Despite the many new faces that the UW women's basketball team has this season, there are two faces that will stand out in the crowd. These women are Lello and Ebba Gebisa. Lello is a transfer from Duke University and is now a junior at UW. She stands at 6'7' and is the tallest female player ever to play at Wisconsin. Lello red-shirted last year because of NCAA rules on transferring, but this season she is reunited with her sister, Ebba.
Ebba is a sophomore forward who stands at 6'3', the third tallest player on the team. Ebba played some decent minutes last year for the Badgers, averaging 5.9 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.
The two sisters are playing together for the first time since high school, but their playing days began much sooner than in organized athletics.
\I can remember when we got our basketball hoop put up, those were some of the worst games to play in,"" Lello said.
When Lello and Ebba play one on one it is a battle to the end. When asked who has the best record they either reply, ""I stopped keeping record,"" or ""Let's leave that confidential.""
Not only did the two sisters compete amongst themselves, they also competed with their other sister, Kuleni.
They were teammates when their high school won the Class 3A state title in 1998. Both claim this achievement to be their most memorable basketball moment.
Lello and Ebba hadn't played together on the same court since Ebba's sophomore year in high school. From that point on they were put on different AAU teams because of their grade difference. The women were excited to be able to go back to their high school days of playing together, except this time on the college level.
""This is an awesome experience, a lot of people don't get to do this so I don't take it for granted,"" Ebba said.
Lello expressed the same happiness and gratitude of being reunited with her sister on the court. Other teammates can see their happiness and chemistry as well.
""It's great that they get to play together. It is so much fun to play with them because they know each other in ways that we do not,"" senior guard Leah Hefte said.
Playing together since they were young is one thing that both women believe helped contribute to their improvement over time.
""We know each other's strengths and weaknesses. We expose those and help each other improve,"" Lello said.
They have different strengths and weaknesses because they play different positions, which makes it hard for people to compare them.
""We are different kinds of players, have different tendencies which makes us hard to compare. I am more of a runner and Lello is more reserved,"" Ebba said.
Lello agreed but she believed that they were equal in other areas.
""I think we are the equal in blocking and rebounding. It has a lot to do with desire and I think we both have that,"" Lello said.
This year Lello and Ebba are proving that years of learning from each other are paying off.
""We are building our connection more. I know what she is going to do so I feed off that,"" Ebba said.
""We have a feel for each other, we feed off each other, and use each other as motivation,"" Lello said.
Ebba is the team's top free-throw shooter, averaging 7.4 points. Lello is the top blocker with nine and is averaging 7.6 points and 5.6 rebounds.
Even with fair individual statistics the Badgers glaring 1-5 record is a cause for concern.
""We hate to lose but we are improving game by game. We just have to find a way to win,"" Lello said.
""I don't think we are struggling. We have really improved every game. ... We just have to cut down on turnovers.""
With that said the Badgers have some time to correct their mistakes and turn their season around before it gets too late
