Even after Thursday’s loss to the Florida Gators, the Wisconsin Badgers (3-6) were both optimistic and confident heading into today’s game with Green Bay (6-2). But after their 72-58 loss to the Phoenix, the Badgers’ frustration and disappointment put a damper on any cheerfulness they had coming into Sunday’s game.
In front of the biggest crowd of the season, the Badgers got off to yet another slow start. Coach Bobbie Kelsey sounded like a broken record after the game when discussing her team’s struggles.
“We need more production off our bench. And we need our starters to really come out and give us a good start of the game,” she said.
But while in previous games Wisconsin’s struggles rebounding and turning the ball over led to its disappointing results, its struggles Sunday were a result of poor shooting on offense and major communication issues on defense.
“The plan was to switch on some things and we just got confused and that hurt us,” Kelsey said.
The Badgers struggled fighting over many of the Phoenix’s screens and as a result provided Green Bay with plenty of open looks. Green Bay shot 42 percent for the game and continuously took advantage of Wisconsin’s communication struggles.
“They all contribute,” senior guard Tessa Cichy said. “We should have been able to defend them. We didn’t step up to the challenge and do what we needed to do.”
The Badgers struggled on offense almost as much as they struggled on defense. At halftime Wisconsin had only eight field goals. By comparison, Green Bay had missed only nine shots.
Kelsey admitted that it’s nearly impossible to win when you shoot 37 percent for the game. Adding that beyond just poor shooting, the Badgers had difficulties moving the ball and executing their offense in general.
“We just were holding the ball too long, it’s sticking in people’s hands,” Kelsey said. “That’s the disappointing part. Because we go through our offense and we know what we’re supposed to be doing, but we’re not executing it quite like we need to be.”
Even with more than 5,000 fans in attendance, Kelsey very audibly pleaded with her team to move more on offense once they passed half-court. But with a stagnant offense, Dakota Whyte was forced to over-dribble and try and create offense on her own. Whyte struggled shooting 2-10 from the field.
“I guess it was just an off day,” Whyte said. “I’ll get in the gym and continue to shoot.”
Cichy struggled as well. She finished the game with only five points, all coming in the final minutes of the 4th quarter when the game was out of reach. Cichy’s lone basket was a bank 3-pointer that she heaved as the shot clock was expiring.
The Badgers trailed for the entirety of the game and anytime they made a run, Green Bay countered to keep its lead in double digits. For instance, trailing 50-38 with 2:50 to go in the third quarter, senior Nicole Bauman picked off an errant Green Bay pass leading to a seemingly easy transition opportunity. Whyte sprinted up the opposite side of the floor and began yelling at Bauman to throw a cross-court pass for a wide open three, but Bauman dribbled into two Green Bay defenders and missed a floater. The Phoenix corralled Bauman’s miss and guard Allie LeClaire promptly finished an old-fashioned 3-point play, extending their lead to 15.
Bauman did lead the Badgers with 16 points, but didn’t receive enough help from her teammates.
UW will have an opportunity to correct it mistakes Wednesday night when it plays Northern Illinois in its final game before final exams.
