Senior shooting guard Kyle Black scored all 19 of her points in the second half'including the game-winning layup'as she led No. 19 Wisconsin to a 56-55 comeback victory over Marquette Wednesday evening.
The Badgers (6-1 overall) trailed by as many as 17 points in the second half before it clamped down on the Golden Eagles (2-5).
Trailing by 14 points with eight minutes to play in the game, Wisconsin's defense held Marquette without a field goal the rest of the way. By contrast, Black made two of her four three-pointers during a game-ending 17-2 run.
The Badgers led only once, as senior guard Tamara Moore found Black cutting to the hoop with 23 seconds remaining.
\When we got down, no one ever thought for a second that we were not going to win the game,"" Black said. ""Marquette is as good as any team we've played, and they fought harder than any team we've played.""
Playing a tight zone defense, the Golden Eagles smothered the Wisconsin offense in the first half, holding the Badgers to 25 percent shooting. The Eagles pushed its lead to 38-21 early in the second half, but the Badgers were up to the challenge, slowly whittling the lead down, paving the way for a UW victory.
""This is one of the most hard-fought battles that I have ever been in,"" UW Head Coach Jane Albright said. ""The seniors just found a way to win the game; it was one of those gut checks.""
UW senior forward Jessie Stomski recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds.
Marquette center Rachel Klug paced the Eagles with 17 points.
Next up for UW is a home game against North Carolina State Dec. 8. Game time is set for 12 p.m.
