The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team defeated South Dakota State Jackrabbits, 66-64, at the Kohl Center Tuesday.
Wisconsin came into the game with a 2-0 overall record, 0-0 within the Big Ten conference. South Dakota State was 1-1, and 0-0 in the Summit League. This is the fourth time the Badgers and Jackrabbits have met. The Badgers were 1-2 against the Jackrabbits before Tuesday’s game.
Senior Brooke Schramek, sophomore Ronnie Porter, freshman D’Yanis Jimenez, senior Natalie Leuzinger and sophomore Serah Williams started for the Badgers.
Jimenez made a jump shot to start the first quarter for the Badgers. The Badgers went two for three in the quarter, with Porter and Sania Copeland both scoring. Despite seven turnovers, Wisconsin was able to end the quarter with a one-point lead over the Jackrabbits. Williams, with the assist from Porter, scored with five seconds left on the clock to conclude the quarter. The first quarter ended with a score of 14-13.
To start the second quarter, Williams scored in the paint with an assist from Copeland. The Jackrabbits took a 26-20 lead over the Badgers about halfway through the quarter. In the last five minutes, the Badgers went three for five from the 3-point line. Freshman Tessa Grady had a steal and was able to score on the opposite end of the court. A made layup from Schramek put Wisconsin ahead of South Dakota State 33-32 to end the quarter.
Williams and Porter both scored early in the third to give Wisconsin some momentum. The Badgers created a double-digit lead in the quarter with less than four minutes remaining. Porter aided in this lead with two steals and scored nine points. The team had two turnovers in the third but only allowed the Jackrabbits to score two points from turnovers. Wisconsin ended the quarter over South Dakota State 54-46.
Porter and Copeland had two early steals for the Badgers in the fourth, yet they weren’t able to convert to points. Besides one early made free throw from Williams, Wisconsin didn’t score until less than seven minutes remained on the clock. The score was tied at 64-64 with only 23 seconds remaining. To give the Badgers the win, Schramek scored with 0.8 seconds left on the clock. Jimenez assisted Schramek on her game-winning shot, and the Kohl Center erupted with cheers. Wisconsin won the game 66-64.
Porter led the Badgers in scoring with a career-high 17 points. She also had a career-high six assists and tied her career-high five steals. Schramek matched her season-high of 14 points and had six rebounds. Williams scored 11 points, with four blocks to help the Badgers defensively.
The win over South Dakota State gave Wisconsin a 3-0 start to the season, for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
The Badgers are on the road for their next game, taking on Kansas State at the Bramlage Coliseum on Nov. 19.
