The University of Loyola at Chicago women's basketball team had its work cut out following its thrilling overtime victory, topping Cleveland State University in the opening round of the Horizon League Tournament, 85-82 in overtime.

In the conference season, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee freshman center Traci Edwards torched Loyola for 43 points and 20 rebounds in just two games. The team didn't have an answer for the 6-foot-2-inch post machine, who ranks 14th in the nation in field goal percentage.

With the clock expiring in the first half, the score was a 35-34 surprise. Apparently, Loyola was doing its job; Edwards wasn't as dominating as in the first pair of games.

Several things went wrong for UWM.

Nichole Drummond, the Panthers' second leading scorer, had three points at the break. UWM and Loyola tied for rebounds with 17. UWM, a solid three point shooting team, was 2-of-9 from beyond the arc. Something wasn't going right.

That something righted itself in the second half, as UWM went on a tear, scoring 26 points to Loyola's five in the first 11 minutes of the period.

Edwards already had a double-double with 10 minutes to play and Molly O'Brien became a scoring dynamo, dropping in 14 points. Kim Wypiszinski, who replaced the injured Dana Schultz in the starting lineup, went 4-of-8 from the field, scoring 10 points and grabbing five rebounds.

In the end, UWM pulled away, with every player seeing time in the game. The Panthers turned the ball over only nine times, a season low.

The final score of 76-56 knocked Loyola out of the Horizon League tournament. Coupled with a UW-Green Bay victory over Youngstown State, the rest of the Horizon League Tournament will be played in the Klotsche Center.

Along with the win, the Panthers achieved something that only one other UWM team has done — they won 20 contests.

When asked if that 20th win meant an NCAA tournament was just around the bend, coach Sandy Botham said, "We have to worry about Butler. … we have to keep controlling our own destiny."

> Comments