The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s basketball team beat Division II Northern Michigan 77-65 Sunday, Dec. 11, at the Klotsche Center.

Senior Molly O'Brien led the Panthers with a solid all-around effort with 15 points, nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.

Freshman Traci Edwards scored 16 points and had 12 rebounds, senior Nicole Drummond had 10 points, and senior Amanda Cook came off the bench and gave the team a boost, adding 10 points.

“We knew they were going to come out hard,” head coach Sandy Botham said. “They are a very good Division II team. But we gained our composure early and got some strong contributions from our bench.”

UWM used a 12-1 run in the first half to help erase an early eight-point deficit. Then UWM built its lead to 22 points at 52-30 with a 14-1 run in the first 4 minutes, 38 seconds of the second half.

Milwaukee shot 40 percent for the game and outscored the Wildcats 30-10 in the paint.

The Panthers also held a huge rebounding edge, 47-34. Milwaukee finished with 23 rebounds on the offensive compared with just 11 for Northern Michigan.

“It's a good victory,” Botham said. “We had a positive assists-to-turnover and we out rebounded them. Those are the two areas we have struggled with and we turned that around in this game.”

UWM plays next tonight, Dec. 14, in a contest with in-state rival Wisconsin Badgers.

The Panthers and Badgers tip off at 7 p.m. in a game that will be televised live in Milwaukee on WMLW.

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