After practice ended Tuesday afternoon, it seemed as though pure confidence and excitement lit up the faces of the Wisconsin women's basketball team (3-4 Big Ten, 14-6 overall). Just coming off a victory at Northwestern Sunday, the Badgers look to startle Michigan (1-6, 8-12) at the Kohl Center Thursday night.
Going into last week, Wisconsin was undefeated at home. Since then, they have dropped two consecutive games at the Kohl Center to Illinois and No. 5 Ohio State.
With Big Ten standouts such as junior guards Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks prepared to lead Wisconsin on offense, other players have also been contributing to the Badgers' success by collecting some points, making great passes and flustering opponents on offense. Wisconsin also has shown ample success with their rapid ball movement and fast-paced offense.
So far this season, the Wolverines have showed a lot of depth and scattered scoring. Michigan is hoping to collect their second Big Ten victory on the season by splitting with Wisconsin in conference play. Two weeks ago, the Badgers pulled out of Ann Arbor with a nail-biting 62-59 win by taking the lead with 33 seconds left on the clock and by hitting clutch free throws, playing solid defense and making smart decisions.
When asked if there was anything Wisconsin could do to give themselves an advantage, head coach Lisa Stone said, ""I think if we can be the aggressor offensively and get to the free-throw line, that will help us. We also need to use our depth as well. We've got nice depth and we are playing nine or 10 players right now, and we're pretty excited about that.""
In several of Michigan's games, it has been able to run an offense that revolves around solid post play and dribble penetration from the guards. In order to slow Michigan's offense down, every Wisconsin player must be on the same page and smother any individual sparks.
""[Michigan] is really athletic and they drive too,"" sophomore forward Caitlin Gibson said. ""They have a very quick first step so they can get by us if we aren't ready for it.""
Freshman point guard Rae Lin D'Alie has been growing more comfortable with her role as a Badger and has really been taking impressive strides within the Wisconsin offense. However, D'Alie believes the key to success lies within defensive intensity.
""I think we just need to focus on what we're doing and what our game is. Our defense is a huge part of our success. When we won games, it was because of our defense,"" D'Alie said. ""[Defense] gets us out in transition and we are a transition team. When we're running, we're confident and we're scoring and we're sharing the ball. Great things happen and that's just coming from our defensive game.""
Wisconsin hopes to start another winning streak at home, starting with tip-off at 7 p.m tonight.
