Dec. 12, 2004
MILWAUKEE, Wis. - Northwestern held a 27-26 advantage at the half, but UW-Milwaukee scored 16 points in the first four minutes after the break and then used a 14-0 run midway through the second period to outdistance Northwestern, 74-60, Sunday afternoon at the Klotsche Center.
Seniors Suzanne Morrison (Franklin, Mich./Detroit Country Day) and Sarah Kwasinski (Chicago, Ill./Fenwick) both scored 13 points to lead Northwestern while classmate Samantha McComb (Farmington Hills, Mich./North Farmington) chipped in with 12 points.
The first half was played very close with four ties and the biggest lead for either team at five points. Down three with 44 seconds to go in the half, junior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) hit a layup to cut the lead to one. After a Panther turnover, Kwasinski nailed her first points on the game as time expired to give NU the lead going into the locker room.
"We played a tough first seven games this season against seven top-40 opponents," NU Head Coach Beth Combs said. "I thought we improved a little each game but tonight we did not play from beginning to end. (UW-Milwaukee) was not going to lay it down for us."
UWM (3-5) shot out of the break with 16 points in the first 3:53 of the second half to take a 41-34 advantage into the first media timeout of the stanza.
A Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Minn./The Breck School) jumper at 12:51 cut the lead to 45-42, but from there the Panthers launched a 14-0 run and never looked back.
"I thought we had the chance to get over the hump today and get a victory," Combs said. "We did not get it done. (UWM) is a heck of a team that worked hard and played hard for 40 minutes."
Miller led all rebounders with eight boards in the game.
In a game that was ugly from the start, both teams committed a combined 29 turnovers in the first half. NU would finish with 30 while UWM had 20 miscues.
Northwestern shot 49 percent from the field -- its best effort of the season -- while holding UW-Milwaukee to just 38.5 percent shooting, but the Panthers attempted 65 shots to NU's 47. UWM helped itself on the boards with 17 offensive rebounds.
Northwestern returns to action at Noon Tuesday when it hosts UIC at Welsh-Ryan Arena for the Wildcats' annual Field Trip Day contest.