Losing by 10 at halftime to a favored team that had already beaten UW twice this season; it appeared the Wisconsin women's basketball team (3-13 Big Ten, 12-18 Overall) was looking at the end of its season.
However, all season long the Badgers said they were better than their record showed, and they proved it Thursday by beating Illinois (9-7, 16-13 Overall) 58-57. The Illini led at the break 30-20 in what looked to be like an easy victory, but the Badgers came back and even held a 10-point lead with six minutes left in the game.
Thursday was Wisconsin’s first win in a Big Ten tournament game since 2010.
The story of the game was UW's free throw shooting. The Badgers were a perfect 21-of-21 from the line, and leading scorer, junior guard Morgan Paige, went 10-of-10. Her final two free throws won the game for the Badgers in the final seconds after it looked like Illinois would squeak out with a win.
Sophomore forward Jacki Gulczynski and junior forward Cassie Rochel combined for 25 points, 21 rebounds and six blocks. The Wisconsin defense held the Illini to 19-of-59 (32 percent) shooting.
Paige, Gulczynski, Rochel and senior guard Tiera Stephen all played the entire 40 minutes of the game. Freshman guard Tessa Cichy played 36 minutes, grabbing a four-minute rest when freshman guard Dakota Whyte came into the game.
Heading into the game, the Badgers knew they were up against the team with the best turnover margin in the Big Ten. Wisconsin turned the ball over 25 times to Illinois’ 11. The staple of Illinois' game was not enough to get the victory like it had done against Wisconsin twice this season. In each of their previous meetings with the Fighting Illini this season, the Badgers had 27 turnovers.
With this win, Wisconsin advances to play No. 3 seeded Purdue at 2 p.m. Friday. The Badgers lost to the Boilermakers 58-48 at the Kohl Center Feb. 14.
