The Badgers came into Wednesday night’s game against Northwestern as polar opposites, with the Cardinal and White looking at a dismal 5-16 record, while the Wildcats stood strong at 16-5. There was no role reversal that would take place.
Wisconsin (0-9 Big Ten, 5-17 overall) dropped its ninth straight game at Northwestern (6-3, 17-5) by a score of 63-43.
It was the sixth 20 point-plus loss during the losing streak.
"I don't think there was any lack of our kids working hard or trying," head coach Jonathan Tsipis told uwbadgers.com. "I thought we fought for 40 minutes tonight."
Northwestern’s Nia Coffey went to work on an unsteady Badger frontcourt and poured in 15 points with 11 rebounds. The forward only played 21 minutes because of foul trouble, yet her destruction still was not slowed and not replicated by any of her opponents.
Junior guard Cayla McMorris had 11 points and eight rebounds, which were good for team-high and tied for team-high, respectively. Her inability to get to the free throw line has led to a decline in the guard’s points during Big Ten play. She continued that trend Wednesday night with a lone free throw attempt on the night, which she missed.
The Wisconsin offense remained dormant the entire first half, only producing 14 points over 20 minutes of action. Northwestern’s first quarter alone––which yielded 13 points––was almost enough for a halftime lead, but the Wildcats added on 11 additional points in the second quarter to put away the Badgers for good.
When UW finally put up some offensive pressure, the Wildcats matched them in points like the third, and used that momentum to run the Badgers out with a 24-point fourth quarter. Like the Indiana game, the Badgers allowed a run––this time one of the 10-0 variety in the third––that sunk any chance of gaining a lead.
"I felt like when we got it to 10, we gave up some transition baskets that really hurt in the fourth quarter, that I thought gave them a little bit more momentum." said Tsipis.
The Badger losing streak threatens to hit double digits when No. 14 Ohio State and rolls into the Kohl Center on Saturday. The Buckeyes prolific offense hasn't scored less than 70 points in all but one game all season and will be looking to feast on a reeling Wisconsin defense.
