Sophomore guard Morgan Paige had a career-high 29 points and junior guard Taylor Wurtz recorded her second consecutive double-double to propel the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (5-11 Big Ten, 9-19 overall) to a 72-60 victory over Illinois (5-11, 11-18) on Senior Night.
The win snapped a six-game losing streak and also solidified Wisconsin’s number nine seed in the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
“I’m just very proud of them, and obviously for the senior’s it’s a very good win, to go out with the win at the Kohl in front of our fans and give them something to remember,” Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey said.
The Badgers found themselves down only 34-29 at the half, despite going 10-of-25 from the floor, including 0-for-7 from beyond the arc. Wisconsin erased the shooting woes and began the second half with a 7-2 run that knotted things up at 36.
The shooting that was put on display in the second half was something special, considering the struggles they showed in the first half. Wisconsin turned things around, especially Wurtz, and proceeded to go 16-of-25 (64%) from the floor, including 4-of-7 (57.1%) from three-point range.
“I think we thought the game was over at halftime,” Illinois head coach Jolette Law said. “We didn’t come out with the same intensity or the same fire. They seemed like they wanted it more.”
After being held to four points in the first half, Wurtz benefitted from the extra attention Paige was receiving in the second half. The 6 foot sharpshooter finished 9-of-16 from the floor, after going just 2-of-8 in the first half. She finished with 21 points and also snagged 12 rebounds. Paige went 8-of-14 from the floor and hit all 11 of her free throw attempts.
“I like to attack the basket, anyway,” Paige said, after being asked if her scoring mentality changed at all for this game. “The high pressure defense really does allow you to get that drive to the lane. After the first time, I started seeing the same tendencies in the defender and I had that open for the majority of the game, so I took advantage of it.”
Wurtz struggled early against the defending tandem of Lydia McCully and Adrienne Godbold. The two guarded her for most of the game, but it was foul trouble and Paige’s scoring spree that most likely opened up the floor for Wurtz.
“I knew I had to take the gamble [of putting McCully on Wurtz] and hopefully just not have her touch [the ball],” Law said. “But unfortunately she got her shot off and once she hit one or two, you know she’s a great shooter once she gets going.”
“Both of them are really good defenders,” Wurtz said. “But I think it was just my teammates getting me open.”
The senior night did bring a different feel and intensity, as many players acknowledged afterward, but Kelsey stressed that they prepared the same way.
“I didn’t have this big ol’ speech,” she said. “I said, ‘If I have to give you words to motivate you and you’re a competitor, don’t play, sit in the locker room.’ These guys are competitors.”
Perhaps these words did get into the heads of the players, as the Badgers played with a spark in nearly every category. They outrebounded the Fighting Illini 36-17, broke 60 points for the first time in four games, and shot 52 percent, well above the 38.4 percent mark the team had in its last four games.
“My teammates stepped up so huge tonight,” senior forward Anya Covington said. “Everybody that stepped on the court brought so much energy and it was just a blessing to be a part of. It’s just an awesome day to be a senior and a Badger.”
Wisconsin plays eighth-seeded Minnesota, who they beat 78-72 on Jan. 26 on Thursday at 5 p.m. as part of the first round of the Big Ten Tournament.
