So much for the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Panthers having opening night jitters.

The men’s and women’s basketball teams shrugged off the UW-Parkside Rangers in front of 4,161 fans, the largest exhibition crowd in recent history.

For the men’s team, those expectations come from last year’s upsets of Alabama and Boston College on the way to the NCAA Sweet 16. While that was the best finish UWM has ever seen from its men’s basketball team, the players are quick to show that their focus is on the upcoming season.

The women opened up their game against Parkside with solid shooting, rarely missing perimeter shots and out-rebounding the Rangers, 17-15. The Panthers made all four three-point shots they took, opening up a 33-26 halftime lead that they would never relinquish.

In the second half, the women turned to 6-foot-3-inch freshman Traci Edwards, who repeatedly won post battles against much smaller Parkside players. She went six of seven on the night with a three-point play, driving in and picking up a foul on a lay-up.

Other players who came up big on the night were Aubrey Hampton, who scored 12 points, as well as senior Molly O’Brien, who led the Panthers with 11 rebounds.

Senior Nichole Drummond was clutch at the free throw line, sinking three of four shots.

The Panthers finished the game with a 16-point advantage, taking the victory with a score of 74-58.

The regular season opens for the women in Norman, Okla., on Friday night, as they take on Oklahoma in the Preseason Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Near the beginning of the second half in the women’s game, students began piling into the arena. Within minutes, the front standing-room-only part of the student section was packed. From the end of the women’s game to the time the men took the court for warm-ups, the anxiety was apparent among the fans.

The arena erupted when the men’s basketball team took to a court for the first time since March 24, when they were defeated by eventual national runner-up Illinois.

This group of Panthers wowed the crowd, giving the fans a treat from start to finish.

Rim-rattling dunks by senior Derrick Ford and newcomer Tyrone Young kept the crowd on its feet, while Joah Tucker swished a wide-open three in the opening half.

Most impressive, however, was Adrian Tigert, whose quick passes and accurate shots gave the Panthers an offensive edge. His rebounding left the Rangers looking overmatched, keeping the ball in Panther hands for the majority of the first half.

The long-awaited debut of junior transfer Kevin Massiah was deflated a bit, as he air-balled his first perimeter shot. He picked up two points and two rebounds in 14 minutes.

The second half showcased the Panthers’ depth. While they only outscored the Rangers by four in the half, the reserves held the lead, keeping the Rangers’ starters from making a run. When the Panthers began to slow down, senior center Jason McCoy had a monster block with 4:57 remaining.

It seems that the Panthers have found a new fan favorite in the student section. Freshman Zach Holt, a 5-foot-6-inch point guard from Tennessee, captained the team in the final minutes, rousing the students as he took a couple deep shots that failed to fall.

The Panthers proved that they could hold onto the lead and stay in the game with a plan, winning 69-46.

“Parkside did a pretty good job of coming out and making us stick to our principles,” coach Rob Jeter said.

Those principles of solid defense and timely shooting opened up the game for the Panthers.

“Coming into the game, he (Jeter) wanted us to get the ball into the post, and I was the one to put myself in the right position to score,” senior forward Adrian Tigert said.

The Panthers finished with 38 points in the paint.

“I was glad that in the first game, the effort was there,” Jeter said.

The Panthers will bring that effort into the regular season, as the men open in the Preseason National Invitational Tournament against the Memphis Tigers in Tennessee on Nov. 15.

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