After struggling against Michigan State and Penn State earlier this week, the Wisconsin women's basketball team dropped another game to Purdue Thursday night at the Kohl Center, losing 52-51 and extending its losing streak to three games.
We are right there, we are right there and we have not a lot of time to sit here and pout about it because we've got another game on Sunday and we want to get back on track and get things going,"" UW head coach Lisa Stone said.
This is the longest losing streak of the season for the Badgers (4-7 Big Ten, 14-8 overall). Sophomore guard Alyssa Karel started off the game with a 3-pointer for Wisconsin and ended with a game-high 15 points. Wisconsin sophomore forward Lin Zastrow was also a scoring threat and ended with 12 points.
Although the Badgers started the first half with 10 unanswered points in the first three minutes, Purdue (6-3, 13-7) came back with 12 points. Senior forward Lakisha Freeman led Purdue with 13 points. Additionally, senior forward Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and senior center Danielle Campbell earned six points and registered a team high seven rebounds for the Boilermakers on the night.
The second half brought a back-and-forth battle as the Badgers tried to keep their offense on point. Wisconsin led Purdue 28-22 at the half, but the Boilermakers slowly came back and led the Badgers 40-39 with 9:07 left in the second half.
""It's not one or two plays, it's the whole game,"" Stone said. ""We did a better job on defense [in the second] than we did in first half. For a period of time it seemed like Freeman was going off.""
Wisconsin led Purdue 49-47 with 2:40 to go in the game, but only until Freeman tied it up driving down the lane for a lay up. Karel then sunk a jumper to bring the Badgers to a 51-49 lead.
Wisconsin junior guard Rae Lin D'Alie, who Stone said played solid defense against Purdue, missed a foul shot with 33 seconds left, giving Purdue the ball. Freshman guard Brittany Rayburn sunk a shot from behind the arc with eight seconds left to put Purdue ahead. Karel then missed a drive with one second left.
""You can't ask for any more '¦ we certainly showed signs of improvement from our Michigan State game, but it's tough,"" Stone said. ""You want to reward the kids with a victory and it came right down to one shot.""
This loss hit Wisconsin hard as it continues to struggle with finishing strong and earning wins. The Badgers have lost their six Big Ten games by an average of only 6.2 points.
""I think these past couple of games we've lost it's been at our fingertips,"" Karel said. ""The fact that we can't close them is a bad feeling in your gut. Next game we've got to use that bad feeling to fuel us.""
""This one stings the most, mainly because it's the most recent, but we're right there,"" Stone said. ""It's a matter of the ball in the air for a second '¦ It was tough step for Rae at the free throw line '¦ It's not one or two plays. It's the whole game.""
This brings the Badgers to their eleventh consecutive loss to Purdue, as the last time they defeated the Boilermakers was in December 2001 by a score of 71-59.
""We've got to stay positive and use this to fuel us,"" Stone said. ""All we needed was one defensive stop and we didn't get it. It's tough. It's a good team and they stayed in the game for us. I feel bad for the kids; they played really hard.""
Wisconsin travels to Michigan Sunday and tipoff will be at 1 p.m. The last time the Badgers played the Wolverines was Jan. 11 and Wisconsin won 58-54. After Thursday's fall to No. 15 Ohio State, the Wolverines have lost six games in a row.
