Junior sensation Jolene Anderson led Wisconsin (3-4 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) through a tough loss to No. 5 Ohio State (6-0, 17-1) 74-51 at the Kohl Center Thursday evening and a road victory versus Northwestern (0-7, 6-14) Sunday afternoon 74-50, while also collecting historical records on a personal note.
Going into Thursday's game, Anderson only needed one assist to earn another spot in the records book by adding over 250 assists to her impressive 1,000 career points, 500 rebounds, and 150 steals alongside only two other players in program history. Anderson led all scorers with 25 points against the Buckeyes, including four assists and four steals.
Ohio State went into the locker room at half with a 35-24 lead. A 27-9 run in the second half allowed the Buckeyes to put the victory out of reach for Wisconsin, as the Badgers were in too deep of a hole to pull themselves out of so late in the game.
""I thought we stopped playing for a little while in the second half and we wanted to continue showing pride,"" said Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone, whose team fell to 9-2 at home to the two-time defending Big Ten champion.
Sunday's game brought Wisconsin a more exciting fortune as it collected another conference victory on the road against Northwestern. Anderson led the Badgers with 18 points and freshman guard Rae Lin D'Alie flexed her muscles as a threatening point guard by accumulating 10 points, nine assists and six boards. Wisconsin's 6'4\ junior forward, Danielle Ward, finished with 11 points.
The Badgers were able to pull ahead by 10 points going into the locker room. Rookie Brittany Heins scored a career high nine points, all coming prior to the conclusion of the first half.
Intensity did not stop there as Wisconsin came out of the locker room with even more flare, going on a 21-4 run to start the second half.
""They gave us a run there for a little bit but we came out of the locker room with a lot of fire,"" Stone said after the game. ""We denied ball reversal, adjusted on screens and we forced some turnovers to get layups.""
Michigan will challenge Wisconsin at the Kohl Center Thursday.
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report.
