In a back-and-forth overtime showing, the Wisconsin women's basketball team couldn't hold on until the end and suffered another loss to Indiana 67-61.
Wisconsin (5-10 Big Ten, 15-11 overall) snapped a five-game losing streak last week against Penn State, but the loss to the Hoosiers (9-6, 16-8) kept the Badgers from picking up momentum with only three conference games left before the Big Ten Tournament, which will begin in early March.
Yet another tough loss for our players. Their courage and toughness prevailed,"" Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. ""[UW junior guard] Teah Gant logged 45 minutes for potentially [the] first time in her career. She did a great job, gave us scoring, gave us defense, gave us length on Jamie Braun when we needed it. Lin gave us post presence that we've been looking for offensively.""
The Badgers led Indiana 21-10 at one point in the first half, but the Hoosiers managed to answer back and cut Wisconsin's lead to just 21-18 at halftime.
The second half proved to be trouble again for Wisconsin as Indiana eventually gained a 42-38 lead with less than ten minutes left in the game.
The Badgers fought back and eventually went up 44-42 with 5:28 to go. Wisconsin sophomore forward Lin Zastrow, who tied her career high with four assists and 14 points, sunk two free throws to increase the lead, but Indiana junior guard Jamie Braun answered back with a shot to put it to 46-44.
With a 53-50 UW lead in the last second of the game, Indiana senior guard/forward Kim Roberson took the game to overtime by sinking a shot from behind the arc for the Hoosiers.
""Defensively, we were outstanding,"" Stone said. ""It just came down to a couple of mental breakdowns at the very end. Unfortunately, we could not get it done.""
The Badgers held the Hoosiers to four offensive boards and held senior forward Whitney Thomas, who leads the conference in offensive rebounds, to none. Indiana currently averages 40 rebounds per game, with over 15 of those being offensive.
""They have the best defense possibly in the conference,"" said Indiana head coach Felisha Legette-Jack. ""Their going to be a force to reckon with in [the] Big Ten Tournament. No doubt about that '¦ We just continued to play throughout entire game and came out of this game with team victory.""
Wisconsin sophomore forward Tara Steinbauer, who had a career-high 17 points, put the Badgers ahead with two free throws and then a layup with just 2:47 left in overtime. Gant, who continues to be a strong force on the court for Wisconsin, had 16 points and put the Badgers within four with just seconds to go.
But Wisconsin couldn't hold on as Indiana's leading scorer, senior forward Amber Jackson, put the Hoosiers up 67-61 with 12 seconds to go, and the Badgers could not retaliate. Jackson averages 13 points a game and performed with 15 on the night.
""A lot of really good encouraging things to go from on this game,"" Stone said. ""Certainly we've done a better job on the line overall, as a team. We took care of the ball, 13 turnovers, eight at the half and playing the extended period with only five minutes was pretty good.""
Wisconsin only has three games left, including matchups against Iowa, Michigan State and a finale at Ohio State. Unfortunately, the team has managed a 0-4 record against those teams so far this season.
The Badgers will travel to Iowa Thursday to face the Hawkeyes, who are currently sitting at fifth place in the Big Ten. Tip off at the Carver-Hawkeye Arena will be at 7 p.m.
