One word can summarize this year's Wisconsin women's basketball team: fresh.
A fresh new basketball surface on the Kohl Center floor, a pair of fresh assistant coaches on the sidelines and plenty of freshmen making up the support crew of the team itself - this season marks a new beginning for UW.
With the graduation of three seniors who registered almost half the team's minutes and over 57 percent of the team's scoring, the Badgers have no choice but to move on.
And that means plenty of fresh faces will need to fill some big shoes.
Certainly the decorated players of Jolene Anderson, Janese Banks and Danielle Ward are not longer with us,"" UW head coach Lisa Stone said. ""We're a different basketball team. We look different and we hope that we have different results.
The Badgers faced UW-River Falls Sunday in its annual UW vs. WIAC exhibition matchup. River Falls led the series history 1-0, with the Falcons defeating UW 67-52 in 1975. But in Sunday's contest, results did not favor the visiting team as Wisconsin jumped out to a 20-0 lead and never looked back, defeating UW-RF 71-38.
While the 33-point loss was not exactly what UW-RF head coach Cindy Hovet was looking for, she realized the benefits of playing against such a decorated program.
""Honestly, coming down here is just a great experience for our kids,"" Hovet said. ""The whole state has something about the UW and coming down here and playing against Lisa Stone's Badgers '¦ Pulling into that garage, even that simple thing and seeing grins ear to ear '¦ things like that is just a cool experience.""
""Our kids get to come out and we really get to see how much they are going to compete,"" Hovet said. ""When your kids will keep competing when they are down 30 points, that's exciting for us to see.""
Freshman guard Jamie Russell played well off the bench for the Badgers, scoring eight points in her first five minutes of play. Russell led the Badgers with 15 points, seven rebounds and three steals. Freshman forward Ashley Thomas also chipped in nine points in her first outing.
""Jamie had a great first day '¦ she gave us a tremendous lift off the bench,"" Stone said. ""And Ashley Thomas - her patience was awesome. She came in when she was ready, got big and wide in the post '¦ she does a great job getting a hand on the ball.""
Stone said the freshman class will play a large role in the team's success this season - beginning on the defensive end.
""Jamie, Ashley and the rest of our team needs to continue to take steps forward defensively,"" Stone said. ""We showed some signs, we're trying to flex our muscles and have an identity on the defensive end.""
""It's an understanding of day-by-day improvement, not getting too frustrated with yourself, slowing down and letting things happen.""
Stone said UW needed to establish different goals to remain focused after the Badgers pulled ahead within the first 10 minutes of the game.
""We had made a statement with 2:32 left in the game to not allow 40 points and they locked down,"" Stone said. ""We didn't foul, played really good defense, got some key rebounds and executed offensively.
""Our game plan is pretty simple - you play defense, contest shots, protect the lane. On offense - take good shots and take care of the ball. I thought we did a pretty decent job of that.""
Although the overmatched Falcons proved not the most accurate gauge of the team's progress, Stone knows the season is just getting started.
""We're far from where we need to be, but we're off to a pretty good start,"" Stone said.
Wisconsin opens its regular season schedule Nov. 17 at Brookings, S.D. against South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits came up just short in a 66-62 loss at the Kohl Center last season.
