The Wisconsin women's basketball (10-5 Big Ten, 15-12 overall) wraps up its regular season at Ohio State (9-6, 18-9) Sunday. A Badger win over the Buckeyes will guarantee Wisconsin a top-five finish in the Big Ten and a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
""We're treating this as a one-game season,"" head coach Lisa Stone said earlier this week. ""For us right now, it is playoffs. Every game we play right now is a playoff game.""
Depending on the result of this week's other Big Ten match-ups, a loss to Ohio State could drop the Badgers into a tie with Iowa and Ohio State for fifth in the standings and leave the tournament seeding to the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head competition. Currently, Wisconsin sits tied for second place with Penn State.
Iowa defeated Wisconsin in the teams' only meeting while Iowa and Ohio State split their two meetings this season. Only two and a half games separate the second through 7th place teams in the current Big Ten standings, with Michigan State and Penn State at the one and two spots, respectively
This weekend's game is the first match-up for the Badgers and Buckeyes this season. Wisconsin is coming off a victory against Indiana Wednesday, in which the senior duo of forward Lin Zastrow and guard Alyssa Karel led the team. Zastrow had a game-high 21 points while Karel added 12.
""When we needed Lin, she came in and she was ready, Stone said. ""Lin took some tough shots in the first half, but in the second half, she really got a rhythm and made some free throws.""
Karel was named to the Capitol One Academic All-America Team on Thursday. She is the first Badger named to this team, earning third-team honors. The senior was also the only Big Ten Conference women's basketball player to receive this award this season. Karel has a 3.88 cumulative GPA in the nursing program and is also in the honors program.
Ohio State had a thrilling win over Purdue Sunday, coming from behind to defeat the Boilermakers 76-74. Friday evening, the Buckeyes downed Big Ten Champions Michigan State, 54-53.
With the absence of Wisconsin senior guard Tara Steinbauer, junior forward Anya Convington and freshman forward Cassie Rochel have seen increased playing opportunities. Wednesday, the Badgers turned the ball over 20 times, which is unusually high for the team. It is the most for Wisconsin since the 25 that the team had at Oklahoma State earlier this season.
Despite the Buckeye's struggles in the conference this season, the Badgers can't afford another 20 turnover performance Sunday. A win against the Buckeyes could be enough to push Wisconsin into a possible NCAA tournament bid.
""It's a great group of young women and we've seen different people step up right now in Tara's absence, and that's really encouraging,"" Stone said. ""But, we have to get back to basics. Take care of the ball on Sunday, and see what we can do in Columbus.""
