Wisconsin women’s basketball fought back from an early 21-point deficit to defeat the Rutgers Scarlet Knights 70-63 Thursday for their second Big Ten win of the season, taking a massive step in proving this new-look Badgers can compete in conference. The win was the second largest comeback in program history.
After another slow start for Wisconsin, Thursday looked like a repeat of their last game: a 97-59 blowout loss to No. 7 Maryland on Dec. 29. Rutgers played a perfect first quarter, seemingly unfazed by whatever the Badgers threw at them. The Scarlet Knights went 6-for-6 from behind the arc and 78.6% from the field. Meanwhile, Wisconsin was the complete opposite, struggling to find any offensive rhythm and trailing 28-9 going into the second quarter.
But Wisconsin completely flipped the switch in the second quarter, going on a 17-2 run to start the quarter and shooting 83.3% from deep and 66.7% from the field. Junior guard Kyrah Daniels’s three 3-pointers were instrumental in heating Wisconsin up, while Lacy Steele and Destiny Howell also made 3s.
The Scarlet Knights went cold, scoring just 8 points and going 17.6% from the field and 0-for-4 from 3-point land. Wisconsin's spectacular second quarter shrank Rutgers’ lead, as the Scarlet Knights led 36-30 going into half.
Coming out of the break, Rutgers was in relative control, peaking with a 10-point advantage. But in the final two minutes, senior guard Laci Steele hit two huge 3-pointers that gave Wisconsin hope for a possible comeback. Heading into the final quarter of the game, Wisconsin was down 54-47.
Having already trimmed a 21-point deficit, the Badgers weren’t ready to call it quits as the final ten minutes started ticking away. A 3-pointer from Daniels cut Rutgers’ lead to 5, which was what Wisconsin needed to start to claw back.
The Badgers were relentless defensively down the stretch, constantly pressuring the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers only scored nine points in the fourth quarter, which set up the Badgers perfectly for a stunning comeback. With 1:31 left to play, Daniels hit a mid-range jumper to give the Badgers their first lead of the game, which was then followed by a game sealing 3- pointer by Howell with 42 seconds left. Wisconsin capped off the win with a few finishing touches at the free throw line.
After a disappointing performance against Maryland, beating Rutgers was an important win to help Wisconsin trend in the right direction under first year head coach Robin Pingeton.
