Having lost three out of its last four games, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (3-11 Big Ten, 11-16 overall) looks to finish its regular season slate on a high note as Nebraska (11-3, 21-6) comes to Madison for UW’s final home game before the Big Ten conference tournament.
The Badgers fell 54-52 at Northwestern’s Welsh-Ryan Arena last Saturday. A last-minute attempt to tie the score failed in the closing seconds, causing UW to drop its third game in a row.
Sophomore forward Jacki Gulczynski had a game-high 16 points against Northwestern and junior forward Cassie Rochel led all players with 14 rebounds. The Badgers outrebounded the Wildcats 42-35 in Saturday’s loss.
Wisconsin will need those types of performances Thursday when it hosts the streaking Cornhuskers, who will bring a nine-game win streak into the Kohl Center. Kelsey knows her team will face stiff competition against a persistent NCAA tournament contender.
“[Nebraska’s] playing very well. I think they’re playing more as a group,” Kelsey said at a Monday press conference. “They’re really picking up their campaign to get into that NCAA tournament.”
The Huskers will be vying for the No. 2 seed in next week’s Big Ten Tournament. Nebraska is also looking to complete a season sweep of the Badgers, having won the last match 70-52 Jan. 2.
Wisconsin currently sits at 11th in the league and would compete against the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, a spot currently held by Michigan, should it not improve its seed over its last two games. Kelsey said that in the season’s final stretch, it’s time for the team to refocus both physically and mentally.
“We’re going to regroup and do what we need to do to play the game better,” Kelsey said. “I think for us it’s more, not so much what the other team is doing, but our mental lapses in critical times. I think we really need to focus in on that and really buckle down when it gets tight.”
Thursday night will also be senior night, and redshirt senior guard Tiera Stephen will be honored in a ceremony following competition against Nebraska.
Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
