The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (2-6 Big Ten, 9-11 overall) hit a rough patch in the shooting department Thursday night, leading to the team’s fourth consecutive conference loss, 71-67, in a matchup against Michigan State (6-2, 14-7) on the road in East Lansing.
The Spartans took the lead right away, scoring the first nine points of the game and never falling behind, despite a valiant effort by Wisconsin redshirt junior forward Michala Johnson to keep the Badgers in the game.
Johnson led the Badger offense, scoring 26 points in the game, with 19 in the first half alone to bring the score to 30-27 at the break.
Wisconsin managed to revamp its offense in the second half, with several chances to take Michigan State’s lead. Just over four minutes into the second half, a 3-pointer by Johnson brought the Badgers to within one point at 39-38. Five minutes later, Wisconsin managed to tie it up for the first and only time over the course of the game, with another 3-pointer from sophomore guard Tessa Cichy.
Despite the strong start to the second half, the Badgers faltered and let the Spartans gain a comfortable lead toward the end of the game, at one point trailing by nine, and ultimately settling for a 71-67 defeat.
Unfortunately for the Badgers, several of the team’s strongest performers were struggling with illnesses. Both sophomore guard Nicole Bauman and senior guard Taylor Wurtz were limited in their contributions to the game due to sickness.
The Badgers’ next matchup is Sunday afternoon, taking on Ohio State at the Kohl Center.
UWBadgers.com contributed to this report.
