The Wisconsin women's basketball team (1-5 Big Ten, 6-11 overall) is looking to regroup tonight against Iowa (4-2, 11-6) after suffering a crushing 84-54 loss to Illinois at the Kohl Center Sunday. The 30-point loss was the worst this season for the Badgers and the fourth-straight loss in conference play.
Iowa is coming off of a dominant 80-48 win over the hapless Northwestern Wildcats. The Badgers will have their hands full with the Big Ten's best scoring offense (74.3 points per game) and a senior-laden perimeter for Iowa led by senior guard Crystal Smith (19.5 points per game) who is also the Big Ten's leading scorer.
'She's one of the best in the business, the quickest player,' Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said of Smith. 'And I said this last year, she's the quickest player I've ever seen.'
The Badgers feature a young squad this season led by sophomore guard Jolene Anderson (17.7 points and 6.7 rebounds), last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year. She has been solid this year, leading the Badgers in rebounds and points. She was the only Badger to score in double figures against Illinois.
Unfortunately, Anderson will be forced to carry a depleted perimeter against Iowa without starting sophomore point guard Janese Banks, who has been out with a left foot injury since Jan. 5, and sophomore guard Akiya Anderson due to academic ineligibility. Banks is second on the team in points (13.7 per game) despite missing three games due to injury.
Wisconsin's lack of depth in the backcourt will be alleviated some thanks to the emergence of freshman forwards Danielle Ward (9.8 points and 4.8 rebounds) and Caitlin Gibson (5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds) who have been steadily improving throughout the season.
'Both of those freshmen are having great years and their impact is felt now,' Stone said. 'They're great players and making noise early.'
Both Gibson and Ward will have to be on top of their game if they hope to contain the Hawkeyes' 6'8' freshman center Megan Skouby (12.6 points and 4.4 rebounds) who is quickly establishing herself as a force to be reckoned with. Last week, Skouby put up a career-high 29 points against the No. 14 Michigan State Spartans and nearly 20 against Northwestern.
'Skouby is a different player,' Stone said. 'You've got a guard and a post player. And with Iowa's triangle offense and the way they run their offense through her, you know, certainly she's getting touches early.'
While injuries have hampered the Badgers, there is still a feeling that the talent is there to keep up with the better teams in the league. The Badgers proved this a in 69-63 loss to then-No. 9 Michigan State last Thursday in which the Spartans had to rally back from a 10-point hole with seven minutes left. It is this lack of consistency that has frustrated the Badgers the most.
'Jolene Anderson was in my office today, said 'what more can I do''? Stone said. 'We just, we have to develop some consistency somewhere. And to explain how and why, that's something that we're studying right now.'
