The Wisconsin women's basketball team begins its 2007-08 campaign in Cleveland Friday, as it heads to the Wolstein Center to take on the Cleveland State Vikings. The Badgers are fueled by last year's trip to the WNIT Championship and are looking to use that fuel on this year's crusade.
We really played our best basketball at the end of the year and it's carrying over to now,"" head coach Lisa Stone said. ""We have great leaders in Jolene [Anderson] and Janese [Banks] and we're looking forward to making some strides.""
As the first of 14 total road games, the Badgers know that they must win the important games away from the Kohl Center.
""We definitely want to win the big games on the road,"" sophomore point guard Rae Lin D'Alie said. ""Last year we were very successful at home; we broke a record. If we can get those big away games under our belts, then we'll be looking to do something. There are high expectations and we are just looking to go out and prove those expectations.""
Wisconsin ""proved those expectations"" in its first two exhibition games this season, as the Badgers averaged 97 points per game in wins over St. Norbert and UW-Stout. The Badgers were led by Women's Wooden Award candidate senior guard Jolene Anderson who averaged 16.5 points in the first two contests.
Cleveland State of the Horizon League will also have their hands full with Wisconsin's depth, as the Badgers enjoyed a balanced attack against the under-matched interstate squads, including impressive double-digit point appearances by freshmen Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer.
The Vikings were also undefeated in exhibition play with a 36-point trouncing of Ashland University. Sophomore guard Kailey Klein scored 23 in the victory, with senior guard Brittany Korth and junior guard Dominique Butler adding 14 and 12 points respectively.
The Cleveland State-Wisconsin connection is actually quite strong. Not only do the Vikings have four former high school stars from the state of Wisconsin in Justine Hayes of Madison, Korth of Clinton and Butler and Stephanie Crosley of Milwaukee; two former figures in the Wisconsin women's basketball system are now coaching Cleveland State. Former Wisconsin assistant coach Kate Peterson Abiad now leads the Vikings. Assisting Peterson Abiad is former Wisconsin post player Annie Thomas who played on Badger squads from 2002 to 2006.
