When it comes to Badger women's basketball, there is one player who has been synonymous with the team and its success over the last few years. That player is senior guard Jolene Anderson.
With 25 points per game on 48 percent shooting, it would be easy to assume her role on the team is to supply numbers on the stat sheet. In reality, however, she is a player who leads her team by example and brings unmatched intensity to the court.
My leadership role on this basketball team is to lead by example and everybody else will follow,"" Anderson said. ""I think it's been there since as early as my sophomore year.""
Before becoming a Badger, Anderson starred at South Shore high school in Port Wing, Wis., a town of less that 500 on the south shore of Lake Superior. There she became Wisconsin's all-time leading scorer, was named AP State Player of the Year and Wisconsin's Miss Basketball in 2004. She also played volleyball and ran track, earning honors in both.
She began her collegiate career with a bang, leading the team in scoring and earning Big Ten Freshman of the year. That season the Badgers jumped from four to 12 wins.
As a sophomore and junior, Anderson was the Wisconsin's top scorer and rebounder.
Last season Anderson led the Badgers to the WNIT championship game and set the record for most points in the tournament. That season she was named first team All-Big Ten and became the first Badger to win a league scoring title, edging Jessica Davenport by a single point.
This does not mean, however, that Anderson is a one dimensional player. She has been called the team's best defender by head coach Lisa Stone and usually is one of the top Badgers in terms of steals and assists.
""She's just a great player. She can play defense, she can play offense. On the offensive end as long as she's a great shooter, she's also a great passer."" Wisconsin's sophomore forward Mariah Dunham said.
""She finds people and her passes, you know, they are crazy but they get there. Some of the shots she takes, they're crazy but they fall in,"" Dunham added. ""On defense she's scrappy, she's diving all over the place, she's a great weak side defender also, on both ends. And you don't find that very much in a more offensive minded player, a defensive player as well.""
Anderson comes from a household where basketball was a part of life. Both her mother and sister played in college. Anderson herself is a little surprised at the heights to which her basketball career has grown.
""I started playing when I was four really. Started dribbling the basketball, whatever. My mom was athletic ... I'm under her footsteps,"" Anderson said. ""Just playing basketball at a tiny high school, I never imagined that I'd end up at Wisconsin.""
Her accomplishments are also not limited within the state of Wisconsin. Anderson has represented the has represented the United States by playing on four gold medal teams in international competition. Last June, she averaged 9.3 points per game on 40 percent shooting on the U.S. Under-21 women's team.
At the start of this season, Anderson was named the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year, which shows that she has become a force in this league and how much respect she has earned from the media and coaches.
Anderson wants to accomplish more and this season is her final shot do it.
""Just to win the Big Ten Championship and go to the NCAA Tournament,"" Anderson said, ""That's just one of the main goals that I'm going to focus on this year.""
Anderson's presence on the court forces other teams to change the way they play and opens up things for her teammates.
""[Her presence] just makes the defense have to be aware of her,"" senior guard Janese Banks said. ""So sometimes they're so concentrated on her that they may forget about somebody else or on offensive rebounds forget to box out.""
Though she has less than one more season in cardinal and white, Anderson cherishes the time she has spent playing for Wisconsin.
""I've loved every minute of it. I don't have regrets right now,"" Anderson said. ""I'm just looking forward to my senior year and hopefully [to] leave Wisconsin on a winning track.
