All season long Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey preached the importance of playing four complete quarters. Wednesday afternoon in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, the Badgers did just that. But much to its chagrin, it needed to play a complete fifth period in order to advance to the second round of the tournament. Wisconsin’s first overtime period of the season turned out to be its final period of the season, as it fell to the Wildcats, 76-72.
For much of the afternoon the Badgers looked poised to upend a Northwestern team that in mid-December was ranked in the top-15 nationally. The Badgers went to sixth-year senior Michala Johnson early and often for the first 30 minutes of the game but seldom fed the center late, as Johnson scored only two of her 22 points in the fourth quarter and overtime combined.
First Team All-Big Ten forward Nia Coffey led the way for Northwestern with 18 points and six rebounds, but with just over two minutes to go in regulation fouled out jockeying for post position while defending Johnson.
That was the Badgers’ second big break of the afternoon, the first coming before the game when Wildcat forward Maggie Lyon was ruled out with a leg injury.
With just over 17 seconds remaining in regulation, UW had possession and was one basket away from advancing to play Minnesota Thursday afternoon, but senior guard Dakota Whyte failed to create space against Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ashley Deary and dribbled for 15 consecutive seconds before throwing a low chest pass to sophomore Cayla McMorris at the elbow. McMorris fumbled Whyte’s pass and the Badgers headed to overtime.
In overtime, the Badgers had yet another chance to avoid defeat, as with just over 27 seconds to go as senior guard Nicole Bauman headed to the free line looking to tie the game.
Bauman, a 90 percent free throw shooter, missed her first free throw though and, after collecting herself, drained her second attempt. Bauman up to that point had missed only one free throw against a Big Ten opponent all season, which was at Illinois in mid-January.
The Badgers were then forced to foul, and after two Northwestern free throws, UW countered with a putback layup from McMorris. Up one point, Deary went to the line but missed the second of her two free throw attempts, providing the Badgers one final chance.
Out of timeouts, Bauman, the Badgers’ senior captain and leading scorer, drove to the rim, but her shot was blocked by Northwestern’s Amber Jamison. As a result, Wisconsin’s Big Ten run ended before it really began.
After struggling down the stretch of the regular season, Bauman put up yet another disappointing performance, finishing the game with just five points along with seven rebounds and six assists. The Wisconsin sharpshooter missed all four of her 3-point attempts and shot a mere 2-of-13 from the field.
UW received 14 points off their bench with McMorris and freshman guard Roichelle Marble providing well-needed sparks, but in the end, it was for naught.
The Badgers season is almost surely over and with its both abrupt and early ending coming only one day into March, conversations about whether Kelsey will return for her sixth season in Madison are bound to start beginning.
