After a strong first half of play, Wisconsin looked like a possible cinderella team in this year’s Big Ten Tournament. Then, a second half collapse wiped out any chance of that happening as the Badgers (5-13 Big Ten, 9-20 overall) fell to Purdue (3-15, 11-19) 58-56 in a tightly contested match at the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates, Illinois.
Unfortunately, this became another sour loss for the Badgers this season as the common trend of starting out with a comfortable lead, but not finishing out with a win, was displayed Wednesday night.
By halftime, Wisconsin was shooting 59.3 percent from the field and held onto a 37-32 lead with the help of junior guard Nicole Bauman’s 10 points. At this point of the game, there was a true feeling that the Badgers could pull away with a win as their main weapon, their offense, was excelling and Purdue, statistically, was 0-15 when trailing at the half this season.
However, the second half the game proved to be much different for the Badgers. By the 11-minute mark, Wisconsin shot 4-of-13 from the field and simply could not find an offensive rhythm for the rest of the game. After shooting 59.3 percent in the first half, Wisconsin found themselves shooting a mediocre 47.1 percent by the end of the game.
The Boilermakers trailed by nine points with eight minutes to play in the second half, but had a strong 16-5 run and finished the game leading by a single basket.
Junior guard April Wilson made a layup for Purdue with 3.7 seconds left in regulation, which sealed the deal for the Boilermakers. Senior forward Jacki Gulczynski splashed in a 3-pointer as the clock ran out, but after further review it was decided that time had expired before she released the shot.
Redshirt senior forward Whitney Bays led Purdue with 16 points, while junior guard Dakota Whyte led the Badgers with 16 points.
Turnovers continued to plague Wisconsin as they committed 17 on Wednesday, but the fact that the Boilermakers shot an anemic 38.7% from the field and still managed to win the game is even tougher to digest.
The loss officially ends the Badgers’ 2014-’15 season. Wisconsin’s offense became a true weapon and positive for the team throughout the season, but poor defensive play contributed to the Badger losses, especially those that came down to the wire. While we won’t see the Badgers until next fall, there should be much optimism for a successful season next year. Junior guards Bauman and Whyte contributed immensely on the offensive side of the ball and will only get better during the off-season. Freshman guard Cayla McMorris, who was rated a 94 overall last year by ESPN, should continue to develop into a prolific player.
Until next year.
