Women's basketball
The Badgers' consistency woes continued Thursday after the women's basketball team lost to Notre Dame 82-64, bringing their record to 2-3.
Wisconsin struggled to keep up with the Fighting Irish as ND went on several strong runs, putting the Badgers in a hole for most of the game. The closest Wisconsin would come was a 13-point deficit.
Senior center Emily Ashbaugh led UW with 16 points and eight rebounds. Three other Badgers contributed with double figures, but it was not enough as two of the Fighting Irish scored more than 20 points.
After dropping the last two games, UW looks to rebound against Iowa State at home on Sunday when the Cyclones bring a competitive squad to the Kohl Center. ISU is coming off a double-overtime victory against Iowa, 101-94. Returning to the court after several seasons of injuries and illness and most recently a three-game absence due to a NCAA eligibility investigation, senior guard Erica Junod had a strong game with 20 points. Four other players scored in double figures, including freshman guard Lyndsey Medders with 21 points.
This will be ISU's third meeting with a Big Ten opponent this season. Along with Wednesday's victory over Iowa, the Cyclones crushed Indiana 75-59 back on Nov. 29. A key factor in their last two victories has been the team's defensive presence on the boards and in forcing turnovers, the latter most likely a concern of the turnover-prone Badgers. Against Indiana, ISU forced 19 turnovers and beat the Hoosiers on the boards 34-30.
Wrestling
It will be a busy weekend for the men's wrestling team that will have the task of four matches over a two-day period when the No. 16 Badgers head on the road to the East Coast for matches against Drexel, No. 14 Penn State, Princeton and No. 13 Hofstra.
Sophomores Tom Clum and Ryan Flaherty have played important roles in the Badgers 3-0 start and will be a key factor in a tough weekend. Clum has an 8-2 overall record on the year while Flaherty along with brother Kelly have a team best 12-2 overall record.
Women's hockey
The women's hockey team faces three-time defending champions and the currently No. 4 ranked Bulldogs from Minnesota-Duluth this weekend. The No. 5 Badgers are coming off of strong results from the matchup last weekend against St. Cloud including a 4-0 shutout and an 8-1 wallop Nov. 21-22, giving them a 11-3-0 overall record and a 7-3-0 WCHA record.
An important key to the weekend will be the continued success of sophomore forward Nikki Burrish, who had two goals and two assists and was named WCHA's Offensive Player of the Week this week. Burrish has six goals and five assists for 11 points this season, tying her with senior forwards Steph Millar and Karen Rickard.
The Badgers currently have a seven-game winning streak.
-Kate Hedlin
