The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (4-2 overall) will try to improve their home court perfection this Thursday against Boston College in the seventh annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge.
The Badgers are 3-3 all time in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. This is the second time that Wisconsin will face Boston College (3-4) in the Challenge, last beating them at home 58-50 in 2011.
“It’s always significant when you can play a school from a conference that is known for basketball, and has done really well on the national stage. ACC teams always compete well in the NCAA tournament and also throughout the year,” head coach Bobbie Kelsey said in a press conference Monday.
Wisconsin is coming off a title game loss in the Vanderbilt Thanksgiving Tournament which was held last weekend. The Badgers beat Mercer 77-72 in the opening game of the tournament but fell short to host team Vanderbilt, 81-69.
Senior guard Taylor Wurtz earned all-tournament honors for her performance last weekend, averaging 21 points, 10.5 rebounds and four assists per game. She is also the leading scorer and rebounder for the Badgers this season averaging 14.7 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.
“Taylor is the type of player that, when you need a basket, Taylor can get you a basket. She can make very difficult shots, ones that you don’t see a lot. She just has that talent,” Kelsey said.
Defense is going to be a test for the Badgers Thursday as they have allowed their last three opponents to score an average of 74.3 points per game. Regardless of the high point totals in the last three games, the Badgers are forcing their opponents to shoot 23.3 percent from beyond the arc, good for second in the Big Ten.
“Oh, yeah, I’m liking it. We’ve held most of our opponents to a low shooting percentage, particularly from the 3-point line, teams that are relying on that 3-point shot,” Kelsey said.
Boston College has dropped two straight road games, both coming in the Cancun Challenge last weekend. The Eagles scored 53 points, their lowest point total of the season against USC in the title game.
Senior guard Kristen Doherty will lead the way for the Eagles. She is averaging 14.4 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.
