When the first-half horn sounded, one had to wonder what had happened to the Wisconsin offense that put up 88 points Sunday. Wisconsin found itself trailing Illinois 28-20 behind freshman guard Jolene Anderson's first-half, team-high six points. In the second half the Badgers finally found their touch and converted 18 of 21 free throws to complete the 65-60 comeback win.
Wisconsin (4-7 Big Ten, 10-11 overall), refused to give up after shooting of 36 from the field in the first half. \[We were] a little timid shooting in the first-half and the first part of the second half but once we got going and got the crowd involved it was electric out there. Our players really started shooting with confidence,"" head coach Lisa Stone said.
Wisconsin was trailing 42-32 with 10:03 left in the game. Over the next two minutes the Badgers went on a 10-0 run capped by senior guard Stephanie Rich's 3-pointer that brought the crowd to its feet.
Both teams were tied up at 44 apiece at the 6:51 mark. But with 5:44 left Anderson knocked down a 3-pointer which gave Wisconsin the lead for the next four minutes of the game.
Illinois (5-7, 13-9) took their final lead of the game on a basket by junior guard Janelle Hughes with 1:28 left to play. From that point, free throws made all the difference.
Junior forward Annie Nelson especially had success drawing key fouls late in the game. She converted four consecutive free throws in a mere 11 seconds to send UW to a 62-58 lead with 27 ticks remaining. The Badgers made three more freebies in the last seconds to ice the game away.
Senior forward Angelina Williams kept Illinois in the game on three straight possessions while Illinois was trailing by six in the last three minutes of the game. Williams, the second leading scorer in the Big Ten, led Illinois with a game-high 26 points and also a game-high six assists.
Nelson, who made six of seven free throws in the contest for UW, notched her first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds. Joining the double-double club was Anderson who had a career high 14 rebounds along with 17 points. Six of her 14 rebounds were offensive.
Freshman guard Janese Banks also provided a spark for the Badgers. All nine of her points came from the line despite making only one of four attempts in the first half.
On a night when shots from the floor were not falling, the Badgers were able to use the free-throw line as their crutch. UW hit six more free throws than Illinois attempted. In the first half, Wisconsin was only able to connect once from beyond the arc in 10 attempts. The Badgers improved in the second half and dropped in three of six.
UW crashed the boards hard, especially in the second half. For the game UW out-rebounded Illinois 51-39, 18 of which were offensive rebounds for the Badgers.
UW's next appearance will be against No. 9 Michigan State at the Kohl Center Sunday at 2 p.m.
