It has been a long tough road, marred by unexpected collapses, understandable coaching changes and sub-.500 records. But for seniors guard Stephanie Rich and forward Ebba Gebisa, Wednesday night's home finale will be one last opportunity for them to put on their home Wisconsin jerseys in front of the Kohl Center faithful.
Together the two seniors have been a staple of the Wisconsin program the last four years, playing in more than 200 games, including 139 starts and have combined for more than 1,500 points.
But for the two Wisconsin captains, statistics can hardly measure the impact they have had on a program that has gone through major transitions in recent seasons.
\You think about when we came in, you know, a brand-new staff and never once was there a moment of not feeling like you were welcomed,"" head coach Lisa Stone said. ""You think about an upper class embracing new ideas, excitement, energy, where you want the program to go, and I've gotten great acceptance from Steph and Ebba.""
With the final 40 minutes of season at the Kohl Center just around the corner, there could not be more of a welcoming sight for the Wisconsin Badgers and their seniors than the Northwestern Wildcats, who have lost six straight and 10 of 11. The Wildcats (2-12 Big Ten, 5-22 overall) are the only team in the Big Ten the Badgers have beaten on the road this season when UW squeaked out a 62-60 victory Jan. 2 in Evanston, Ill.
Even though the Badgers' next opponent is Northwestern-the second-to-last place team in the Big Ten-almost any opponent would look better than the Badgers' three previous foes. In the toughest portion of their schedule, the Badgers faced three straight top-25 teams (Minnesota, Penn State and Michigan State), two of which were on the road and dropped all three contests by a combined 88 points.
""Our goal is just to be above .500 to give us a chance to play postseason,"" freshman guard Janese Banks said. ""It does hurt to just get so close and then be knocked right back down.""
The Badgers would most likely have to win the next two regular season games and make a fairly sizeable run in the Big Ten Conference Tournament to have a legitimate shot at post season play.
""Our main thing is that we want to play postseason for our seniors and then it gives us hope for the future that if we are this close now we are just going to be getting better and better,"" Banks said.
The Badgers will hit the road for their season finale Feb. 27 at Purdue before traveling to Indianapolis, Ind., for the Big Ten Tournament the weekend of March 3-7.
