The Wisconsin women's basketball team (5-4 Big Ten, 16-6 overall) travels to Indiana (2-7, 13-9) Thursday in hopes of collecting its fourth consecutive win in conference play. Even though the Badgers have had a solid season thus far, Indiana is not a team that can be taken lightly or overlooked.
Junior guards Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks both lead the Badgers in scoring and are ranked in the top five across the entire Big Ten Conference, averaging 17.5 and 14.7 points per game.
""[Anderson] just leads by example on the court. We're up by 30 and she's still diving on the floor, and I think that shows a lot of courage,"" freshman forward Mariah Dunham said. ""She just never backs down from anyone."".
""Janese [Banks] is the vocal leader. When we're not on on defense, she's lets you know ... She just steps up and everyone can rely on Janese for a lot of things,"" Dunham said.
Dunham, as well as several other Wisconsin freshmen, has really stepped up and taken her game to the next level since conference play started. She is one of the first players off the bench, and is averaging just shy of seven points per game.
""[The Wisconsin freshmens'] maturity level is amazing. They've grown fast and they've handled pressure and expectations very, very well and I'm just looking for them to continue to grow and contribute,"" head coach Lisa Stone said when asked about the improvement of her rookies this season.
Currently, Indiana is on a five-game losing streak, but is still a tough team. With two players averaging double digits in scoring, junior guard Nikki Smith with a mere 12.4 points per game and senior center Sarah McKay with 10.4 points per game, as well as three others just under scoring 10 points per game, the Hoosiers will pose several offensive threats.
""On any given night in the Big Ten, anyone can come out any way ... [Indiana] is definitely going to come out fired up because they are hungry for a win,"" Dunham said.
""Every Big Ten game is a big one. You can't take any days off, and it's imperative that we come out and establish ourselves early,"" Stone said. ""[Indiana] is at home and they're a good team ... They'll come out with a lot of energy.""
When asked if Indiana has any weaknesses Wisconsin is looking to expose, Stone said, ""It's less about weaknesses and more about which team plays the game the best. We'll go in there with the same approach we have every game, and that is to try to establish ourselves defensively early, get out into transition as best as we can and try to pick apart their matchup defense.""
""We just need to play together and talk, and hopefully we can get the job done,"" said sophomore forward Caitlin Gibson. ""[A win] would be awesome right now and it would keep our momentum going. Winning on the road is always a triumph because it is so hard, especially in our conference, so it would be really good for us.""
Tonight's game tips off at 6 p.m. from Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Ind.
