The Badgers started their season off right as they beat Illinois State 71-60 in their first regular season game.
“Were very happy with the win,” head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. “It’s a nice way to start our season and beat a tough and scrappy team like Illinois State”.
The Badgers (1-0) led Illinois State (0-2) for almost the entire game and were ahead 34-21 at halftime. With 12 minutes to play in the second half, UW extended their lead to 30 points before ISU came back to cut UW’s lead to 11 later in the half.
Sophomore forward Michala Johnson was the Badgers’ leading scorer and finished with 16 points, seven rebounds and two assists. Junior Nicole Bauman had 14 points and a career high nine assists.
“We’re confident in Nicole’s ability to read the defense and take care of the ball and she’s shown that,” Kelsey said.
Senior center Cassie Rochel and junior guard Tessa Cichy each had eight points, and freshman Cayla McMorris also added 12 points in her first career game as a Badger.
“To start the game, I had a lot of jitters and nervousness but once I started playing it goes away,” said McMorris.
“[Cayla’s] very aggressive but she’s not afraid and I like that about her, Kelsey said. “She took the ball strong to the basket and we’re going to put her in a position (along all the guards) so they can show what they can do.”
For Illinois State, senior Katy Winge led the way with 25 points and three rebounds. Stekara Hall and Zenobia Bess each had nine points apiece for the Red Birds.
Even though the Badgers came away with the victory, their focus going forward will be working on closing out games as they a wait tougher competition later in the season.
“We know what’s coming,” Kelsey said. “We’ll be playing teams like Vanderbilt, Florida, Rutgers, and Michigan State so we’re playing for what’s coming, not necessarily what’s in front of us. We’re not looking ahead but we know we have to shore up some areas to make sure we give ourselves the best chance to win those games as well.”
Another important aspect the Badgers want to improve on is working on their offense while preserving big leads.
“When were ahead like this we want to continue to work on our offense and try and stick together because you have to play like you’re losing,” Johnson said. “Just because you’re up by 30 doesn’t mean the game’s over. This is a new offense so trying to run the offense different ways in the game will help us learn it better”.
The Badgers’ next game is this Thursday night at home against Vanderbilt.
