Lindsay Laur
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Panthers Take On Air Force In Colorado
Milwaukee in search of first win of 2008-09 season
Game #3 • Nov. 22 • 1 p.m.
Milwaukee @ Air Force
Clune Arena (5,939) • Colorado Springs, Colo.
Internet: Live Stats, Audio
Radio: AM 920 The Wolf (Scott Warras)
TV: None
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Nov. 18, 2008) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team stays on the road in search of its first win of the season when it heads to Colorado Springs, Colo., Saturday to take on Air Force. The Panthers and Falcons tip off at 1 p.m. central time.
How's It Going...
Milwaukee sits at 0-2 on the season after dropping a pair of games at the Wolfpack Invitational last weekend in Raleigh, N.C. UWM fell to host North Carolina State Saturday and to USC in the consolation game Sunday.
Up Next
The Panthers return to Milwaukee for their home opener Nov. 26 against SIU-Edwardsville.
About The Falcons
Air Force is 0-1 on the year after a season-opening 73-53 loss to Northern Colorado last Friday. The Falcons were led by Raimee Beck's 18 points. Beck is one of three starters returning from last season's 10-19 squad. USAFA has one more game this week before welcoming UWM to Colorado, taking on Chadron State Thursday.
Series History
The Panthers and Air Force have met just one time before, with Milwaukee claiming a 65-53 win at the Klotsche Center Dec. 7, 2006. UWM jumped out to a 23-point lead by halftime and held off the Falcons to claim the win. The Panthers are also 2-0 all-time against Colorado teams (1-0 vs. Denver) and 1-1 in the state of Colorado after playing at a tournament hosted by Colorado State in 1998-99.
Last Time Out: USC 77, Milwaukee 65
Senior Traci Edwards scored a game-high 20 points and added seven rebounds, but it was not enough as Milwaukee fell, 77-65, to the University of Southern California in the consolation game at the Wolfpack Invitational Sunday. The Panthers (0-2) led on a handful of occasions in the first half and trailed just 38-34 at the half, only to see the Trojans (1-1) outscore them, 39-31, after intermission to earn the win.
All-Tournament Honors
Edwards finished the Wolfpack Invitational averaging 19.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game and was named to the all-tournament team. She was previously named the tournament MVP at the only other in-season tournament of her career, the SMU Hoops for the Cure Classic in 2006.
Starting Out Of The Gate
Freshman Amanda Viehauser has started the first two games of the season for Milwaukee, making her the first Panther freshman to start the season-opener since Aubrey Hampton in 2003. Viehauser also 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 in preseason play.
Must Be 6-Feet To Ride This Ride
Milwaukee's post players had a big game against USC Sunday, with Traci Edwards, Lindsay Laur and Danielle Jorgenson combining for 43 of the team's 65 points. The trio helped the Panthers forge a 34-16 advantage in the paint, while contributing outside the arc with seven of UWM's eight 3-pointers on the day. The 6-foot Laur knocked down a career-high four 3's, while the 6-foot-2 Edwards added two and the 6-foot-3 Jorgenson buried her first collegiate three-point try.
Extra Notes
The Panthers have alternated 1-2 and 0-3 records over the first three games of a season every year since 2002. They will try to buck that trend with a win Saturday to move them to 1-2 for the second-straight season ... UWM opened the season against back-to-back first-time opponents for the second time in three seasons (2006-06: @ South Florida, @ Miami) ... the Panthers went 0-2 at an in-season tournament for the first time since 1994 ... Traci Edwards has gone back-to-back games without leading the team in rebounding for the first time since her freshman season and just the third time in her career.
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.
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 has scored 1,793 career points, just 74 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 905 career boards after two games this season 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 and has 536 entering Saturday's game. She has also 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-plus years at the helm of the Panther program, she has compiled a 197-151 record. In her 13-year coaching career, including one season at Beloit, Botham has a mark of 219-155.
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.
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 Cable "Sports 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 Cable "Sports 32" will also be the home of the Sandy Botham TV show.
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