Tonight the Kohl Center plays host to a semifinal game of the WNIT that pits a young Wisconsin Badgers squad against the veteran Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky.
The Badgers will be looking to extend the best season they have had under the direction of head coach Lisa Stone. The Hilltoppers on the other hand are aiming for redemption of a 57-56 loss in overtime to Kansas State in the WNIT semifinals last season. Western Kentucky is led by their talented 6'3'' post player Crystal Kelly.
""She is a big body, a bigger post inside. She is a great player,"" freshman forward Mariah Dunham said. ""It looks like their offense centers on her and getting her the ball.""
Kelly averages 23.9 points and 9.5 rebounds per game and gets to the freethrow line over 10 times per contest. Dunham or junior forward Danielle Ward will most likely draw the assignment of defending Kelly.
""[Defending Kelly] will come to a team effort, one post player is not going to stop her. It is going to come down to limiting her touches,"" junior guard Jolene Anderson said. ""We are going to do some things to limit her defensively, but we just can't let her go off.""
Anderson, the top scorer in the Big Ten, has averaged 30 points over her last two games. Wisconsin's second scoring option is junior guard Janese Banks, who is scoring an average of 16 points in WNIT games.
Offensively, Wisconsin will look to convert defensive rebounds and turnovers into transition baskets. They also are focusing on attacking the basket and getting to the free throw line.
""[The rebounding battle] is the name of the game. It is what help us beat Kentucky and was an integral statistic against Virginia,"" Stone said. ""I like our chances there. I think our guards are doing a good job rebounding and Danielle [Ward] is playing at a very high level. I fully expect that we are going to have a great presence on the rebounding end.""
The Badgers out-rebounded opponents by three boards a game in the conference season. In the tournament, however, that number has ballooned to 13, allowing Wisconsin's talented guards like Anderson, Banks and freshman Rae Lin D'Alie to get more opportunities in the open floor.
The Hilltoppers, led by Kelly, boast a solid collection of veteran players. Freshman guard Dominique Duck is the second leading scorer on the team and will matchup with Banks. Kenzie Rich gives Western Kentucky an outside shooting threat and is currently hitting almost 37 percent of her three point attempts.
""We will try to go inside but the key is that we play our game and make them adjust to us,"" Stone said. ""Defensively we will start with Mariah and Danielle inside but there is a chance you will see Danielle and Caitlin [Gibson] in there together.""
Western Kentucky is led by fifth year head coach Mary Taylor Cowles. Cowles has won two Sun Belt coach of the year awards and lead her team to five straight 20-win seasons and four Sun Belt Eastern Division titles.
""They are a good team, well coached. They have a great style of trying to spread you out and getting inside,"" Stone said. ""This late in the game it's less about what each team does and more about [the] players stepping up and making plays.""
