With Big Ten Conference play only a few weeks away, the Wisconsin women's basketball team (10-1) continues to expand on their record-breaking season, defeating Albany (2-7) 75-46 Sunday at the Kohl Center.
It was the Jolene Anderson show once again, as the junior guard dominated every aspect of the game. The Great Danes struggled on both sides of the court, as Wisconsin had a height advantage that could not be ignored. Albany also had to acknowledge Anderson's offensive presence on the court. When the first half expired, the Badgers had a 36-20 lead, and Anderson brought in 13 of those points. Anderson also flexed her muscles defensively, registering all three of Wisconsin's first-half steals.
The second half was a definite indicator of Anderson's All-Conference intensity, as her hot hand found fire. She shot 5-of-6 from the field and went 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line, ending with a season-high 28 points. Anderson also had four assists and six of the Badger's nine steals.
Junior guard Janese Banks had her first double-double of the season with 13 points and an individual season-high 12 rebounds.
Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone expressed her thoughts on the solid guard play between Anderson and Banks and the struggles of her team's post play.
""Jolene and Janese are really coming in on the glass and doing a nice job ... [But] we need our post players to step up a little more, continue to rebound and continue to be a dominating force, because I know they can,"" Stone said. ""That's just the bottom line.""
Senior guard Amanda Ward led Albany with 16 points and shot perfectly from the free-throw line.
As a team, Wisconsin was not satisfied with their control of the ball. The Badgers were forced into 22 total turnovers, and every player in the game for over a minute registered at least one.
""[Albany] made us play a little ugly,"" Stone said. ""We were tentative, and obviously they made us turn the ball over ... That's something that we'll certainly discuss, but again, it's another win. You can't discount that we're 10-1, and it feels good. We're just going to have to tune some things up before Monday.""
Wisconsin travels to play UW-Green Bay Wednesday at 7 p.m.
