Fueled by a ferocious second half comeback following a 14 point halftime deficit, the Wisconsin women's basketball team (10-9, 5-2 Big Ten) claimed their fifth straight victory against Minnesota (8-11, 0-6) Thursday night in Minneapolis, 71-63.
Despite shooting a respectable 40 percent from the field in the first half, the Badgers found themselves down 44-30 after twenty minutes of basketball. In that first half, the Gophers made an unbelievable 15 free throws in 15 attempts.
Minnesota went ice cold in the second half, however, managing just over 20 percent shooting. Meanwhile, the Badgers, usually known for their defense prowess, lit up in period number two with 63 percent shooting, including 11-16 from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Alyssa Karel, a St. Paul, Minn. native, made a splash in her homecoming, posting a team-high 21 points. Karel completed the double-double as well, pulling down 11 rebounds. Senior forward Lin Zastrow matched Karel with 21 points, while fellow senior forward Tara Steinbauer added 14.
After surviving a rough road contest and showing un-paralleled poise against the Gophers, Wisconsin returns home to face Illinois Sunday at the Kohl Center.
Sunday's contest will be the only this season against the Illini. Last year, the Badgers split a pair of matches against Illinois, suffering a tough 53-52 defeat in Champaign, Ill., and taking an easy 63-51 victory in Madison.
Illinois (7-12, 2-4) are losers of four of the past five. Their only two conference victories have come against Minnesota and Indiana.
Wisconsin's defense will be put to the test against Illini sophomore forward Karisma Penn who is averaging over 17 points per game, including 26 Thursday evening against Ohio State.
-UWBadgers.com contributed to this report
