The Wisconsin women's basketball team ran out to a 27-9 lead and never looked back, notching a 61-52 victory over Virginia Tech (5-2) Thursday night at the Kohl Center. The win also gave a point to the Big Ten conference as part of the second annual Big Ten/ACC Women's Challenge.
This is a big one for our team,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""In my opinion, another statement game for our program. We've played some tough teams out of some very tough conferences and to be one of the only two to survive the Big Ten/ACC Challenge on the women's side, I'm very proud of our players.""
Wisconsin (7-1) has cruised to a seven-game win streak, its first since the 2001-2002 season when it won 15 in a row. The Badgers' intense defensive pressure in the half-court setting has been a constant during the seven-game run.
""I thought that they were very fundamentally sound, very solid and they played hard,"" Virginia Tech head coach Beth Dunkenberger said. ""They locked down in the paint '¦ they just didn't make mistakes and they played hard. When you do those two things on the defensive end, good things happen.""
""Our identity is starting to become true that when we play defense like that, we're going to put ourselves in position to be in every single game,"" Stone said.
""Our players are believing that.""
Offensively, the Badgers were led by sophomore guard Alyssa Karel's 14 points. Junior Rae Lin D'Alie added nine, and sophomore Tara Steinbauer and juniors Mariah Dunham and Teah Gant scoring eight each.
""Once again, [we had] tremendous balanced scoring. [We] sputtered a little bit against the [1-2-2] half court trap, but bottom line is I'm proud of the players for the way we handled it,"" Stone said. ""We withstood it, got to the free-throw line'¦ I'm proud of what we're seeing and the growth we see daily.""
The Badgers worked the ball through the post and got 10 offensive rebounds in the first half, getting to the free-throw line 18 times before half.
Virginia Tech junior guard Lindsay Biggs scored a career-high 22 points to lead the Hokies, with junior forward Utahya Drye adding 14 points and nine rebounds.
Wisconsin jumped out to an 11-1 lead to open the game on a pair of three-point plays by Gant and freshman forward Ashley Thomas.
Biggs got hot near the end of the first half, hitting her team's final 12 points before the break.
The Badgers then stymied the rest of the team in the second half, holding the Hokies 14 points below its season average.
""I felt we did a decent job getting through screens, we chased, we were in the pack - we were playing our system,"" Stone said. ""If we can add the one and done mentality to it, it's really going to help.""
Wisconsin scored just two field goals in the first six minutes of the second half before a spin move in the lane by Gant gave the Badgers some breathing room, pushing the lead to 40-32.
With 5:30 left in the game, an offensive rebound turned tip-in by freshman guard Shanel Harrison gave the Hokies their first field goal since the 15:01 mark - a 9:39 span.
Wisconsin's win is one of just two games in which the Big Ten has beaten its ACC opponent. Minnesota picked up the other win by beating Boston College 80-60 Thursday in Minneapolis.
Wisconsin will host Northern Illinois Sunday afternoon at 1:30 p.m at the Kohl Center.
NIU returns four starters from its third place MAC West finish last season. Sophomore center Ebony Ellis currently leads the Huskies in both scoring with 12.4 points per game, and in rebounding with 10.9 per game.
Though Wisconsin leads the series 6-2, Northern Illinois has won the last two, including a 68-65 victory in Madison in 2003.
