Traci Edwards
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UWM Kicks Off Regular Season At North Carolina State
Milwaukee participating in the 2008 Wolpack Invitational
Game #1 • Nov. 14 • 11 a.m.
Wolfpack Invitational
Milwaukee @ North Carolina State
Reynolds Coliseum (9,500) • Raleigh, N.C.
Internet: Live Stats, Audio
Radio: AM 920 The Wolf (Scott Warras)
TV: None
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 11, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team opens the 2008-09 regular season on the road, traveling to the Wolfpack Invitational, this weekend in Raleigh, N.C. The Panthers take on host North Carolina State Saturday, with the winner advancing to play the winner of USC/Charlotte Sunday. Saturday's tip-off is scheduled for 11 a.m. central time.
How's It Going...
The Panthers are coming off a 17-14 season in 2007-08 and enter the regular season with a pair of exhibition wins under their belt. UWM took on Division II No. 7 Michigan Tech Nov. 6 and overcame an 11-point deficit to win, 70-61, in overtime. Last Sunday, Milwaukee held off Division III Dubuque, 82-70.
Up Next
Milwaukee will play either USC or Charlotte in the consolation or championship game of the Wolfpack Invitational Sunday. Game times are set for 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. central time.
Panthers Third In Preseason Poll
Milwaukee was picked third in the Horizon League preseason poll of league coaches, sports information directors and media. The Panthers received two first-place votes and tallied 240 points, just one point back of second-place Wright State (241 points), which garnered one first-place vote. Two-time defending regular season champion Green Bay topped the list with 24 first-place votes and 284 total points.
More Preseason Picks
Senior Traci Edwards was selected as the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year for the second-straight season. As a junior, she led the league with 20.6 points and 9.7 rebounds per game and became the fourth UWM league player of the year. She is looking to become just the second player in league history to be named to the all-league first team four times.
About The Wolfpack
Three starters are back for lengendary coach Kay Yow's Wolfpack. NC State went 21-13 last season and advanced to the WNIT Semifinals. Shayla Fields finished second on the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game, while adding 3.8 rebounds and dishing out 2.5 assists per game. The Wolfpack scored a 59-53 victory over Premier Players in their only exhibition contest.
Series History
The Panthers have never played North Carolina State or a team from the state of North Carolina. UWM has, however, posted an 0-5 record against other ACC foes in Miami (0-2), Duke (0-2) and Florida State (0-1).
Last Time Out: UWM 82, Dubuque 70
Senior Traci Edwards scored 21 points and senior Turquoise McCain added 16 as Milwaukee held off a determined Dubuque squad to claim an 82-70 exhibition win Sunday afternoon. The Panthers were pushed hard by the NCAA Division III Spartans, who were within three points with just over five minutes to play after trailing by 16 points with 10 minutes remaining.
Starting Out Of The Gate
Freshman Amanda Viehauser is penciled in as a projected starter for Saturday's game at NC State. Should she be on the floor for the opening tip, she would be the first freshman to start a season-opener since Aubrey Hampton in 2003. Viehauser earned a start in UWM's second exhibition game and averaged 10 points and seven rebounds per game, while shooting 53 percent from the field.
Speaking Of Season Openers...
Milwaukee won its season opener last season for the first time since 2000-01. UWM had dropped its last five season-openers and is 4-9 in the first game of the season under head coach Sandy Botham. Five of the Panthers' last six openers have come against three Big East teams, a Big XII team and a Big Ten squad. UWM is 5-12 in openers since its first season in Division I (1990-91), playing 10 schools from the `BCS' conferences.
Tourney Time
The Panthers are playing in an in-season tournament for the fourth time in the last five seasons, including a first-place finish at the 2006 SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic their last time out. Including the SMU tournament, UWM has won four-straight in-season tourney games dating back to the 2004 Seattle Times Husky Classic. Overall, Milwaukee is 19-17 in tournament play since moving to Division I. The team is 18-10 in tourneys under head coach Sandy Botham, claiming three titles.
Close, But No Cigar
Milwaukee fought back from an 11-point deficit in the second half to upend the Michigan Tech in exhibition play Nov. 6. The comeback also included a game-tying shot layup with two seconds remaining by senior Markita Barnes. The team's fortitude is a good sign, as it lost nine games by three points or less last season. The nine losses came by a combined 17 points. Milwaukee was 2-9 in games decided by five points or less. Also, the last time the Panthers had a "last-second" shot to tie or win a regular season game was in the 2007 league quarterfinals.
Chasing Records
Senior Traci Edwards has spent much of her career breaking a number of school records, but she is on the verge of her biggest yet. She enters her senior season just 114 points shy of Maria Viall's career school scoring record (1,867). Edwards is currently third behind Viall and Jaci Clark (1,830), but could be the first Panther in school history, male or female, to crack the 2,000-point plateau. Also in her sights is Viall's Division I rebounding record of 971. Edwards has 895 after three seasons and will likely join Clark as the only 1,000-point/1,000-rebound women in school history. According to the latest released reports, only 124 women's players in NCAA history, in any division, have reached the milestone. She would also be the first from a Horizon League or Wisconsin school to do so.
More Elite Company
Edwards has the chance to put an emphatic stamp on an already impressive career, even with an "average" season by her standards. Along with chasing various hallowed school records, she is also in range of league records for career scoring (2,018), free throws made (538) and even player of the week awards (9). She already holds the school free throw mark for a career with 528 and has been named the player of the week seven times.
More Than Just Numbers
Last season, Traci Edwards became the first player in league history to lead the league in scoring and rebounding in the same season twice, as well as the second to lead the league in rebounding three times and scoring in back-to-back seasons. In 2008-09, she will look to join some similar groups as she is looking to become the first league player to lead the league in scoring three times in a career or rebounding four times. Edwards will also be shooting for a fourth-straight all-league first team honor, which only one player has ever done, as well as a repeat league player of the year award, something only four players have done. She has also been named to the league's all-tournament team three times, while only one player has ever done it four times.
Approaching 200
Sandy Botham enters the 2008-09 season just three wins shy of 200 in her career at Milwaukee. In 12 years at the helm of the Panther program, she has compiled a 197-149 record. In her 13-year coaching career, including one season at Beloit, Botham has a mark of 219-153.
Back In Black & Gold
The Panthers will have the luxury of a wealth of experience this season, as 12 letterwinners return. Heading the list is senior Traci Edwards, the 2008 Horizon League Player of the Year. Three more seniors are back, including Turquoise McCain, a league all-defensive team selection last season, Katie Fournier, Jody Crumble and Markita Barnes. The Panthers' five-player senior class is the largest senior class in the team's Division I history. The squad also boasts two juniors, including returning starter Jodie McClain, and five sophomores, four of which saw extended minutes throughout the season and three that started games.
But What That Means...
Milwaukee's 12 returning players accounted for 81 percent of its scoring last season, a figure that includes eight of the team's top nine scorers. On the glass, even a larger percentage will be back in 2008-09, as 83.4 percent of UWM's rebounds are also back. If that weren't enough, the experience level of the team has also risen. Returning players have combined for 486 games played in a Panther uniform, including 240 starts. That is a rather sizable increase over last season's already impressive numbers (362 games/177 starts).
League Success
The Panthers are looking to continue a strong tradition of success in the Horizon League in 2008-09. Milwaukee has finished second-or-better in the league standings in eight of the last nine seasons and are 104-37 in league games since 1999-2000. UWM has won league titles in 2001 and 2006.
Welcome To Milwaukee
With 12 letterwinners returning from last season, there is little room for new faces. But, head coach Sandy Botham and her staff have added three players for the upcoming season including freshman post players Danielle Jorgenson and Amanda Viehauser. Ashley Imperiale also joined the team as a transfer, most recently from UW-LaCrosse. Jorgenson is 6-foot-3 and hails from La Crosse, Wis., where she was an all-state first-team selection and two-time area player of the year. Viehauser hails from Minneapolis, Minn., and was all-state honorable mention twice. Meanwhile, Imperiale is a 5-foot-11 guard out of nearby Greendale, Wis. She transferred to UWM after the fall semester last season from UW-La Crosse. Imperiale should be eligible after the fall semester and have sophomore eligibility.
Lining Up The 2008-09 Schedule
The Panthers continue to challenge themselves in the non-league season and their 2008-09 schedule is no different. UWM will play as many as 10 games against teams that advanced to the post-season in 2008, including WNIT Champion Marquette. The Panthers and Golden Eagles resume their series after a respite last season. Milwaukee will also face Wisconsin and Illinois from the Big Ten, as well as Washington State from the Pacific 10. The Illini and Evansville highlight the home schedule as 20-game winners and WNIT participants
Home Sweet Home
The Klotsche Center remains a difficult place for visiting teams to succeed. In 12 years under Sandy Botham, the Panthers are 106-49 at home. The Panthers went 9-7 at home last season and are just two seasons removed from a school-record 13-3 home campaign in 2005-06. In league play, those numbers are even better as Milwaukee boasts a 74-19 home record. That number has gotten a boost lately, as the Panthers have won 59 of their last 71 home league games over the last nine seasons. UWM has also posted three perfect home league years, going 8-0 in 2003-04 and 7-0 in both 1999-2000 and 2000-01.
Panthers On The Air
For the second-straight season, every Panther game will be carried live on AM920 WOKY. The station is also be the home of the Sandy Botham Radio Show, while both the show and every game will be available live at uwmpanthers.com. Scott Warras returns for his third season as the voice of UWM women's basketball and the host of the Sandy Botham Radio show.
Be Sure To Watch
While the games remain to be set in stone, the Panthers will continue to get television coverage in the Milwaukee area. As many as six games could be carried live on Time Warner Sports channel 32 and then be replayed on the station afterwards. Also, every league game will be available to watch online through the Horizon League Network (www.horizonleaguenetwork.tv). Time Warner Sports will also be the home of the Sandy Botham TV show.
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