Although it’s only her first season in Madison, freshman post player Tare Steinbauer has made an impact on her team. Her on-court skills have flourished but what has set her apart is the positive manner in which she conducts herself with both teammates and coaches.
“Tara Steinbauer brings a tremendously bubbly attitude. She is a joy to coach. She is delightful on and off the floor and she is one of the toughest players we have,” head coach Lisa Stone said. “She brings us energy and she brings us a smile.”
Steinbauer came to Wisconsin from Bloomington, Minn., where she earned all-state honors. In 2006 she led her high school to a runner-up finish in the state tournament and her AAU team to a ninth place national finish.
She did not take long to make an impact on the college level, scoring nine points and collecting eight boards in her first college game. By the start of December, she had broken into the starting lineup.
An injury sidelined Steinbauer for three games, but she remained undeterred. After returning, she worked her way back into a starting spot which she has held for the past six games.
Steinbauer’s coaches describe her as someone who takes instruction easily and really tries to learn the nuances of the game. She is also known as someone who is fearless and won’t back down from bigger, stronger players who challenge her.
“Steinbauer brings a lot of energy,” senior forward Caitlin Gibson said. “She’s always getting in the middle of things and pushing people around.”
It is her friendly disposition, however, that really endears Steinbauer to many of her teammates.
“Her personality is just very outgoing, very inclusive of everybody … Right when you meet her you feel like you’ve known her for years, and I think that allows people to be comfortable with her out on the court,” freshman point guard Alyssa Karel, who played on Steinbauer’s AAU team, said. “It’s a relaxing relationship.”
Karel went on to say that the nature of Steinbauer’s relationship with teammates allows her to critique others and be critiqued in a constructive, friendly way.
Steinbauer first tried her hand at basketball in third grade when, as she put it, “I got too big for gymnastics, ballet and ice skating.” Her father was her coach childhood coach, but it was in high school, after she began lifting weights, when her game truly escalated.
This season she has played 15.7 minutes per game due on no small part to her willingness to do the little things andembrace her role. She does not focus on points and numbers but tries to set screens and play physical defense.
Steinbauer said having Karel as a teammate made her transition from high school to college easier.
“Alyssa’s been my rock through all of this, and I think she’d say the same about me,” Steinbauer said. “When practice is maybe hard and I feel like ‘Can I really fight through all this?’ she’s always there being like ‘Yes, you can. ’”
Stone, however, has a different take on the strides that Steinbauer has made this season.
“I think a lot of it is maturity,” Stone said. “She is somebody everybody likes to be around, and when you have other people around you that like to be around you, you find comfort in that, and then all of a sudden you become more mature.”
That maturity has translated to some solid numbers on the court. Steinbauer is averaging 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. She is also leading Wisconsin in shooting percentage, hitting 56.4 percent of her shots from the floor.
Though Steinbauer’s injury could have put a damper on the strong start of her career, she persevered by doing the selfless jobs like setting picks, cleaning the glass and making life difficult for opponents in the post. Although these things do not show up on the stat chart, they show the kind of teammate and player Steinbauer is.
“This is a young freshman that has overcome a lot of things in her first year as well as the pressure of playing in the Big Ten,” Stone said. “She handled it very well.”
