The Wisconsin women's basketball team (1-0) soared high above Air Force (0-1) Friday night with a final score of 91-58, giving the Badgers their first regular season win of 2006-‘07.
Excellent guard play highlighted the win, with junior Janese Banks leading Wisconsin with a career-high 28 points and junior Jolene Anderson adding a solid 23 points. But that was not all: Banks and Anderson also led the team in rebounding, racking up seven boards apiece.
Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone had her team show no mercy on offense, as the Badgers shot 55 percent from the field, hitting 34 of their 65 shot attempts. Anderson tied her career record from beyond the 3-point line, making five of the Badgers' 10 3-point field goals of the night. Sophomore Caitlin Gibson was also a strong offensive contributor with 12 points, going 6-of-7 from the field.
On the flip side, the Badgers played to their potential on defense, forcing the Falcons into 27 turnovers that resulted in 46 points for Wisconsin, as well as the low Air Force shooting percentage of 37 percent. The Badgers also owned the boards, collecting 23 total rebounds to the Falcons 17. Junior Danielle Ward stepped up on defense, leading Wisconsin with four blocks and four steals.
Air Force was unable to bounce back from the 23-9 lead Wisconsin had after seven minutes of play, nor the 28-point deficit at halftime. Junior guard Pamela Findlay led Air Force with 15 points, followed by junior guard Lauren Henderson who went 7-of-9 from the free throw line and added 12 points to the Falcons' score.
Wisconsin host Western Michigan (0-1) at the Kohl Center for its regular season home opener at 7 p.m. Tuesday.
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
