With only six games remaining in the season, the Badger seniors now know how much each game counts more than ever. In a season that has not lived up to lofty expectations, the Badgers (3-9 Big Ten, 7-15 overall), especially the seniors, are doing everything they can to pull as many wins out of the slim remainder of the season as possible. Fortunately for the group, the veteran corps’ effort paid off, as the team beat a tough Purdue (7-5, 16-7) squad 64-57 Monday night for the program’s first win since Jan. 10.
After losing their last seven games, the Badgers could have folded and coasted to the finish line, knowing that their season will not amount to their goal of making the NCAA Tournament. Instead, UW came out energized, which was a testament to its character.
“I think this shows you the resiliency of our bunch,” head coach Bobbie Kelsey said after the game. “We don’t give up, we keep fighting.”
The recent national storyline surrounding Wisconsin has been Kelsey urging her players to get in the gym, a sentiment that has reflected her season-long expectation. Still, despite the season and careers coming to a close for many of the seniors, they are still working every day at practice to finish this season strong.
“Her talk lately was get your butt in the gym,” senior guard Dakota Whyte said about Kelsey. “That’s something I did, and that’s something that brought a lot of confidence to my game.”
The extra work paid off for Whyte tonight, as she finished the game with 14 points and five assists. Most importantly, Whyte looked especially assertive, taking the ball hard to the glass and not simply settling for low-percentage jump shots.
Similarly, senior forward Michala Johnson may have had her best game of the season, totaling 19 points and 13 rebounds for her first double-double of the year. Just like Whyte and the rest of the seniors, Johnson was assertive throughout the duration of the game, taking a season-high 16 shot attempts and hitting nine of them.
“I really wasn’t thinking about scoring,” Johnson said. “I was focusing on boxing out and rebounding. I was just staying patient and I knew the points would come.”
Like the other two veterans, senior guard and team leader Nicole Bauman played a big role in the win. Bauman shot 7-of-11 from the field, and totaled 16 points on the night. Her biggest contribution came with 17 seconds left in the game, when she took the ball up the court and held on to it the entire possession. As the shot clock was dwindling, she put her head down, drove and banked in a layup to put the Badgers up five and effectively close out the game.
Early in the year, the seniors, including Johnson, Whyte and Bauman, along with senior guard Tessa Cichy, often put up big numbers night in and night out. However, since Big Ten conference play has started, there have only been five games that three of the seniors have each scored over 10 points. Against Purdue, the ability of Johnson, Whyte and Bauman to each put up over ten was imperative to their success.
“We realize that we only have a few games left, and it’s hard to think about,” Bauman said, reflecting on this senior group. “But when we all play together, we win, so we have to bring that every single night.”
Despite the exciting and rare win for the Badgers, the seniors do not want this to be their last victory of the season.
“We definitely want to build on this,” Bauman said. “I think we play Michigan next, and then Illinois, and those two games are definitely winnable. We want to keep winning.”
Going forward, the Badgers are going to have to get similar contributions out of their veteran core if they want to keep winning down the stretch. This group, embracing Kelsey’s "get in the gym" attitude, feels up to the task.
“We’re still fighting,” Johnson said. “We never give up.”
