UW-Milwaukee Rallies To Top Wright State In OT, 83-79
March 8, 2007
Final Stats
Game recap courtesy of uwmpanthers.com
MILWAUKEE, Wis. (March 7, 2007) - The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee women's basketball team overcame an early 23-4 deficit for an 83-79 overtime victory over Wright State in the quarterfinals of the Horizon League Tournament Wednesday night at the Klotsche Center.
The Panthers (15-15) now advance to the semifinals Friday, where they will face top-seeded UW-Green Bay in Green Bay, Wis. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Milwaukee fought back from its early 19-point deficit to lead by as many as eight in the second half, but still needed a lay-up from sophomore Jody Crumble at the buzzer sounded to force overtime. In the extra frame, UWM shot 60 percent and held WSU (10-18) to 12.5 percent shooting for the victory.
"I'm proud of our players' mentality out there today," Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "They persevered and stayed in there and came back. We told them in the locker room that what helped them come back and beat Wright State is the same things that will help them to be successful in life."
The 19-point comeback is tied for the second-largest deficit overcome to win in school history and comes six days after Milwaukee overcame an 18-point deficit to defeat UIC, 89-83.
Sophomore Traci Edwards scored a game-high 23 points, while Crumble chipped in 15 points, nine assists and six rebounds before fouling out in overtime. Junior Aubri Rote hit five 3-pointers off the bench to add 15.
"No (we didn't feel like giving up). It's our last game if we lose," Edwards said. "You can't just not play in that situation. There isn't another (game) if we lose."
Whitney Lewis scored a game-high 29 points and Tyanda Hammock 15 for the visiting Raiders.
UWM overcame a 2-for-11 shooting start to hit 50 percent of its shots from the field for the game. Milwaukee also hit 45 percent on three pointers and converted 70 percent of its 20 free throws in the game. The Raiders, meanwhile, finished at 45.2 percent from the field, but converted 16-of-19 from the free throw line. The Panthers had 23 assists to 18 turnovers, while WSU had an 18-to-20 assist-to-turnover ratio, came away with 11 steals and held the rebounding advantage at 37-31.
Despite surrendering its first-half lead and falling behind in the second half, the Raiders came back to take a five-point lead late at 67-62 with 1:40 to go. Crumble hit a pair of free throws and Edwards followed with a lay-up to make it a one-point game with just under a minute to play.
Two free throws by Lewis made it a three-point game before senior Aubrey Hampton knotted the game at 69-69 with a three-pointer with nine seconds remaining. Crumble inadvertently fouled Steph Comisar at half court three seconds later, allowing another WSU lead at 71-69 after two free throws. She atoned for the foul by taking the impending inbounds pass coast-to-coast for a lay-up in traffic as time expired to force overtime at 71-71.
"It was a designed play," Botham said of Crumble's last-second lay-up. "She either scores or kicks it out to the wing. She is one of the best guards in our program. She hits the big shots and that was huge."
"I wanted to win the game and get the kick out (for three)," Crumble said. "I came down and saw it was so spread out, so I wanted to hit the lay-up and make up for the mistake."
There were three lead changes and two ties in overtime, but Milwaukee took the lead for good on Rote's fifth three-pointer of the game to make it 80-77 with 1:18 to go. The Raiders then pulled within one, but sophomore Turquoise McCain made it a three-point game with a pair of free throws and Edwards iced it with another to give UWM the win.
Wright State hit 10 of its first 12 shots to shoot a blistering 65.2 percent in the first half. The Milwaukee defense caught up in the second half, holding WSU to 38.7 percent shoot before allowing the visitors to hit just one of its eight shot attempts in overtime.
The Panthers scored the first basket of the game, only to see Wright State go on a 23-2 run to take a 23-4 lead with 11:19 to play in the first half. WSU held Milwaukee without a field goal for seven minutes before a Rote three-pointer ended the drought at the 10:20 mark and sent UWM on a 13-5 run to make it a 28-20 game.
After back-to-back lay-ups by Wright State pushed its lead back to 12 at 32-20, Crumble kick-started a 12-3 run with an old-fashioned three-point play to pull the Panthers within three just before halftime. Rote hit a pair of three's in the stretch and senior Aubrey Hampton added another. Steph Comisar would hit a lay-up as time expired to give WSU the 37-32 halftime lead.
Milwaukee opened the second half on a 21-8 run to turn a five-point deficit into a 53-45 lead. The lead would be short-lived, as the Raiders responded with a 15-5 run of their own to push ahead 60-58.
