The third time was a charm for the UW women's basketball team. In the third straight meeting in the first round of the Big Ten tournament-the last two ending in losses-between the Badgers and the Indiana Hoosiers (3-13 Big Ten, 10-17 overall), the Badgers pulled out a big win in a double-overtime thriller.
This year's version of the Big Ten dance proved to be very different. The Badgers (5-11, 11-15) rode a rollercoaster all season and relied mainly on Big Ten Freshman of the Year guard Jolene Anderson. For this nailbiter, however, the Badgers got stellar performances from two of their rookies. Freshman guard Janese Banks dropped 23 on Indiana while Anderson had 20.
Anderson nearly came away with a triple-double and was a leader again for the Badgers. Along with her 20 points, she had 10 rebounds and seven assists.
In the final overtime UW found itself on the right end of a 9-8 extra session. Junior guard Ashley Josephson hit the last shot of the contest to put UW up 75-74.
\I think this experience was very valuable to the team, especially for the freshmen. It was a great effort overall by everyone,"" Stone told uwbadgers.com.
The Badgers will try to keep their Cinderella shoes on when they face the nations No. 3 and the Big Ten's No. 1 Team Ohio State (14-2, 27-3) in the second round of the tournament.
