The Badgers skid continued after another conference loss.
“I think we can play with any team in this conference, we just have to find a way to close it,” senior guard Taylor Wurtz said. “We just got to get back to practice and pay attention to details. It’s just those little things that we’re not doing.”
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (3-11 Big Ten, 10-16 overall) fought hard down to the wire Thursday night at the Kohl Center, but their effort was not enough to take down No. 23 Michigan State (10-3, 18-8) in a 76-66 loss, the Badgers fifth straight.
Wisconsin head coach Bobbie Kelsey talked about her team’s effort after the game.
“They don’t give up, they keep playing hard, we trying everything but we just ain’t getting results, but for some reason we just can’t get that one push back.”
The lead changed hands in the early parts of the first half four times, but Michigan State would go on a few short runs that would put them up by as much as ten. Two free throw shots in the waning seconds of the first half by sophomore guard Nicole Bauman brought the Badgers within eight heading into the break.
The Badgers came out of the half firing on all cylinders, scoring on five straight possessions to open the half. However, the Spartans matched them basket-for-basket and always were able to make a shot when it seemed like the Badgers were getting uncomfortably close.
A nice sequence for the Badgers came on the fast break on a long pass from senior guard Morgan Paige to junior forward Michala Johnson, who proceeded to bounce it to a cutting Wurtz for any easy lay-in, cutting the Spartans lead to six.
Michigan State would bring the lead up to as much as nine twice in the second half, but the Badgers would hit some shots and at one point with just under two minutes left, the Spartans lead was just four.
Coming out of a timeout, the Spartans missed a 3-point shot from the corner, but grabbed the offensive rebound and put it back in for the score, their 16th offensive board of the night.
Michigan State head coach Suzy Merchant talked about her team’s ability to get those offensive boards all night.
“We needed them, cause there was times when we weren't scoring the ball well,” she said. “Give credit to Wisconsin because they keep people off balance and they can do a lot of things really well from a defensive standpoint.”
Led by forward Becca Mills’ 15 points, the Spartans spread the wealth and put six players in double figures.
Kelsey commented on the Spartans play heading down the stretch.
“They got some great athletes over there, there’s a reason why they are ranked in the country, that program has been to a final four,” she said.
Wisconsin outshot the Spartans in the loss, shooting over 50 percent from the field, but it was the 14 Badger turnovers that led to 21 Michigan State points that killed any chance of a comeback.
