The Northwestern Wildcats (8-11, 2-6 Big Ten) toppled the Wisconsin Badgers 66-61 Thursday night in Evanston, Illinois, handing Wisconsin its third loss in a row to drop the Badgers below .500 against Big Ten opponents.
The Badgers have now shot 40% or below from the field in their last three games and find themselves spiraling after a strong start to conference play.
But Wisconsin showed improvement to start the game, demonstrating a stronger flow to their offense and better shot selection. Wisconsin worked the ball well, emphasizing the inside game while also looking outside for open 3-pointers. The Badgers were mostly getting good looks inside, especially through senior guard Breauna Ware, who had four points to end the quarter.
Meanwhile, Northwestern worked their offense almost exclusively from the paint, shooting only two 3-pointers the whole first quarter. A difficult buzzer-beating shot from behind the arc by Northwestern’s Caroline Lau cut the Badgers lead to 15-14.
To start the second quarter, Wisconsin looked like the team they were before their slump. The Badgers went on a 13-4 run in the first four minutes, putting them in solid position to end their two-game losing streak.
But instead of capitalizing on their momentum, the Badgers let Northwestern claw back. The Wildcats shut down Wisconsin’s offense, only allowing four points in the last six minutes of the half. Northwestern’s 6-0 run to end the quarter cut Wisconsin’s once 10 point lead to two.
Already reeling, the Badgers fell apart in the third quarter. Their offense went blank, and they couldn’t find any answers to stop Northwestern’s resurgence. The Wildcats offense came alive, shooting 3-for-5 from behind the arc and 50% from the field. Northwestern went on a 10-0 quarter-ending run to put Wisconsin in a 51-44 hole.
The first five minutes of the fourth quarter were exactly what the Badgers were looking for offensively. Senior guards Destiny Howell and Ronnie Porter both had two early 3-pointers that gave Wisconsin some much needed momentum right away. The Badgers ball movement was fantastic, and it consistently left guards open on the perimeter for 3.
But defensively, the Badgers still allowed Northwestern to find shots, derailing any progress Wisconsin made on offense. It was a back-and-forth fight all quarter, but with a minute left to play, the Badgers finally had a real chance to tie the game.
With 43 seconds left, junior guard Kyrah Daniels hit an open 3-pointer to put the Badgers within three points of the Wildcats. Senior guard Ronnie Porter then snatched a huge steal on the next defensive possession, giving Wisconsin a chance to tie the game. With 10 seconds left, junior guard Laci Steele received an inbound pass from Porter and drove quickly into the paint, causing Northwestern defenders to swarm her and leave Porter open in the corner for 3. But with a chance to tie it, Porter’s shot fell short, putting the final nail in Wisconsin’s coffin.
With the 66-61 loss, the Badgers fell to 11-7 on the season, failing to pull off a much needed win against a Northwestern team that was previously 1-5 in Big Ten play. With their season starting to slip away, Wisconsin will take on Oregon on Sunday at the Kohl Center.
