The members of the Wisconsin women's basketball team have been waiting for Friday night since their 2004-'05 schedule was released months ago. Sure, the Badgers have taken to the Kohl Center floor in two exhibition games this fall, but Friday night's season opener against IUPUI will have a different feel to it.
\It's going to be awesome,"" junior guard Ashley Josephson said. ""I hope we have a great crowd and they are loud, but we are all psyched and pumped up for the season to start.""
The buzz surrounding the Badger basketball team is already greater than last season, a year that ended with a disappointing 10-17 record. Second-year Head Coach Lisa Stone has already seen vast improvements in the first month of the season from a team that is loaded with six freshmen.
""It's different from last year, but it's different in a good way, because I am excited about our progress that we continue to demonstrate,"" Stone said of her second season as a Badger coach. ""Hopefully we can show some domination here at the Kohl Center.""
With such a young Wisconsin team, the Badgers will look to jump out on IUPUI early and avoid having to dig themselves out of an early hole. The Badgers and Jaguars both come into the contest without a regular season game under their belt, and both Stone and her players know it is vital to set the tone in the opening minutes.
""We just have to realize what they put on us in the first couple minutes and we have to adjust to that,"" freshman guard Jolene Anderson said. ""We have to watch them and if they try to switch something up, we need to beat them to it.""
""If we can get our defense to generate some offense, that's what I am looking for on Friday,"" Stone said.
IUPUI enters the Kohl Center in their first season under Head Coach Shann Hart, and will look to pressure the Badgers early and often Friday night. The Jaguars are led by junior forward Kia Hayes, a Mid-Con preseason all-conference selection. The six-footer led IUPUI with 13.5 points per game last season and was deadly beyond the three-point line, draining 44 percent of her shots from behind the arc.
""She is a three-point shooter, that's for sure,"" Stone said. ""I know a lot from film and what Janese Banks [who played with Hayes]. She's a long, lanky 3-point shooter, thin and mobile, can break it off the dribble.""
Wisconsin knows that they cannot be overly concerned with their opponents just yet, especially throughout the non-conference schedule. UW knows they have the talent to improve upon last year's season, and the Badgers know the first step in that process begins Friday night.
""The steps just keep climbing up and we have to go with it otherwise we are going to be on the bottom row and that's not where we want to be right now,"" Stone said.
""You are gearing up for your conference,"" Stone added. ""You certainly don't overlook anyone. We need to taste success and enjoy it and build on it to get some confidence.""
