When UW women's basketball head coach Lisa Stone addressed the media Monday afternoon, she was very positive about her team's success 11 games into the season. With a 10-1 record, the Badgers will go into Wednesday night's game against UW-Green Bay (5-3) with confidence.
The Badgers have an undefeated record at home this season, winning all seven games at the Kohl Center. However, Wisconsin will be traveling to Green Bay Wednesday in hopes of giving UWGB their second loss at home this season.
Kevin Borseth is the head coach for UWGB, and Stone believes his team will be a tough one to beat. The Phoenix have the most depth and talent of all the teams Wisconsin has faced so far this year.
""[Borseth] has got a very nice team and they have beat some great teams including some Big Ten teams ... He's got it going,"" Stone said. ""They play really well. They play hard, and they are well-coached and very disciplined.""
UWGB is excellent both defensively and offensively and seems to feed a lot off of senior guard Natalie Berglin, who is averaging 12 points per game.
""[Berglin] is a great player, a great lefty, a great shooter. All of them can shoot the ball. [UWGB] has a nice round of players,"" Stone said. ""As for defense, [UWGB] will mix it up ... They just play hard both sides of the ball ... They are fundamental, they are relentless, and they won't quit.""
In addition, Phoenix senior forward Nicole Soulis was named the Horizon League Player of the Week last week for being the high scorer in both of UWGB's victories against Iowa and Indiana State.
Even though the Badgers have had a lot of success early, the women are ready to improve and get better both individually and as a team.
""I like the fact that our young team is growing,"" Stone said. ""They are excited about the fact that we know we have room to grow and we have room to improve. They are competitors; they want to win.
""You ask any of the players what they want most out of the season, and their answer is they want to win. I've seen the look on their faces in close games and I've seen their focus ... I do like what I have seen out of our players, and they continue to grow, get better and mature.""
Since there are no seniors on Wisconsin, this has caused many younger players to step up and fill captain roles. Junior Jolene Anderson leads the Badgers in several categories and has gained a lot of national recognition. Junior Janese Banks also has had an excellent season and has had a large part in bringing the team closer together on and off the court.
""Green Bay will bring out our best and I hope we can bring out their best,"" Stone said. ""It's a great rivalry.""
Friday night, Wisconsin will finish off its non-conference portion of the schedule as they host Harvard (1-6) at the Kohl Center. Conference play will start on Dec. 28 as the Badgers face Northwestern at home.
