The Wisconsin women's basketball team spent its Thanksgiving vacation in the U.S. Virgin Islands, lying on the beach and soaking up the sun.
Oh, and they also played a little basketball.
In the finale of the Paradise Jam, Wisconsin (5-1) held No. 6 Baylor (6-1) scoreless in the final 2:43 to upset the Bears, 59-58 and took home the 2008 women's Island Bracket Championship.
I'm just so emotional, I can't even stand it,"" head coach Lisa Stone said. ""I'm so proud of my entire team. This was a great trip. This capped off some beautiful weather and a Paradise Jam Championship.""
Wisconsin slowly chipped away at the Baylor lead in the second half, taking advantage of timely Bear turnovers. Down one point, sophomore guard Alyssa Karel hit a clutch pull-up jumper with just seven seconds remaining to give Wisconsin its first lead of the game.
Baylor's sophomore guard Melissa Jones grabbed an offensive rebound on the other end of the floor and was fouled with 0.5 seconds remaining. Stone then took a strategic timeout to ice the shooter.
""We got it down to one [point],"" Stone said of her team's strategy. ""We went a little bit early but that's okay. We said eight or 10 [seconds remaining] and we went about 12. Alyssa made a great play [and] we take it when we can get it. We wanted to use the clock. We wanted to give us enough time to get an offensive rebound.""
""Unfortunately, they got it in quick and came back down but I'm really proud of our team. That's a great Baylor team.""
Jones stepped to the line and missed both shots to seal Baylor's fate, giving Wisconsin its first win over a ranked opponent since 2006, and its first win over a top-10 opponent since 2001.
""This team and their identity has surfaced. I'm so proud of them,"" Stone said. ""From a defensive standpoint, we did what we had to do ... They had to make a play and we had to make a play. My team was just outstanding and this is just a great lift for us right now.""
The Badgers were led by Tournament MVP Karel with 15 points against the Bears. Junior forward Mariah Dunham added 11 and sophomore guard Lin Zastrow pitched in 10 in the one-point win.
Junior post Danielle Wilson scored a double-double for the Bears with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Yet the Badgers swarmed Baylor's preseason first-team All-American, senior forward Rachel Allison, holding her to just nine points and seven rebounds.
""We rotated a lot of different people on her. I thought Mariah, Tara [Steinbauer] and Ashley [Thomas] did a great job on her, but our team did as well,"" Stone said.
UW junior captain Rae Lin D'Alie was also named to the all-tournament team.
Wisconsin won a pair of close games Thursday and Friday beating Villanova 47-45 and Central Florida 65-61 it its first two rounds of pool play. Karel led the Badgers in both those games, with 12 and 17 points, respectively.
The Badgers' tournament title was their first since the 2006 Lady Rebel Shootout in Las Vegas.
UW will not have much time to celebrate, as it hosts UW-Milwaukee Tuesday. Tipoff at the Kohl Center will be at 6 p.m. and is scheduled to broadcast on the Big Ten Network.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
