The Wisconsin women's basketball team (8-1) stepped off its home court Sunday afternoon with nothing to hang its head about, as it handily won both weekend home games. Friday, the Badgers defeated Southern Mississippi (3-5) 88-37 and triumphed over Kansas (4-2) Sunday afternoon 68-41.
In the game against Southern Mississippi, the Badgers got off to a slow start but were able to pull ahead by 13 points with 7:40 left in the first half. Junior guard Jolene Anderson and junior forward Danielle Ward got hot in the first 20 minutes of play and went into the locker room contributing 15 and 10 points respectively to Wisconsin's lead of 45-22.
Unfortunately for the Golden Eagles, the Badgers came into the second half with even more flare than in the first. Anderson could not be stopped and ended the game with a double-double by scoring 24 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. Ward ended the game with 14 points, and freshman Mariah Dunham posted a career-high 14 points for Wisconsin. Junior guard Janese Banks also scored in double figures with 11 points.
Southern Miss was led in scoring by junior center and Wisconsin native Liz Biland, who had 10 points and five rebounds.
""I thought [Wisconsin] did a great job tonight, and I say hats off to them,"" Southern Miss. head coach Joye Lee-McNelis said. ""They'll have a great run for the Big Ten title ... As for our team, I think we came to war with a BB gun, but we didn't have any BBs with us, we left them at home.""
The Badgers came into Sunday's game well-rested and ready to shut down the talented young Kansas squad. Banks scored the first six points for Wisconsin, and was later sparked by Dunham coming into the game and hitting two 3-pointers as well as capitalizing on layups in three consecutive possessions. This gave the Badgers a little bit more of a cushion and allowed them to enter the locker room with a 29-21 lead.
Coming into the second half, Wisconsin attacked the hoop more, hoping to draw some Jayhawk fouls, which did not happen in the previous half. Wisconsin made no trips to the charity line in the first 20 minutes of play, but went 14-of-17 from the free throw line in the second half.
Wisconsin's defense was unbreakable and its pressure made everything difficult for the Jayhawks. By moving back and forth from a man-to-man half-court pressure defense to a match-up zone, Kansas was unable to react to Wisconsin's energy as it registered turnover after turnover.
At one point in the first five minutes of the second half, Ward had a beautiful block behind the 3-point arc, placing the ball right in the hands of teammate Anderson, who made a no-look pass to Banks for a left handed lay-up. The very next possession, Wisconsin's freshman point guard Rae Lin D'Alie stole the ball in the paint off a pass by Kansas' Danielle McCray, and went coast to coast for another Wisconsin score. The run continued as Anderson stole the ball again, missed a fast-break lay-up which was collected by Ward, who was then fouled and sent to the free-throw line. She hit both with 15 minutes left on the clock, which marked the turning point of a once somewhat-close game.
""Defensively, that was our best performance yet this year ... Our best offense is our best defense,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said.
Anderson was one rebound off another double-double, finishing with 15 points and nine rebounds. Banks also scored 15 points, and Kansas freshman Sade Morris had a team-high 10 points.
""We play great at home and that's something I hope we can continue to do, but it just all started with the comfort level we have here at the Kohl Center,"" Anderson said.
