The Badger women's basketball team has definitely found their feet in the second half of this season and got fans on theirs as the team (5-10 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) No. 17 Minnesota (9-5, 17-8) 67-61 in front of nearly 15,000 fans at the Kohl Center Sunday afternoon. It was the team's third conference win in four games, and its second consecutive home victory.
The first half was a nerve-racking rollercoaster as the Badgers watched the Gophers jump out to a quick 8-0 lead before sophomore guard Janese Banks put Wisconsin's first point on the board with a free throw. UW would climb to within four midway through the first, but later let Minnesota put together a big 29-15 lead with just over five minutes remaining in the half. The Badgers then responded with a surge of intensity, shutting out the Gophers with an impressive 12-0 run to end the half, 29-27.
'Our team did not fold due to a slow start,' Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. 'We had a look at it at halftime and came out with a will to win.'
From there on out, UW played tough and never let Minnesota get out of reach. Freshman forward Caitlin Gibson had a big impact for the 13 minutes she was in the game, scoring six points down low and one more from the line. But the thorn in the Gophers' side was sophomore forward Danielle Ward, who came up with five crucial field goals in the second half after being held scoreless in the first.
'I think the backbreaker was Jordan Wilson's high-low pass into Danielle Ward over the top,' Stone said. 'Danielle had the presence of mind to post it up the lane, Jordan was open and instead of taking the long shot went up over the top.'
A layup by Gibson with just under six minutes to play tied the game at 53, and a powerful team effort by the Badgers ensured that Minnesota would not pull into the lead for the remainder of the game. The game ended with four free throws by Banks in the final 18 seconds while the crowd cheered with deafening approval.
'That's what you're supposed to do in front of 15,000 people,' Stone said. 'This is a big, big win for us, especially in front of such a great crowd.'
It was the fourth consecutive loss for Minnesota, which has been a perennial Big Ten power. They have been ranked in the AP National Poll's top 25 since Jan. 21, 2002.
'We've never felt this throughout our whole career here at Wisconsin,' senior guard Ashley Josephson said about the four seniors on the team. 'It's unbelievable. This is the first time we've ever beat Minnesota in our careers and it's just ... we're just ecstatic.'
