In what seemed a snoozer for the first 35 minutes of the game, the Wisconsin women's basketball team squeaked out a 71-69 double-overtime win against visiting UW-Milwaukee Tuesday night.
Wisconsin (6-1) fought off a pesky Panther squad to win its 11th straight over UW-Milwaukee (3-3).
A win is a win,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""I really am proud of the players for holding on and being resilient and overcoming fatigue, and overcoming the Milwaukee run '¦ We did enough to get it done.""
It took another balanced effort from the Wisconsin offense, with eight Badgers scoring. Junior Mariah Dunham led the Badgers with 16 points ,with sophomores Tara Steinbauer and Alyssa Karel adding 11.
Wisconsin's bench outscored UWM's 39-8, led by Dunham, Steinbauer and freshman Jade Davis' 10 points.
""Thankfully we were able to go to our bench,"" Stone said. ""That's pretty special - good balanced scoring. [The bench did] enough of what we had to do to get the end to get it done.""
For Milwaukee, it was quite the opposite, with senior Traci Edwards dominating the inside for the Panthers. Edwards, an All-American candidate, finished with a game-high 30 points and
10 rebounds.
Edwards, at just over the midway point of the second half, pulled down an offensive rebound and put it back up for her 17th point, breaking the school record for career points scored.
""She gets it done inside,"" Stone said. ""But 30 and 10, that's a big game for her in an intra-state game. She breaks the record here and I congratulate her. She will have a great senior year and is deserving of all her preseason accolades.""
Wisconsin looked in control for the majority of the game, as the Badgers' defensive pressure in the first half made it difficult for Milwaukee to pound the ball inside to Edwards. Wisconsin turned 15 Panther turnovers into 10 points in the first session and led 29-18 after one.
Wisconsin held its lead over the first minutes of the second half, even extending its lead to 16 with 11:15 left in the second half.
Milwaukee then switched to a three-quarter-court trap to pressure Wisconsin's guards, effectively stalling the Badgers' offensive fluidity.
""It was a good move on their part to switch up their defense,"" junior captain Rae Lin D'Alie said. ""They were kind of in a switching man '¦ They kind of threw it at us.
""But after a while we found out how to work it.""
UWM's press caused some timely Badger turnovers, as they inched closer after a bucket by the fiery senior Turqouise McCain and inside play by Edwards.
Finally, with 1:58 left in regulation, Edwards sunk a free throw to give UWM its first lead since the 9:30 mark of the first half.
Dunham provided a spark off the bench throughout the game with timely assists and blocks on the defensive end. Perhaps her biggest play was a step-back three from the baseline to but the Badgers back up by two with 1:30 remaining.
""I thought Mariah was effective not only from the three but also slashing to the middle and getting on the offensive boards. It was huge for us, it really was,"" Stone said.
An easy lay-in on an Edwards post-up with :05 on the clock tied the game at 54-54. Karel was then tripped up on the ensuing play as time expired without a whistle, sending it to overtime.
Wisconsin scored the first four points in OT, before clutch buckets from Edwards and sophomore Jineen Williams put UWM up two, 60-58 with 2:06 left. Wisconsin took a timeout, and brought in junior Teah Gant, who hit a leaner to tie it up at 60.
Milwaukee freshman Amanda Viehauser then swished a cold-blooded 3-pointer from the baseline, putting the Panthers up 63-60. But it was déjà -vu for the Badgers, as Karel pulled up with the shot clock expiring and 7.4 on the game clock to hit an icy shot from downtown and send it to double overtime.
Steinbauer, D'Alie and sophomore Lin Zastrow each tossed in a basket, scoring the first six points of the second overtime period. McCain answered with a layup of her own, and UWM went inside and drew a foul on Zastrow - her fifth - with 1:48 left. Edwards sunk the ensuing free throws to cut the lead to two.
Steinbauer made one from the line and missed the second attempt, but corralled the offensive rebound. Mariah was fouled, also making only the first.
Milwaukee brought the ball up the floor and found sophomore Lindsay Laur on the left wing. Laur passed on an open three, took two dribbles to her right but forgot to shoot it as the final buzzer sounded.
""I feel like we wear Wisconsin really well on our chest and we fight for it every single day,"" Davis said. ""We all have each other's back '¦ At the end ,everyone was in there rebounding and doing what they had to do to get that win.""
Wisconsin will next host the Hokies of Virginia Tech Thursday as part of the second annual Big Ten/ACC Women's Basketball Challenge. The Big Ten lost last year's competition 8-3, with Wisconsin suffering an 84-60 defeat to Virginia.
Game time is set for 6 p.m. and will be broadcast live on the BigTenNetwork.com.
