The 20th-ranked Wisconsin Badgers improved to 5-1 on the season and earned a championship in the Arizona Basketball Classic with an 80-71 victory over Holy Cross University Sunday afternoon. Senior guard Kyle Black scored a game-high 26 points and senior forward Jessie Stomski added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
UW had a 29-25 advantage at the half and shot 63 percent in the second half to seal the win. In the opening game of the tournament, Wisconsin was up to the challenge against Pittsburgh, claiming the lead with a decisive 19-2 run that pushed its advantage to 34-19 with six minutes left to play in the half. The Badgers never looked back, outscoring Pittsburgh 47-37 in the second half to claim the 92-75 victory.
The Badgers play at Marquette Wednesday at 6 p.m.
A crazy weekend of hockey ended when No. 4 Minnesota scored with 45 seconds left in overtime to claim a 4-3 victory and sweep No. 9 Wisconsin at Capitol Ice Arena.
In Friday night's opener, UW sophomore forward Stephanie Boeckmann gave the Badgers (5-4-1 WCHA, 6-7-2 overall) an early 1-0 lead to break their three game scoreless streak, but Minnesota scored twice in the second and third periods to claim a 4-1 victory.
The highlight-laden weekend continued as the Badgers took the lead for the second straight night. But the Gophers fought back and kept the game close, forcing overtime.
In the extra session, with the teams skating four-on-four, sophomore forward Jerilyn Glenn won the puck deep in her own corner, passed the puck up to junior forward Kristy Oonincx, who returned it to a streaking Glenn. The forward went in alone on UW junior goaltender Jackie MacMillan, scored her fourth of the season and won the game for Minnesota.
MacMillan made 20 saves in Saturday's game, but absorbed the loss to fall to 6-7-1.
Wisconsin completes first-semester action next Saturday and Sunday with home contests in Eau Claire, Wis., against Bemidji State.
The Badgers dropped the opener 4-1, but managed to come back for a 3-3 tie Saturday night as Western Collegiate Hockey Association foe Alaska-Anchorage took three points from the visiting UW men's hockey team (4-3-1 WCHA, 6-7-1 overall). The lone bright spot for the Badgers was the play of junior goaltender Scott Kabotoff, who made 20 saves Saturday to give the Badgers one point in the WCHA standings.
UW returns home to host North Dakota this weekend at the Kohl Center, Friday and Saturday, Dec. 7 and 8. Both games get underway at 7:05 p.m.
The 23rd-ranked UW wrestling team opened its dual match season on the road this weekend, defeating Minnesota-Mankato 31-9 Saturday and falling to Iowa State 24-21 Sunday.
At Minnesota-Mankato, the Badgers won in seven of the 10 weight classes, including falls by sophomore Ralph DeNisco and junior Kevin Black. Sunday, UW won its last three matches but couldn't overcome an early 21-6 deficit.
