The Wisconsin women's basketball team won its third straight home game Sunday as it grounded the Air Force Academy 74-60.
I'm proud of our players, they've been very focused,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""I'm proud of their energy ... we're 3-0 [in this recent home stand] and we want to get a couple more in the next week and lead that into finals.""
Four starters tallied double-digit scoring for Wisconsin (5-3). Senior forward Danielle Ward led the way with 14 points on 6-for-11 shooting and snagged six rebounds and five steals - all season highs.
""I thought Danielle Ward played well, to be assigned their toughest player, to come in and not be in foul trouble..."" Stone said. ""That's a pretty good line on [Ward] and we're pretty excited about that, so hopefully we'll get four more double figures on Tuesday.""
Sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer pitched in 13 points and five boards, with senior guards Janese Banks and Jolene Anderson each adding 13 points and three rebounds for the Badgers.
The Badgers also shot a season-high 69 percent from behind the arc on 9-for-13 shooting.
The Air Force (4-5) was led by Alecia Steele who collected 14 points and eight rebounds for the Falcons.
""They had a tough time getting here but they made the best of this, certainly, and they played hard,"" Stone said. ""They played hard regardless of the score, right until the very end. [AFA head coach Ardie McInelly] has coached them tough and I have a real respect for people like that.""
Sunday's game was originally scheduled for Saturday morning but was moved due to poor flying conditions in Colorado Friday night.
""I'm not a person who makes excuses, but I did think it had an effect on our team,"" Stone said. ""We were very sharp and crisp [in practice] yesterday, and it had an effect here today, but again, I give our team a lot of credit.""
Wisconsin will host UW-Green Bay Tuesday in its final home game before the Big Ten season begins. The Big Ten Network will televise the game against the Phoenix live at 7 p.m.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
