As the Wisconsin women's basketball team wrapped up the non-conference portion of its schedule on a high note, Big Ten Conference play got off to a rocky start. The Badgers dropped to 2-3 in the Big Ten and 13-5 overall during winter break.
On Dec. 15, Harvard traveled to the Kohl Center only to discover junior sensations Janese Banks and Jolene Anderson, who scored 24 points and 22 points respectively to pull the Badgers to an 86-66 victory over the Crimson. Freshman point guard Rae Lin D'Alie also dished a single-player season-high eight assists.
Banks scored 20 of her points in the first half alone, going 3-for-4 from beyond the 3-point arc. As a team, the Badgers shot an outstanding 53.4 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Crimson 34-28. This final non-conference game marked the first meeting between Harvard and Wisconsin, and the Badgers improved to 4-1 against Ivy League schools.
Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone is excited about her team's success in the first portion of the season. In a post-game press conference, Stone said, ""I am very proud of us. We are playing well at home and I really like that. If we can maintain that it will put us in a good position in the Big Ten.""
The first Big Ten Conference game of the season was against Northwestern Dec. 28 and gave Wisconsin a 9-0 record at home. The Badgers stuck it to the Wildcats as the Banks, Anderson and D'Alie trio posted team-high statistics. Banks ended with a game-high 24 points, Anderson scored 20 points and collected nine rebounds, and D'Alie contributed a career-high 17 points to defeat Northwestern 93-72. Freshman Mariah Dunham also played with confidence, scoring 13 points and collecting six boards. This was the most points Wisconsin was able to put on the scoreboard so far this season.
""I thought Rae Lin D'Alie did a heck of a job in her Big Ten opener as a point guard,"" said Stone, who also was impressed with her team's defensive effort. ""I challenged our basketball team defensively, and I thought we went on a defensive flurry ... our defense forced some turnovers and got us out into transition.""
Senior A.J. Glasauer led the Wildcats with 15 points, as Northwestern slipped to 6-7 with the loss.
Wisconsin did not fare as well in game two of conference play. A loss on the road to No. 21 Michigan State Dec. 31 gave the Badgers frustration going into the new year. Banks and Anderson both tallied a team high 12 points, and junior Danielle Ward tallied 10 points, but that was not enough as the Badgers suffered their first Big Ten loss to the Spartans 56-46.
Strong defensive efforts from both teams caused the Badgers to score a season-low 46 points and the Spartans shot a mere 27.4 percent from the field. Unfortunately, foul trouble allowed Michigan State to shoot 25 free throws, capitalizing on 19 points from the charity line.
Wisconsin had several opportunities to pull itself back in the final minutes of play, but the Badgers went 0-for-5 from the floor. Michigan State also was the first team this season to out-rebound Wisconsin, 49-40.
Freshman Allyssa DeHaan led the Spartans with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Three other players posted double figure scores, improving Michigan State to 11-2 on the season and 2-0 in the conference.
The following Sunday, Wisconsin traveled to Minnesota and extended its losing streak to two. Anderson was the only Badger to score in double digits, finishing with 16 points.
Anderson found fire early in the second half, scoring 10 points to bring Wisconsin within five points with just under 15 minutes left in the game. The Gophers finally put the Badgers away with five minutes left by going on an 11-1 run, giving Minnesota a 59-44 advantage.
Minnesota senior Kelly Roysland led all scorers with 20 points as the Gophers improve to 2-2 in the Big Ten and 10-6 overall.
To bring this short series of away games to a happy ending, Wisconsin was able to pull ahead of Michigan 62-59 to give the Badgers their first Big Ten away game victory. Anderson finished with a team-high 15 points and nine rebounds.
Wisconsin's defense was explosive in the final minutes, forcing some major turnovers. The Badgers attacked the hoop and were strong with the ball, causing Michigan to push Wisconsin's luck at the free-throw line. Dunham, D'Alie and Banks shot perfectly from the charity stripe to pull ahead of the Wolverines in concluding moments.
The Badgers' scoring was also aided by Banks with 13 total points as she went 8-for-8 from the free-throw line and pulled in six rebounds. Sophomore Caitlin Gibson scored 12 points, followed by Dunham with 10 tallies and six rebounds and D'Alie with nine points.
Michigan freshman Krista Phillips scored a game-high 16 points and the Wolverines dropped to 8-10.
Jan. 14, the Badgers registered their first home loss of the season to Illinois 62-70. Banks led Wisconsin with 18 points and eight rebounds, followed closely by classmate Anderson with 18 points and six rebounds.
This game marked Anderson's 75th career start as she became the 13th player in Badger history to score more than 1,000 career points and collect 500 rebounds.
As a team, however, the Badgers were unable to click on offense early in the game. In the second half, Wisconsin was able to cut the Fighting Illini lead to seven points twice, but Illinois went 9-for-10 from the free-throw line in the final minute to secure the win.
Senior Erin Wigley of Illinois led her team with 15 points coming off the bench. The Fighting Illini improved to 13-4 overall with the win.
""Wigley was an X-factor for them. We talked about her before the game even started,"" Stone said after the game Sunday. ""[Illinois] makes their free throws ... and they attack the basket very, very well. I told our team, one of our game's goals was to out-rebound them and we'd win. We did [out-rebound Illinois], but it was a little too late.""
—uwbadgers.com
contributed to this report
