The Wisconsin women's basketball team lost their fourth straight Big Ten game Sunday against No. 16 Ohio State 79-74 to continue its lackluster conference record.
UW is now 1-6 in the Big Ten, 8-9 overall, after beating only Michigan State during winter break. The Badgers have lost by six points or less in the last three games, and head coach Lisa Stone remains optimistic about the remainder of the season.
They're playing against a ranked team,"" Stone said. ""Our team keeps believing that they can win, and it's just a matter of time before it turns.""
Thursday night the Badgers will take on Penn State (4-3 Big Ten, 13-6 overall) at 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
If Wisconsin hopes to reverse its fortunes in conference play, it will have to cut down on turnovers, especially early in the game.
Ohio State got off to an early lead by capitalizing on five turnovers in the first four minutes. The Buckeyes also made 55 percent of their shots in the first half and built a 30-17 lead 13 minutes into the game, before UW tightened the score to 36-29 at halftime.
Although Wisconsin's leading scores were senior guard Janese Banks who put 18 points on the board and senior guard Jolene Anderson, who posted 16 points, Stone said she was impressed by freshman forward Lin Zastrow, who made a career-high 15 points.
""I think Lin Zastrow had a coming out party,"" Stone said. ""I said, 'That girl you are playing against, Jantel Lavender, you will guard her for four years.' It was a nice match-up. I thought Lin really got feisty. She was aggressive.""
Zastrow and Lavender are each six-foot-four, and Lavender, who had 21 points and 13 rebounds, ranks among the top three freshmen in the NCAA.
Tyra Grant leads the Nittany Lions with 14.8 points per game, but three other PSU players also possess average point totals in double digits.
Brianne O'Rourke leads the conference with more than five assists per game. She also averages 12.3 points per game.
Senior OSU guard Marscilla Packer scored a career-high 32 points against UW, and Stone said the Badgers' defense made more mistakes than the offense Sunday.
""You can't let Marscilla Packer get free ... when she's 6-for-8 from threes or hasn't missed,"" Stone said.
Wisconsin made 29-of-76 shots for 38 percent while Ohio State hit 48 percent Sunday. But in the second half, UW and OSU each made about 42 percent. Wisconsin out-rebounded the Buckeyes 42-40.
Last season Penn State defeated Wisconsin 70-61 in the two squads' only game.
Nevertheless, the Badgers have won seven of their 12 contests in the friendly atmosphere of the Kohl Center against PSU.
Despite her team's early struggles, Stone said she was encouraged by the way the Badgers hung with the three-time defending Big Ten Champion Buckeyes.
""As difficult as it's been, our team is getting stronger through adversity,"" Stone said. ""That might sound funny, but our team is getting stronger. They're hungry. And we're looking forward to this game on Thursday.""
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
