what had been a school-record 15 as a freshman. She had equaled that record Feb. 23. As for double-digit rebounding games, she also holds that career mark with 47 and has broken her own school standard with 18 this season.
Player Of The Week
Traci Edwards was named the Horizon League Player of the Week for the second time this season Feb. 25. She averaged 32.5 points and 11 rebounds per game last week, including her school-record 45-point performance at Loyola. The award was the seventh of her career, tying Maria Viall's school record and two behind Nicole Soulis' (Green Bay) league record of nine.
Well, If They're `Free'...
Traci Edwards has been a force in the paint for the Panthers, so much so that opponents are fouling her at a feverish pace. Thanks to her 20-for-22 outburst at Loyola Feb. 21 and a 9-for-9 effort at Green Bay March 1, she is averaging 6.9 free throws made and 8.8 attempts per game. According to Yahoo! Sports, both are second in the nation behind Western Kentucky's Crystal Kelly (7.8-for-9.4). With 206 free throws made, she handily broke her own school record of 175 free throws made in a season and the league record of 179. Edwards had long ago eclipsed the school record for attempts that she set in each of her first two seasons (212) with 265 so far this season. The trend has been there throughout her career as she has passed Maria Viall's school records for both free throws made (390) and attempted (550) this season. Edwards has now gone 517-for-701 from the free throw line in her career, putting her fourth in league history in free throws made, one back of third and 21 off the league mark set by Green Bay's Chari Nordgaard (1996-99).
Then There Was That One Time
The Feb. 21 game at Loyola was not the only memorable free throw display by Edwards this season. Jan. 19 at Butler, she was a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe, tying a school record for free throw percentage. She also had the second-most free throws made in a game without a miss, tying Corrin Von Wald's effort from the 1999-00 season. Later that season, Von Wald posted the best free throw shooting game, going 18-for-18. Eighteen made free throws is the minimum for inclusion in the NCAA Record Book.
Keeping It Going
Traci Edwards was limited to just 18 minutes against Green Bay Feb. 2, scoring five points and pulling down just one rebound. The game ended her streak of 41-straight games scoring in double-figures and set a career-low for rebounds in a game (which had been two in her collegiate debut). She had started the season with a 22-game streak that had already established a school record and scored 30 points in the season opener. The 30-point outing was a school record for points in a season opener and the fourth 30-point outing of her career, another record (she now has six). It was also Edwards' fifth-straight 20-point game dating back to last season, tying a school record she had already shared. While the single-digit scoring game was one of six in 91 career games for Edwards, she followed that up with just eight points at Cleveland State Feb. 7. It was the first time that she failed to reach 10 points in back-to-back games. Overall, she has scored in double figures 85 times in her career, including 20-or-more points a school-record 42 times and 30-plus points another record of eight times.
Pacing The Panthers
It's no surprise that Traci Edwards is the focal point of the UWM offense. But, this season, she has stepped up that team-leading production. In 91 career games, Edwards has led the team in scoring 73 times and rebounding 78 times. She has led the team in scoring in 26-of-30 games this season and had a streak of 27-straight games she played in where she led the team in scoring come to an end. She also had a smaller streak of 11-straight games leading in rebounding snapped. The scoring streak was a school record and three times longer than any such streak in the team's Division I history. After that streak ended, Edwards then led the team in scoring in 10-straight games, the second-longest streak in school history. Feb. 2 vs. Green Bay was just the sixth time in her career that she did not lead the team in scoring or rebounding.
Botham's Figures
UWM's Feb. 16 win over Valparaiso was career league victory No. 126 for head coach Sandy Botham. She broke the league record for wins in league play, which she had held with Kevin Borseth, who coached at Green Bay through last season. She has now led UWM to a 129-57 record in league play in her career. Botham is also looking to get closer to her 200th win as coach of the Panthers. Milwaukee needs to reach 20 wins this season for her to get to the milestone. Botham has a 197-148 career record on the UWM sidelines.
What It Takes To Win
Every team needs things to go right in order to win, but the keys for the Panthers this season have been rebounding and three-point shooting. The first 14 of Milwaukee's wins came in games it has outrebounded its opponent, while March 6 was its first win when being outrebounded. Overall, the rebounding comparison is staggering, as UWM is outrebounding opponents by 10.0 per game in its 17 wins but concede a 0.3 rebounding edge in 13 losses. From three-point range, Milwaukee is shooting 41.9 percent in wins compared to just 31.8 in losses.
Sometimes It's How You Start...
The Panthers have excelled when they have given themselves the early advantage, as evidenced by a 15-5 record when they win the tip off. UWM is also 12-1 when it scores first.
Sometimes... Not So Much
Milwaukee has five wins this season when its opponent gets on the board first (5-12). But, the first possession for the team doesn't seem too crucial. The Panthers are 8-5 when their first possession yields points, while boasting a respectable 9-8 record when not scoring on that possession.
League Success
The Panthers continued a strong tradition of success in the Horizon League in 2007-08. Milwaukee finished second-or-better in the league standings for the eighth time in nine seasons and is 104-37 in league games since 1999-2000. UWM has won league titles in 2001 and 2006.
Rookie Starters
For the first time in almost three years, three freshmen were in the starting lineup for Milwaukee at Cleveland State Feb. 7. Maurika Hickman, Lindsay Laur and Jineen Williams started together for the first time this season and were the first trio of freshmen in the same starting five since Feb. 12, 2005, also at CSU. In that game, Elisha Hudson, Meghan Klein and Emily Huss got the start. Hickman, Laur and Williams have started five games together, marking the first time in UWM's Division I history that three freshmen have cracked the starting lineup together for multiple games.
Twenty Times Two
When Maurika Hickman and Lindsay Laur each scored 20 points off the bench Feb. 2, it was historic for a number of reasons. First, it was the first game in UWM's Division I history that two freshmen scored 20 points in the same game. It was also the first where both scorers came off the bench. The last time any two players topped 20 points in the same game for Milwaukee was its 2007-08 season-opener when Traci Edwards tallied 30 points and Aubri Rote added 20. That was the first 30/20 game for the Panthers since Jan. 15, 1998, when Trina Rathke scored 30 and Daryl Schaffeld 20. Lastly, the last time Milwaukee had one 20-point scorer off the bench was Megan Rogers (21) Feb. 17, 2005. The last freshman, before Hickman and Laur, to drop 20 for UWM was Edwards in the 2006 Horizon League title game (24 points).
Big Half When They Needed It Most
In attempting the largest comeback in school history vs. Butler Feb. 14, Milwaukee put together one of its best halves of basketball this season. The Panthers cut a 22-point halftime deficit to one late by shooting 61.3 percent from the field in the second half and making 7-of-11 three-point attempts. UWM used efficient shooting to put 51 points on the board, its second 50-point half of the season. Milwaukee also scored 51 points in a half at Central Connecticut State Dec. 1, when the Panthers shot 60.7 percent from the field and made 8-of-12 second-half three-point attempts in after halftime.
The Comeback Kids Have Come Back
Milwaukee's near comeback against Butler was a great example of the Panthers' unwillingness to quit. UWM came back from 13 down at Green Bay March 1 and overcame a 12-point halftime deficit at UIC to take late leads before dropping one-point decisions. Milwaukee has also overcome double-digit deficits against Cleveland State twice this season to mixed results. The Panthers overcame a 13-point first-half deficit, and an eight-point hole at halftime, to defeat the Vikings Jan. 12. Then, Feb. 7 on the road, UWM trailed by 14 in the first half and fought back to take a two-point lead late before falling.
500 And Counting
Milwaukee's win at Valparaiso Jan. 17 was the 500th in its program history. The Panthers followed that up with a win at Butler Jan. 19, their 250th win at the Division I level. The program is now 507-431 all-time, including 256-249 since moving to Division I in 1990.
Moving On Up
As just a junior, Traci Edwards is poised to hold a number of school records when her career comes to an end. The parade of records has already started with her previously-mentioned double-double and free throw marks. But, before you can get to No. 1, you have to get to No. 2. Edwards has done that on the school's Division I scoring list. With 22 points Jan. 26 against Loyola, she passed Jessica Wilhite for second behind Maria Viall (1,867) and now has 1,729 points. Previously this season, she surpassed Erica Young (751) for second in Division I rebounding with 890. Edwards trails only Viall in scoring, rebounding (971), double-digit scoring games with 85 (Viall has 98) and she recently broke Viall's record for 20-point games with the 42nd of her career Wednesday.
Home Sweet Home
The Klotsche Center remains a difficult place for visiting teams to succeed. In 11-plus years under Sandy Botham, the Panthers are 104-48 at home. The Panthers went 8-5 at home last season after a school-record 13-3 home campaign in 2005-06. In league play, those numbers are even better as Milwaukee boasts a 73-18 home league mark. The Panthers have won 58 of their last 69 home league games over the last eight seasons and posted three perfect home league years--going 8-0 in 2003-04 and 7-0 in both 1999-00 and 2000-01.
Building For The Future
Milwaukee signed a player to a National Letter of Intent during the early signing period when Amanda Viehauser of Minneapolis, Minn., committed to the Panthers. A varsity player since her eighth-grade year, Viehauser is coming off all-state honorable mention honors in her first year at Armstrong High School. She averaged 12.4 points per game and was named to the all-conference team. Prior to that, she played three years at Minneapolis Washburn High School.
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