The UW women's basketball team has been on quite a roll lately.
Coming off early-season victories over top 25 teams like Florida and North Carolina State, Badgerball has been cruising to victory after victory and moving up in the national rankings, currently sitting at No. 15 in the Associated Press poll and No. 19 in the USA Today poll.
Now, as the Badgers (8-1 overall) prepare for their Big Ten season opener Dec. 28 against Purdue at the Kohl Center, the confidence level on Head Coach Jane Albright's bench is high.
\We're playing hard and our record reflects the hard work we've put in,"" senior forward Jessie Stomski said.
Indeed, the team has been playing hard since its upset of then-No. 19 Washington to open the season Nov. 18. Since that game, UW has won seven of its last eight games, including an upset of then-No. 12 Florida Nov. 25. The Badgers have also found success in tournaments so far this season, winning the Arizona Basketball Classic in Tucson with an 80-71 victory over Holy Cross Dec. 2.
According to senior guard Tamara Moore, the nonconference games have served as preparation for the rest of the season.
""I think the preseason is basically a chance to showcase our talent nationally as well as getting ready and preparing for the Big Ten season,"" Moore said.
That preparation will be put to the test in the first few games of the conference season, as UW faces Purdue, Iowa, Indiana and Michigan in the span of two weeks. The opening games of the Big Ten season will be tough for the Badgers, but according to Stomski, the team should be geared up for the competition.
""We're very prepared,"" Stomski said. ""I think that we've prepared for every challenge that we've come up [against] so far this season.""
Part of that preparation is due to the senior leadership of Wisconsin's three captains'Moore, Stomski and senior guard Kyle Black. Stomski is tops on the Badgers in points and rebounds per game, Moore leads the team in steals per game and Black is the third-leading scorer and ranks second in assists per game.
Albright said seeing UW's wide variety of offensive talent has been a pleasant surprise so far this season.
""You have to have different weapons and different people to help you win all those games, and I think it kind of shows us that we've got a lot of different looks,"" Albright said.
Despite the incredible wealth of talent on the UW squad, the Badgers know there are other strong contenders for the Big Ten title. Stomski lists Purdue, Michigan and Penn State as some of the other potential conference champions.
However, Moore said if the Badgers continue to perform well, they may surprise some teams in the Big Ten.
""If we're playing like we're playing now, I see us as one of those top teams [in the Big Ten] that a lot of teams don't see us as,"" Moore said. ""I think for us, we're just focused on coming out every night and trying to work hard.\
