Wisconsin women's basketball (3-1 overall) suffered their first loss of the season to the Alabama Crimson Tide, 70-62. This was Alabama's (1-3) first win of the season.
The Badgers took control early and it looked like they might pull away. They led by as many as 13 points with 1:23 left in the first half.
Wisconsin was lights out in the first 20 minutes shooting 53.8 percent from the field. With their usual solid defense, the Badgers forced Alabama to shoot just 31 percent.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, their good fortune seemed to turn around on them late in the first half. The Crimson Tide went on an 8-0 run to close out the period and cut the lead to five.
Leading 38-33 at halftime, it looked like Wisconsin was going to improve to 4-0 for the first time under head coach Bobbie Kelsey.
Rebounding and turnovers proved to be a problem for Wisconsin. They finished the game with 19 turnovers, nine of them being Alabama steals. The Crimson Tide scored 18 points off turnovers and had 15 second chance points. They hauled in 19 offensive rebounds compared to Wisconsin's nine.
Alabama scored the first seven points of the second half to take a 40-38 lead. Eventually they extended their lead to 51-42 with 8:04 remaining in the half.
The Crimson Tide outscored Wisconsin 26-4 in a 13-minute stretch.
The Badgers missed their first nine shots of the second half until junior center Jacki Gulczynski scored with 13:05 left.
Freshman forward Ashley Williams led the way for the Crimson Tide, scoring 18 points, 13 of them in the second half, and hauling in eight rebounds. Three other players broke through the Badgers strong defense and finished with double-digit point totals.
Despite the loss, senior guard Morgan Paige finished with a game-high 28 points and led all scorers. She was 6-of-15 shooting on the night.
Wisconsin continues their road trip on Nov. 29 in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament in Nashville. They will face Mercer who is 2-2 on the season.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
