After a momentous win for the football team in the Holiday Bowl less than 24 hours earlier, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team won its biggest game of the season, defeating Indiana, 73-69, in its Big Ten opener Thursday afternoon in Madison.
Many expected senior guard Tessa Cichy to perform in a similar manner as her brother, Jack Cichy, did in the Holiday Bowl, but Tessa missed UW’s conference opener with an illness. As a result, fellow senior Nicole Bauman was forced into an even more important role for the Badgers.
Back in early November, Bauman scored a mere three points in the Badgers’ blowout loss to the Dayton Flyers. But since then, Bauman has emerged as the Badgers’ most consistent offensive threat, scoring more than 14 points in the seven games since that loss.
With Cichy out, Bauman scored 24 points off a variety of jumpers and floaters. Bauman led UW in assists with four, and was second in rebounds with six boards. Bauman’s biggest rebound of the game came with just over a minute remaining in the fourth quarter.
With one minute to play, center Michala Johnson missed a hook shot that would have extended the Badgers’ lead to four. Bauman then knocked the ball away from an IU player scurrying to the loose ball before it went out of bounds. After a stagnant UW possession for 25 seconds of the shot clock, Bauman rose up for a deep 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring to extend the Badgers’ lead to five.
Wisconsin (1-0 Big Ten, 5-6 overall) led for more than 85 percent of the game, but struggled putting IU (0-1 Big Ten, 8-5 overall) away. UW actually trailed by one point after the first quarter, but, after switching to a 2-3 zone for most of the second period, were able to extend the lead to double digits.
The Badgers took an eight-point lead into the locker room, but IU adjusted to the Badgers’ zone and found success attacking the interior spaces of the Badgers’ defense. Less than two-and-a-half minutes into the period, IU cut the Badgers’ eight-point halftime lead to two.
After a back-and-forth third period, the Badgers answered back with a fast start to the fourth quarter. With 5:45 left in the game, the Badgers led by 10 points and looked poised to win their Big Ten opener by double digits.
But IU’s point guard Tyra Buss went on a 5-0 run of her own to cut the Badgers’ lead to five.
Sophomore guard Cayla McMorris took Cichy’s spot in the starting lineup and did not disappoint. McMorris finished the game with 11 points including a crucial jumper with just over three minutes to go in the game that extended the Badgers’ lead to six.
Senior guard Dakota Whyte added 17 points for the Badgers in 39 minutes of action. Whyte shot 60 percent from the field and 50 percent from three, but surprisingly was a dreadful 4-of-10 from the free throw line.
Whyte frequently played alongside fellow point guard redshirt freshman Roichelle Marble who finished with eight points in 17 minutes off the bench. Marble and senior Rosie Gambino were the only two bench players to see the floor for the Badgers in their win.
The Badgers hope to pick up another win to open 2016 against Michigan State in East Lansing, Mich., Jan. 3.
