The road woes continued for the Wisconsin women's basketball team as the Badgers fell at Michigan State 59-50 Sunday afternoon at the Breslin Center in front of 10,489 fans.
I thought our kids fought,"" head coach Lisa Stone said. ""We had a great game plan and defensively did a very nice job on the glass, but there were just too many extra possessions for them due to turnovers and that's something that we talked about with our kids.""
Although the Badgers outrebounded and kept Michigan State (7-2 Big Ten, 14-6 overall) nine points below its average, Wisconsin (4-6, 14-7) never found an offensive rhythm and committed 22 turnovers.
""I thought we played a great defensive game,"" Stone said. ""Offensively, we just have to take more value in the basketball and get good shots. When you turn it over, you don't get a shot attempt, so that's an empty possession. That's something we're going to work on.""
Michigan State used a stingy 1-3-1 three-quarter court trapping press with MSU guard Lykendra Johnson at the top to frustrate Wisconsin's guards.
""I thought that [Johnson] did really well in the second half,"" Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant said. ""In the second half, she was a big spark for us at the top of that press. She scored in transition for us. We really worked at posting her that half and she got some good looks and finishes down there.""
""Their size is certainly something that is a great asset to them,"" Stone said. ""Their half-court pressure into their zone obviously made us sputter a little bit. They have great size at their guards.""
Junior forward Mariah Dunham led the Badgers with 14 points and six rebounds and shot 4-for-7 from behind the arc. Sophomore guard Alyssa Karel added 13 points and sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer pitched in nine off the bench.
Johnson led the Spartans with 14 points, and 6'9"" center Allyssa DeHaan scored 11.
To combat MSU's physical guards, Stone moved junior Teah Gant to the point guard position in place of junior Rae Lin D'Alie and started freshman guard Jade Davis.
""When we brought Rae Lin in, they went right to the post and utilized their size,"" Stone said. ""This is one of the biggest teams in the Big Ten. I mean everybody's six feet tall or better, so it seems. We went with the size issue - we're a defensive-minded team and our best matchups are what we started.""
With the lineup changes, Wisconsin jumped out to a 7-2 lead on a 3-pointer by Dunham to start the game. The Spartans responded with a 7-0 run of its own to take its first lead of the game and led the majority of the first half to go up 24-21.
Out of the halftime break the Badgers used three offensive rebounds to score the first four points on a pair of baskets by Zastrow and Dunham.
Down 38-30, the Badgers used a nice run to tie it up on a Karel reverse layup. MSU again responded with a 7-0 run of its own to go up 45-38, while untimely turnovers and empty possessions by Wisconsin sealed its fate.
Michigan State has won five straight games and nine of the last 10 against the Badgers. Wisconsin has lost three of its last four.
The Spartans donned pink shooting shirts as the basketball world mourns the death of former North Carolina State head coach Kay Yow - one of the most influential personalities of the women's game - who died Saturday after a 22-year battle with breast cancer.
""Given the situation, with Kay Yow passing, we were trying to honor her,"" Merchant said. ""She kind of paved the way for so many young women to run out into an arena of 10,000 fans. She really built women's basketball to a kind of special situation, as to what it is now. She was a pioneer in that.""
""We coupled that with our fans and how great they are,"" Merchant said. ""They really appreciate women's basketball. We talked a lot about that, especially in the second half. We needed to come out with more fire, enthusiasm and toughness. I thought we did. We fought harder.""
Wisconsin will host Purdue Thursday night at the Kohl Center, a team they have not beaten since 2001.
- uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
