The Wisconsin women's basketball team (21-12) moved on to the Elite Eight of the Women's National Invitation Tournament after holding off Kentucky (20-14) Thursday evening at the Kohl Center 67-61. This is the first postseason experience Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone has had with the Badger program, and so far her team has shown that it is a strong contender for the WNIT championship trophy.
On another high note, Wisconsin is 15-3 on its home court at the Kohl Center. This is the best home record for the Badgers since the 1998-‘99 season when the team had the same 15-3 record. Wisconsin is also the only Big Ten team left in the WNIT and one of two teams left in post-season play altogether, along with Purdue, which has yet to be defeated in the NCAA Tournament.
Junior guard Janese Banks posted her fifth career double-double with 16 points and 13 rebounds on the contest. Classmates Jolene Anderson and Danielle Ward also posted double-digit scoring. Anderson led the Badgers with a game-high 22 points and Ward scored 10 points.
Despite a rough start for Wisconsin early in the game, it rose to the challenges Kentucky presented both offensively and defensively. Five minutes into the game, Wisconsin took the lead from Kentucky and stayed ahead for the rest of the first half, going into the locker room with a 29-28 lead.
Wisconsin came out energized in the second half and pulled ahead by six points due to solid defense, frustrating Kentucky's offense. Kentucky did not give up, however, and found a way to pull itself within one point twice late in the contest.
The Wildcats took the lead with 4:42 left, but could not hold off the Badgers for long. Anderson refueled her team by hitting two shots in consecutive Wisconsin possessions.
Defensive intensity also picked up near the end of the game for both teams, but Wisconsin shot 8-of-11 from the free throw line in the second half and kept strong control of the ball. Kentucky struggled with putting points on the scoreboard down the stretch and had to rely on the Badgers to miss from the charity line, which they rarely did.
The most crucial element of play Wisconsin expressed was capitalizing on rebounding on both ends of the court, pulling in a total of 19 rebounds more than the Wildcats, 25 of which were offensive. These offensive rebounds allowed Wisconsin to score 28 second-chance points. The Badgers also converted Wildcat turnovers into points, scoring 24 points off their miscues.
""We were ball-getters today,"" Stone said. ""Instead of letting somebody else out-muscle us or out-hustle us, we had the advantage today against a great team.""
Even though Kentucky struggled on the glass, it matched up well with Wisconsin throughout the entire game. The Badgers extended their lead to eight points with 27 seconds left in the second half, their largest lead of the game.
The Wildcats were led by junior guard Samantha Mahoney with 13 points. Sophomore guard Carly Ormerod and junior center Sarah Elliott also finished in double-figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively.
""Kentucky's a great team. They're well coached; they're very athletic; they're inside and outside; they have a great basketball team,"" Stone said. ""Our players did the necessities, the little things, to get us the win. That's what it takes, particularly at home and to protect your own court, and now to move on to the next one at home.""
Wisconsin will host Virginia in the WNIT quarterfinals Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
