After a two-week break prior to Big Ten play, head coach Lisa Stone's squad was rested and confident heading into conference play. But a tough schedule and poor shooting performances resulted in a difficult holiday season for the Badgers.
Purdue 72, Wisconsin 67
UW played the No. 20 Boilermakers tough the entire game, but could not keep their five-game home winning streak intact. The Badgers had three players in double figures, led by senior Stephanie Rich who scored 18 points. Freshman guard Janese Banks added 15 and fellow freshman guard Jolene Anderson chipped in 13. UW was plagued by another bad second half and blew a 38-32 halftime lead. Sophomore forward Erin Lawless' 29 points doomed the Badgers.
Wisconsin 62, Northwestern 60
It was not pretty, but Wisconsin picked up its first road win and first Big Ten victory of the season in Evanston on Jan. 2. Rich once again led the way for the Badgers, scoring a season-high 22 points to go along with six assists. It was a Rich free throw with 34 seconds remaining that gave UW the lead for good despite a last second desperation shot by Northwestern that rimmed out. The Badgers led for almost the entire game before a 9-0 Northwestern run put the Wildcats up by six. But Wisconsin clawed back and was able to come away with the victory to even their conference record to 1-1.
Minnesota 74, Wisconsin 49
The border war was not much of a contest as the No. 11 Golden Gophers dominated Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. The Badgers shot a miserable 26 percent from the floor and 10 percent from three-point land. Senior center Janel McCarville, a Wisconsin native, dropped 15 points in the first half and collected 17 rebounds and six assists, in helping Minnesota open up a 13-point halftime lead. Junior forward Jordan Wilson, who finished with 14 points on six-of-eight shooting, paced Wisconsin. Wilson was the only Badger to shoot over 50 percent from the floor. Anderson was the only other Wisconsin player to reach double figures, but had a rough night from the floor, hitting only 5-of-20 shots.
Penn State 67, Wisconsin 58
Looking to get their conference record back to .500, UW came out and missed 22 of their first 25 shots and trailed at halftime 34-22. The loss to Penn State marked the second consecutive game that the Badgers shot under 30 percent from the field. Anderson led the Badger attack with 27 points and eight rebounds, but no UW starter shot over 50 percent from the field. Wisconsin rallied late in the second half to cut the lead down to six, 63-57, but that was as close as the Badgers would get.
Michigan State 74, Wisconsin 66
The Badgers put forth possibly their best effort Thursday night in East Lansing, Mich. They shot 50 percent from the floor in the game, but they could not get by the No. 9 Spartans in losing their third straight game.
Anderson led the Badgers with 16 points while freshman forward Danielle Ward contributed 14 points, hitting all seven of her shots in the game.
The Badgers hit the road again Sunday to take on Illinois before returning home next Thursday for a game with Cleveland State.
