It has been a roller-coaster few weeks for the Wisconsin women's basketball team. The Badgers (7-6 Big Ten, 17-7 overall) have gone just 2-3 over their last five games. That stretch has included a few heart-wrenching, second-half meltdowns, a double-overtime win against Minnesota, and a last-second loss last Sunday night against Purdue.
Now, following a much-needed week off, the Badgers look to begin a strong streak as they enter their final five games of the conference season. That stretch begins Sunday night as Wisconsin meets Indiana at the Kohl Center.
""We're in that last 10 games of the season type of stretch where people are looking and there are committees looking at us and we control our destiny,"" head coach Lisa Stone said. ""It's on us. It's on us and our preparation for our next game, and you protect your home court and get back at Indiana as they come in.""
The Badgers already defeated Indiana (6-7, 13-11) once this season, taking down the Hoosiers 55-47 in Bloomington two weeks ago. That game featured double-double efforts from both junior forward Lin Zastrow and junior forward Tara Steinbauer.
Howevre, this time around the situation is much different for both teams.
In January, the Badgers had just come off a tough defeat at home to Penn State, and took a rare road win in Indiana. Now, Wisconsin is desperately clinging to an above-.500 conference record and third place in the Big Ten.
Meanwhile, Indiana, who had suffered a dominating loss to Michigan prior to facing the Badgers in January, has won its last two contests since the Wisconsin defeat. One of those victories included a shocking upset of the Big Ten leading Ohio State Buckeyes. The Hoosiers then went on the road to defeat Illinois in convincing fashion.
Now, with a rematch against the Badgers, the Hoosiers have a chance to jump one game above .500 in conference play for the first time this season, since they started the year 1-0.
Wisconsin, however, is ready to make sure that doesn't happen.
Hampering that effort, though, is the question of leading scorer Alyssa Karel's availability this Sunday. The junior guard, who is averaging over 14 points per game for the Badgers this season, injured her lower leg late in Wisconsin's loss to Purdue. While she remained in that game, it is yet to be seen whether or not she will be at full strength this week against Indiana, or if she will even play.
With or without Karel, Wisconsin is looking to find separation in the crowded Big Ten, where just one-and-a-half games separate the second place conference team and the seventh place squad.
""Last week everybody at the bottom won, everybody at the top lost,"" Stone said. ""[The focus will be on] the hot teams at the end of the season and there's going to be a lot of momentum with some teams going into that Big Ten tournament.""
Tip-off for Sunday's game against Indiana at the Kohl Center is 6 p.m.
