Lindsay Laur
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Panthers Return Home To Host Butler Thursday
Botham looking for league-record 126th league coaching win
Game #23
Butler @ Milwaukee
Thursday, Feb. 14 • 7 p.m.
Milwaukee, Wis. (Klotsche Center/5,000)
Radio: WOKY - 920 AM (Scott Warras)
TV: Time Warner Sports (Bob Brainerd/Maria Viall)
uwmpanthers.com: Live Stats, Video, Audio
• Complete Release in PDF Format 
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (Feb. 13, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team returns home to host Butler in a Valentine's Day match-up Thursday at the Klotsche Center. The Panthers and Bulldogs tip off at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised live on Time Warner Sports in Milwaukee.
Panther Bites
Head coach Sandy Botham tied a league record with her 125th league coaching win last Saturday ... she makes her first attempt at the league record Thursday ... the Panthers are coming off a 94-87, double-overtime win over Youngstown State their last time out ... the win snapped a two-game losing streak ... Traci Edwards tallied 35 points and 19 rebounds in the victory ... Butler lost to Loyola by three at home its last time out and is 5-6 in league play ... Milwaukee was picked to win the Horizon League in its preseason poll of league coaches, SIDs and media members ... Edwards was named the Horizon League Preseason Player of the Year.
Next Up
Milwaukee returns to action Saturday at the Klotsche Center, hosting Valparaiso at 2 p.m. The Panthers will be wearing special pink jerseys as part of the WBCA's "Think Pink" initiative.
The Book On Butler
The Bulldogs entered league play at 10-1 and have struggled since, posting a 5-6 record. Their last outing was a 67-64 loss to Loyola on their home floor. Lade Akande and Susan Lester give BU a formidle post duo as the team's top scorers and rebounders. Akande is third in the league at 15.8 points per game to go with 6.5 rebounds per contest. Lester is pulling down 7.5 rebounds per game, putting her third in the league, while scoring 13.2 points per outing.
Series History
UWM leads the all-time series with Butler, 16-13, including a 65-50 Panther win earlier this season in Indianapolis. Milwaukee is 9-5 against the Bulldogs at the Klotsche Center, but has lost two of the last three meetings.
First Meeting This Season: UWM 65, Butler 50
Milwaukee shot a season-best 52.3 percent and held Butler to a season-low 50 points in posting a 65-50 win over the Bulldogs Jan. 19 in Indianapolis. Traci Edwards scored a game-high 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. She also tied a school record with an 11-for-11 effort from the free throw line. Maurika Hickman and Turquoise McCain each scored nine points, while Jodie McClain (7 points) and Jody Crumble (6) added to the balanced scoring.
Last Time Out: Milwaukee 94, Youngs. St. 87 - 2ot
Traci Edwards scored 35 points and pulled down 19 rebounds to lead Milwaukee to a thrilling 94-87 win over Youngstown State in two overtimes Saturday afternoon at the Beeghly Center. The Panthers scored the first 10 points of the second overtime to run away with a hard fought win.
Notes From The Youngstown State Game
The seven-point win was the largest overtime win in UWM's Division I history ... the 94 points the Panthers scored was their most since their 100-46 win over Youngstown State Feb. 2, 2002 ... Traci Edwards' performances among school single-game leaders: 35 points (5th), 45 minutes (t-5th), 13 free throws made (t-4th), 21 free throw attempts (2nd) ... Career-highs set: Edwards' five steals, Lindsay Laur's four assists, Markita Barnes' five points, Maurika Hickman's seven rebounds ... Edwards surpassed 1,500 points and 800 rebounds for her career.
Botham's Figures
Saturday's double-overtime win at Youngstown State was career league victory No. 125 for head coach Sandy Botham. She tied the league record for league wins, which had held by Kevin Borseth, who coached at Green Bay through last season. She has led UWM to a 125-54 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 192-145 career record on the UWM sidelines.
Free Basketball Times Two
The Panthers played through two overtimes with Youngstown State last Saturday. It was their first double-overtime game since Nov. 25, 2005, a 90-87 win at Southeast Missouri State. Milwaukee has now played in three double-overtime games in its Division I history, including a 92-91 win at Butler in 1996-97, and is 3-0 all-time in such contests.
Injury Update
Senior Meredith Onson is the lone Panther out of the lineup due to injury. She has missed the last seven games with mononucleosis and could return to action as early as next week in Chicago. Sophomore Danae Russell, who had missed the first 15 games of the season with an off-season injury, dressed for the first time at Valparaiso Jan. 17. Meanwhile, junior Jody Crumble is the only other UWM player to miss time this season, sitting out two games in December with a knee injury.
Rookie Starters
For the first time in almost three years, three freshmen were in the starting lineup for Milwaukee at Cleveland State last Thursday. Maurika Hickman, Lindsay Laur and Jineen Williams started together for the first time this season and were the first three 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 were also in the starting lineup two days later at Youngstown State, marking the first time in UWM's Division I history that three freshmen started the game for the Panthers twice in the same season.
Freshman Firepower
Maurika Hickman and Lindsay Laur have been key for the Panthers of late, with both reaching double-digits in scoring in each of the last three games. Hickman posted back-to-back 20-point efforts vs. Green Bay (20) Feb. 2 and at Cleveland State (22) Thursday. She followed that up with 14 points and a career-high seven rebounds at Youngstown State. Laur, meanwhile, joined Hickman with 20 points against GB before tallying 13 and 16 in her last two games. Hickman is averaging 18.7 points per game and Laur 16.3 ppg over the last three games.
For Three!
Hickman is doing her scoring in chunks, knocking down at least four 3-pointers in each of her last three games. She is 13-for-25 in that span (52 percent), which has raised her season three-point clip to 46.6 percent--fourth-best in the league. Laur has also gotten into the act with a 7-for-15 performance (46.7 percent) from beyond the arc in the last three games.
Team Treys
With an inside-outside game like the one the Panthers feature, there are bound to be three-pointers aplenty. Milwaukee is no exception to that, as it has averaged 7.14 three-pointers per game, good for 15th in the nation. UWM is on pace for 212 threes through one league tournament game, which would better the school-record 202 the team hit last season. Six times the Panthers have hit on 10-or-more three-pointers this season, going 5-1 in those games. They have also built up a modest streak of 167-straight games with a three-pointer. While that is far less than halfway to any NCAA records, it is just eight off the school record of 173-straight games. Milwaukee could break that figure in the regular season finale March 8.
For Us, Not Them
While the Panthers do hit more than their fair share of three-pointers, they are not inclined to get into a three-point shootout. In fact, opponents are hitting from outside the arc at just a 31.0 percent clip--second-best in the league. Opponents are making just 4.95 threes per game and have made at least seven in a game just four times. Over its last nine games, UWM has not allowed an opponent to shoot better than 33.3 percent on threes and have limited them to a 25.0 percent shooting clip.
Tracking The League Leaders
Traci Edwards is making a push for her second-straight league scoring title and third-straight rebounding crown. While she holds a commanding lead of 2.5 rebounds per game, she is deadlocked with Cleveland State's Kailey Klein for the scoring lead at 18.9 points per game. Klein had pulled ahead by 35 points in the race with 18 points in an earlier game Saturday. Edwards then matched that with her 35-point outing at Youngstown State.
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.
The Comeback Kids Have Come Back
Milwaukee has 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, Thursday on the road, UWM trailed by 14 in the first half and fought back to take a two-point lead late before falling. The Panthers last overcame a halftime deficit to win in the league quarterfinals against Wright State last season (down five at half). Two games prior to that, the Panthers trailed by 13 at the break, but stormed back to win at UIC. Against the Raiders, Milwaukee trailed 23-4, while the Flames built a lead as high as 18 before the Panthers stormed back to win. The comebacks last season were the second (tied) and fourth-largest comebacks in the team's Division I history. History almost repeated itself Jan. 23, when Milwaukee whittled an 18-point UIC lead to three and had the ball with 10 seconds remaining. The Panthers had six wins last season in games they had trailed at halftime.
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 freshman 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 Championship game (24 points).
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 five). 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 just the sixth in 82 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 76 times in her career, including 20-or-more points 36 times and 30-plus points six 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 83 career games, Edwards has led the team in scoring 65 times and rebounding 70 times. She has led the team in scoring in 18-of-22 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. Saturday vs. Green Bay was just the sixth time in her career that she did not lead the team in scoring or rebounding.
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. She has made 134 free throws this season after sinking 13 last Saturday for an average of 6.1 per game. That figure puts her third in the nation according to Yahoo! Sports. Edwards has attempted 173 after 21 attempts her last time out for an average of 7.9 per game which is second in the country. She is on pace to break her own school record of 175 free throws made in a season she set last year. Also within her sights is the league mark of 179. 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 445-for-609 from the free throw line in her career, putting her fourth in league history in free throw made, 93 back of the league mark set by Green Bay's Chari Nordgaard (1996-99).
Then There Was That One Time
Jan. 19 at Butler, Edwards 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 matching 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.
League Success
The Panthers are looking to continue a strong tradition of success in the Horizon League in 2007-08. Milwaukee has finished second-or-better in the league standings in seven of the last eight seasons and is 100-34 in league games since 1999-2000. UWM has won league titles in 2001 and 2006.
Sometimes It's How You Start...
The Panthers have excelled when they have given themselves the early advantage, as evidenced by a 11-4 record when they win the tip off. UWM is also 8-0 when it scores first.
Sometimes... Not So Much
Milwaukee still has four wins this season when its opponent gets on the board first (4-10). But, the first possession for the team doesn't seem too crucial. The Panthers are 6-4 when their first possession yields points, while boasting a respectable 6-6 record when not scoring on that possession.
Double Or Nothing
At Detroit Jan. 5, Traci Edwards collected her 36th career double-double, tying a school record. She followed that up with school-record No. 37 Jan. 10 against Youngstown State. In fact, Edwards had 15 points and 11 boards at halftime of that game to push past the record. She has since pushed her career double-double total to 40, while she has since broken the school record for double-digit rebound games and now has 42. Edwards has wasted little time in racking up the double-doubles in her career, reaching 40 in her 83rd game thanks to a school-record 15 as a freshman. She is threatening that record this season with a league-best 12 double-doubles in 22 games.
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 503-428 all-time, including 252-246 since moving to Division I in 1990.
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. All 12 of Milwaukee's wins have come in games it has outrebounded its opponent. Overall, the rebounding comparison is staggering, as UWM is outrebounding opponents by 11.5 per game in its 12 wins but concede a 1.4 rebounding edge in 10 losses. From three-point range, Milwaukee is shooting 41.7 percent in wins compared to just 30.6 in losses.
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 1,495. Previously this season, she surpassed Erica Young (751) for second in Division I rebounding with 813. Edwards trails only Viall in scoring, rebounding (971), double-digit scoring games with 76 (Viall has 98) and 20-point games with 36 (41).
Player Of The Week
Traci Edwards was named the Horizon League Player of the Week Jan. 14. She led UWM to a 2-0 record the previous week by averaging 24.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.5 steals and 2.0 blocks per game. The award was the sixth of her career, one back of Maria Viall's school record of seven honors and three behind Nicole Soulis' (Green Bay) league record of nine.
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 102-47 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 71-17 home league mark. The Panthers have won 56 of their last 66 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.
Kicking It Up A Notch
All 29 Panther games will be carried live in the Milwaukee area on the radio, marking the most extensive radio package in the program's history. WOKY is in its second season as the radio home for UWM women's basketball after carrying half of the team's schedule last season. The station will also be the home of the Sandy Botham Radio Show, while both the show and every game will be available live at uwmpanthers.com.
Lights, Camera, Action
Also stepped up this season is the number of times Milwaukee will play on television. The Panthers will be televised live seven times this season after just three games were televised live last season. All seven will be televised live on Time Warner Sports Channel 32 in Milwaukee. Fans can also re-live the excitement, as each game will be replayed on TWS and available on Wisconsin On Demand Channel 1111. In addition, all league home games will also be available on Wisconsin On Demand and the Horizon League title game will also be televised on ESPNU. Every league game, home or road, with also be available via webcast on the Horizon League Network.
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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