Usually a perfect game is in reference to a pitcher having a flawless nine innings on the baseball diamond. On Saturday, it was about a center having a flawless performance on the basketball court.

Junior Center Traci Edwards led the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s basketball team to a 79-64 walloping of Central Michigan Saturday afternoon in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan.

Three Panthers scored in double figures, but the real story was Edwards, who finished 9-for-9 from the field, and 3-for-3 from the charity stripe for 22 points in 23 minutes.

“Going into the game coach Botham wanted to play inside-outside and we established that right away,” Edwards said. “We have been working on passing into the post the last couple of days and my teammates did a great job getting it inside.”

Edwards wasn’t the only person with a hot hand, as the team as a whole shot 50 percent from the field and 56.3 percent from behind the arc for the night. That ability to find the bottom of the net early and often sparked a 21-4 run in the final five minutes of the first half, which led to a 37-19 halftime advantage.

“We shot the ball well and took advantage of Traci in the post,” UWM head coach Sandy Botham said. “I was worried about how they would come out in the second half. I thought we did a good job of coming out, establishing control of the game again and gaining a sizable lead.”

Botham’s worries were squashed right away as the Panthers started the second half with another impressive run, building the gap between them and the Chippewas to 25 points.

UWM was able to maintain that lead throughout the rest of the game, and Botham was able to clear her bench during the final media timeout of the game. Central Michigan finished the game on a 13-4 run of their own to keep the final score within reason.

The Panthers were able to produce 31 points from their bench, including double figures from freshman guard Jineen Williams.

This was a good rebound for the UWM women’s basketball team, coming off a 20-point defeat at in-state powerhouse Wisconsin.

“It feels great to get back on the winning track after our last loss,” Edwards said. “We haven’t reached our full potential yet. We will continue to get better and hopefully stay on the winning track.”

The Panthers will wrap up their non-conference play with a four-game home stand starting this Thursday at the Klotsche Center against Drake.

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