Wisconsin forward Tara Steinbauer and guards Alyssa Karel and Sarah Ingison hail from the Twin Cities area. But instead of wearing the Maroon and Gold, the three crossed the border to sport the Cardinal and White.
All three were pleased with their choice Saturday afternoon, as the Wisconsin women's basketball team took advantage of Minnesota miscues to eke out a 59-57 victory at Williams Arena.
This game was a case of missed opportunities,"" Minnesota head coach Pam Borton said. ""If you saw the game, you saw how many layups we missed. We missed free throws. We committed costly turnovers. We missed too many opportunities to win this game.""
Senior guard Jolene Anderson heated up late in the first half, shooting 4-for-5 from behind the arc. Anderson scored 14 of her team-high 21 points in the first half.
Sophomore forward Mariah Dunham added nine points off the bench for Wisconsin (8-8 Big Ten, 15-11 overall).
Gopher guard Emily Fox scored a game-high 28 points on 9-for-19 shooting. The rest of the Minnesota team was just 7-for-33.
""You know what you're going to get with Jolene and 'Emmy,' but Wisconsin had been getting contributions from their other players,"" Borton said.
Dunham held Minnesota's prolific post player Leslie Knight, who averaged 17.3 points in Big Ten play, to just seven. Dunham's defensive efforts were a large part of the Badgers' success at The Barn.
""I thought our energy on defense was great,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""We have great players. We're a solid basketball team. To come in and get a win is a credit to my players.""
Free throws kept the Gophers alive in the second half, as a stingy Badger defense held Minnesota (9-7, 18-10) to just five field goals in the second half - its last coming with 12:18 left in the game.
""We were attacking on offense to get to the free throw line and we were able to do that. But you still have to find a way to make shots,"" Borton said. ""We had decent looks at the basket from the people we wanted to be taking shots, but they weren't falling.""
Dunham canned a clutch three-pointer with four minutes left to put the Badgers up two. Both offenses stalled before Anderson was fouled on a rebound. But the 86 percent free throw shooter missed on the first shot.
Anderson then fouled Minnesota's Ashley Ellis-Milan with 15 seconds left, sending her to the line for two free throws. Ellis-Milan missed them both, and Karel corralled the rebound and was fouled. Karel then missed her opportunity to put the game away.
Down two with time expiring, Fox's 15-foot jumper bounced off the side of the rim as Wisconsin secured its first win in Minneapolis since 2001.
""I'm so proud of this team,"" Stone said. ""We are playing great basketball at the right time of the year.
""It's not where you start the season, it's where you finish,"" Stone added.
With just two games remaining, Wisconsin travels to Michigan Thursday night to take on the Wolverines. The Badgers are looking to move up in the tight conference standings and are currently just one game out of fourth place. Tipoff at Chrysler Arena is set for 7 p.m. and will be shown live on the Big Ten Network.
Gophersports.com contributed to this report
