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Battle tested beginning
Panthers win in the clutch
By Jimmy Lemke
Raise your hand if you remember this ending last year. The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women’s basketball team, stuck in a close game with Blank University, has the opportunity to win at the end; good team, good shooters, good post presence, but they squander the opportunity and lose.
It happened a lot; Milwaukee had trouble closing, whether it was a power conference team like Miami or a Horizon League rival. Last Thursday, the Panthers found themselves in a similar situation, down late to No. 7 ranked Michigan Tech. Now, it’s exhibition, and they’re a D-II team, but this is why you play these games; to gain game experience and ready your team for the grueling college basketball schedule.
This time, the ending was different; no opportunity was squandered. Down two with the seconds ticking away, Tech missed a shot that was gobbled up by Horizon League Player of the Year Traci Edwards. Edwards took one dribble and launched a pass to Markita Barnes, who went straight to the hole and tied it up at 54. The Panthers had been trailing for almost the entire game and as much as 11 late, then rallied with an 11-0 run to force overtime. The extra period may as well have been named “The Jody Crumble Show,” as the guard went off for the first seven points of overtime. Milwaukee cruised, pulling out a 70-61 victory in front of a great crowd in the Klotsche Center.
Freshman Amanda Viehauser scored a team-high 13 points in her first collegiate action, and that was matched by Riverside product Turquoise McCain. Traci Edwards followed with 12, Crumble had 11, and Jodie McClain scored 10 to make it five Panthers in double-figures.
Milwaukee had a rough night shooting, hitting only 26.7% of their shots in the first half and 38.3% for the game. The Panthers had gotten out to a quick 5-0 lead before Tech took over.
The bad shooting allowed several players to rack up the boards. Edwards pulled down nine, followed by eight from Viehauser, seven from McCain, and five each from McClain, Crumble, and Lindsay Laur. McClain had four assists to lead the Panthers.
Milwaukee opens the regular season this weekend at the Kay Yow Invitational in Raleigh, North Carolina. The first home game is set for Nov. 26th against provisional D-I member Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville.
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