After a disappointing fourth quarter against Penn State on Jan. 14, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (0-6 Big Ten, 7-12 overall) will look to put together a rare complete game. UW goes on the road against its rivals, the Minnesota Golden Gophers (3-3, 14-5), Thursday night in an attempt to secure its first conference win of the year.
While each of the Badgers internalize the intensity of this rivalry, it is felt more strongly for sophomore forward Courtney Fredrickson, who is from Minnetonka, Minn.
“Every year this game is extremely important. I had a lot of fans there last year, but I also got a lot of flak for going here and choosing the Badgers over the Gophers,” Fredrickson said. “It is a huge rivalry, and it is important that we beat them every year.”
The Badgers have struggled in crunch time over their last few games, including having a lead with four minutes left against Northwestern, but still ultimately losing. Similarly, against Penn State, Wisconsin tied the game with seven minutes remaining, but the Nittany Lions responded by going on a 10-0 run in three minutes left to secure a win.
“I think they may show up as similar types of runs, but personally I know they were both different” Coach Tsipis said on the past two games. “Northwestern’s ability to rebound really hurt us down the stretch because we weren’t able to secure and limit their offensive possessions. While [against] Penn State we weren’t able to get the same shots that we had gotten throughout the game, and that was evident when we weren’t able to make a shot on four out five possessions after tying the game up.”
UW will have to be on the top of its game this year against a high-scoring Gopher team, as they are second in the Big Ten averaging 85.4 points a game and outscoring opponents in conference games by 25 in the fourth quarter. The Gophers' high-powered offense is led by their dominant backcourt duo of redshirt junior Kenisha Bell and senior Carlie Wagner. Bell is sixth in the Big Ten in scoring with 19.3 points a game, while also leading the Big Ten in assists with 6.4 a game. Wagner is seventh in the Big Ten for scoring with 18.3 points a game.
“I think first and foremost we have to find [Wagner] in transition because she does an unbelievable job in sprinting the floor.” Tsipis said. “We also have to slow down Bell when she decides to fly down the court at a hundred miles per hour, and be aware at the same time of the shooters that are trailing and her ability to kick it out.”
According to Tsipis, Minnesota plays similarly to the Syracuse Orange, who Wisconsin lost to early in the season. Like Syracuse, Minnesota plays a lot of zone, it pressures the ball well up the floor and it is always looking to shoot the three ball, averaging 20 attempts a game.
While Minnesota can be prolific offensively, it has at points struggled on the defensive end of the floor. The Gophers have the worst scoring defense in the Big Ten this year, allowing opponents to score around 72 points a game. Specifically, they have the second worst three-point defense in the Big Ten, allowing opponents to shoot 34 percent from deep. The Badgers will attempt to utilize their sharpshooting sophomore guard Suzanne Gilreath, who has made five threes in each of her last two games.
If the Badgers hope to earn a win Thursday night at the Barn, they will have to shut down Minnesota’s transition game by not allowing live ball turnovers, pressure the Gophers off the three-point line and force them to rely on the three other players on the court by shutting down Bell and Wagner.
Tipoff is at 7 p.m. in Minneapolis.
