The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-6 Big Ten, 8-14 overall) looks to avenge last Thursday’s overtime loss against Iowa and begin a new winning streak against No. 11 Ohio State (7-2, 20-2) Monday in Columbus, Ohio.
The 85-79 overtime loss to the Hawkeyes late last week snapped the Badgers three-game winning streak, which was the longest of the season. The Buckeyes find themselves in a similar situation, as they dropped their last game at Minnesota Jan. 29 76-65. The loss snapped a five game winning streak and now leaves them a half game out of first place behind No. 15/17 Purdue and No. 16/18 Nebraska.
Ohio State has won seven of the past eight Big Ten regular season championships, but a Wisconsin victory in Columbus Monday could seriously threaten that statistic. The Badgers other incentive is to stop Ohio State’s recent dominance against the Badgers, as the Buckeyes have come out as the victors 19 straight times.
The last meeting between the two teams on Dec. 30 marked each team’s Big Ten opener. The Badgers found themselves down only 38-37 against the Buckeyes, who were still undefeated at the time, but allowed a 20-2 run to start the second half and ended up falling 77-61. The Badgers shot 44 percent from the floor in the first half but only sunk 33 percent of their shots in the second.
Ohio State junior guard Tayler Hill, the Big Ten’s leading scorer at 21.6 points per game, played the biggest part in the Buckeyes’ offensive attack and scored 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Four Ohio State players had double-digit point totals in the game. Leading the way for the Badgers were junior guard Taylor Wurtz and senior forward Ashley Thomas with 10 points apiece.
Wurtz tied her career-high with 27 points against Iowa last Thursday, and most likely will need a similar performance Monday, as the Buckeyes are averaging 77.9 points per game this season, which leads the Big Ten and ranks seventh in the country. The Badgers average 60 points per game, but have recently put up higher point totals, putting up 75, 78, 66 and 79 points in their last four games.
Wisconsin will also have to divert lots of attention to Buckeye junior guard Samantha Prahalis, who is right behind Hill in terms of point production averaging 19 points per game and shooting 44 percent from the floor. The other half of one of the premier backcourt combos in the nation, Hill, shoots an equally impressive 49.5 percent on the hardwood, which ranks fifth in the Big Ten.
If Wisconsin can stop the duo of Hill and Prahalis, it’s chances of coming out with a victory will be increased significantly as those two playeres account for a large percentage of the Buckeyes total offense. Ohio State’s next leading scorer, junior guard Amber Stokes, averages a modest 7.7 points per game.
Wisconsin senior guard Jade Davis will look to continue her recent exceptional play as well. She averages only 6.9 points per game, but put up 16 points against the Hawkeyes, all of which were in the first half, and had 13 against Michigan Jan. 30.
Tip off from Value City Arena in Columbus is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
