After five straight losses, Wisconsin's women's basketball team was hoping to break the streak against Iowa (7-5 in the Big Ten, 14-8 overall), which had lost three straight before Thursday's game. Unfortunately for the Badgers, the streak continues after losing 76-64, in what has become the worst losing streak in Albright's head coaching career at the UW.
The team, who came into Thursday's game 7-5 in the Big Ten and 16-6 overall, struggled in the first half, falling behind 7-1 early on before a three-pointer by senior guard Kyle Black, which revitalized the Badgers. Despite the Hawkeyes' shooting 71.4 percent, the Badgers stayed close until the break, where they trailed 37-35.
The Badgers came out cold in the second half as the Hawkeyes went on an 11-3 run that resulted in Iowa taking a 50-38 lead with 14:52 left in the game. The Badgers never recovered, coming within three points with 3:32 left, but several crucial missed baskets and turnovers later, Wisconsin lost 76-64.
The key to the game seemed to be the differences in the two teams' offenses, with the Badgers making only 44.8 percent of their shots and a season-low 62.5 percent on free throws, compared to Iowa's 60.4 percent field-goal shooting and 85.7 percent free-throw shooting.
\What you had here tonight were two teams that were in slumps and they shot the lights out of us to get out of that slump,"" Head Coach Jane Albright said.
The team will take the weekend off before preparing for the Feb. 14 game against Northwestern at the Kohl Center.
""We have to forget the past,"" Black said. ""We're not going to read [what the papers are saying]. We're going to stick to what the coaches have planned. We're not going to back down and we're going to keep playing every game like it's our last.""
One bright spot of the game was that, for the first time in many games, the Badgers' 19 assists outnumbered their 17 turnovers. However, the Hawkeyes scored 27 points off of turnovers.
""We're going to continue to think we can turn it around,"" Albright said.
Iowa Head Coach Lisa Bluder offered advice for the Badgers to turn around the remaining four games in the regular season.
""A lot of prayer [helped],"" Bluder said. ""You need to try and forget the wins and losses.""
Regaining their confidence will be an important factor as the Badgers face three Big Ten teams before the end of the regular season; two of the games are on the road.
""It's hard to lose either at home or away,"" senior guard Tamara Moore said. ""Losing isn't fun. I hate to lose, especially six games in a row.""
Senior forward Jessie Stomski and Moore led the Badgers with 18 points on 7 for 16 shooting for Stomski and 6 for 12 shooting for Moore. Stomski led the team with eight rebounds and Moore led the team with seven assists.
However, the Badgers' defense was unable to stop the Hawkeyes' leading scorers, senior forward Jerica Watson and sophomore forward Jennie Lillis, who each contributed 18 points on 8 for 12 shooting.
""They did a really great job of executing their offense,"" Albright said. ""It was hard to stop and I think we worried a little too much about them scoring and didn't get into much of an offensive flow.\
