The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-5 Big Ten, 8-13 overall) found itself up 47-31 with just over 11 minutes left in the game against Michigan (5-4, 16-6), but allowed a 16-0 run to knot the score at 47 with six minutes remaining. Sophomore guard Morgan Paige finally ended the drought by converting on a tricky left-handed layup. Sophomore forward Cassie Rochel then scored seven of her nine points in the remaining four minutes—along with the team’s stellar free-throw shooting—to hold off the comeback effort. The Badgers came out on top 66-60.
“[Paige] took it right down the lane with her left hand with the score tied,” Michigan head coach Kevin Borseth said of the game-changer. “That was a key layup, that was the layup that broke our back I thought.”
“That lane just opened up and I just took that opportunity and ran with it,” Paige said.
The Badgers have uncharacteristically struggled from the free throw line in its last three games, shooting only 58.8 percent (20-of-34), but last night proved to be different as they hit 10-of-11 (90.9 percent) free throws against the Wolverines. That shooting continued down the stretch, as they went 6-of-7 during the last 51 seconds.
“Throughout the year we’ve been a pretty good free throw shooting team up until these last couple of games,” Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. “So I know we can hit them. I have confidence that any of them can step up there and hit the free throws,” she added.
By looking at the halftime score it would appear the Badgers played dominantly on the defensive end. The Badgers led 26-16, but the real story was the atrocious shooting the Wolverines displayed. They went a dismal 1-of-13 (7.7 percent) from long range and only 6-of-26 (23.1 percent) from the floor. According to Borseth, however, the poor shooting couldn’t be contributed to Wisconsin’s defense.
“(Wisconsin) just sat back and said ‘You know what, this is a game of P.I.G., shoot it, see if you can make it’,” he said. “We didn’t make it. And one thing led to another, and before you know it, we’re trying to make something out of nothing.”
This isn’t the only time the Wolverines have struggled mightily from beyond the arc in the first half of games. In the team’s previous game against Penn State Jan. 26, Michigan shooters went an even worse 1-of-17 from three-point range.
“And we’re a team that can shoot,” Borseth said of the abnormal shooting lately. “But we just have not been able to hit the broad side of a barn the last couple of games.”
The victory for the Badgers is the third in a row—all against unranked opponents—and puts the team right in the middle of the Big Ten conference standings. The Badgers now find themselves tied with Iowa and Minnesota and are only one game behind Michigan State for a tie for sixth place.
“It just gives us confidence that we can compete against anybody in this league,” Kelsey said of the team’s recent run.
Junior guard Taylor Wurtz led all scorers with 21, and Michigan junior center Rachel Sheffer was a close second with 20, 13 of which came in the second half. The 6 foot 1 Watervliet, Mich. native proved instrumental during the comeback in the second half.
“We needed something,” Borseth said. “She was pretty key for us.”
Senior guard Jade Davis had 13 points, and Rochel had all nine of her points in the second half. Senior forward Anya Covington led the Badgers in rebounds with eight.
“The biggest thing about us is we always fight and we always stick together,” Rochel said of the team’s progress this season. “I think that’s definitely showing now.”
Wisconsin next plays the Iowa Hawkeyes in the Kohl Center Thursday night. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
