What has quickly become a frustrating season for the Badgers continued Thursday at Carver-Hawkeye Arena as the Badgers fell to Iowa 72-65 - the seventh loss of their last eight contests.
\Our kids fought to the very, very end,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""They played very, very hard. I'm proud of the team. They work so hard.""
Despite having all five starters in double figures, the Badgers (5-11 Big Ten, 15-12 overall) got just two points off the bench on a combined 1-for-7 shooting.
Sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer led the Badgers with her second career double-double, scoring 13 points and grabbing 15 rebounds.
""[Tara] has just done an outstanding job,"" Stone said. ""That's almost three straight games with double-doubles, and we need that from Tara.""
Junior guard Teah Gant led the scoring column with 15 points, and sophomores Alyssa Karel and Lin Zastrow added 14 and 11 points, respectively.
The inside game of Zastrow and Steinbauer kept the Hawkeye defense honest, as the post tandem created easy first-half Wisconsin baskets.
""Wisconsin probably played better against our zone [defense] than any team we played in the last six or seven games,"" Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. ""They forced us out and we would have liked to stay there because of their potent high-low attack.""
Iowa (10-5, 17-9) also had five players in double figures, and sophomore guard Kachine Alexander recorded a double-double of her own with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Iowa shot 57 percent from the floor against Wisconsin, improving on its 52 percent shooting performance at the Kohl Center in late December.
A stingy Hawkeye defense paired with a poor offensive showing in the second half doomed Wisconsin's hopes of stealing one on the road.
After leading 32-30 at the half, Wisconsin did not score in the second half until Gant hit her second free throw with 14:43 left in the game to bring the Badgers back to within eight, 41-33.
""That was huge for us,"" Bluder said. ""In the first half Wisconsin was getting all the loose balls. We talked at halftime about how we needed to come out with more intensity and be the aggressors on the court, and we did that.""
A jumper by Zastrow and a pair of layups from Steinbauer and Zastrow brought the Badgers to 41-39, but Wisconsin could get no closer.
Wisconsin put Iowa in the bonus at the 10:32 mark in the second half, and the Hawkeyes shot 18-for-22 from the line in the second semester to seal their ninth victory in its last 11 games.
""Getting to the free-throw line was really beneficial for us,"" Bluder said. ""We're fourth in the country in free throws, so it's always a point of emphasis for us to get to the free throw line. I thought our seniors showed great leadership against a young Wisconsin team.""
With just two games remaining, Wisconsin is clinging to the seventh-place position in the conference - the highest seed the Badgers could receive going into the Big Ten Tournament. Wisconsin is up a half game over Penn State (4-11, 9-16) after it suffered a home defeat to third-place Purdue (12-4, 19-8) Thursday night.
The Badgers have the top two Big Ten teams remaining on the conference slate in Michigan State (12-3, 19-7) and Ohio State (12-3, 21-5). Wisconsin will host the Spartans Sunday at the Kohl Center in hopes of avenging a 59-50 loss earlier this season in East Lansing, Mich.
