The Wisconsin Badgers (2-0) looked to continue their hot start after a dominant exhibition game over Whitewater, and a hard-fought 13 point victory over North Florida in their first league game of the season.
The Wofford Terriers (0-2) came in to the Kohl Center following a high scoring, tough defeat against Auburn. They fought hard in the first half of the game, but the biggest lead of the first quarter was held by the Badgers at seven points within three minutes of the game.
Although Wisconsin held the lead all first quarter, the two teams seemed to exchange buckets for the remaining time, resulting in a two point Badger lead going into the second.
Following a strong offensive showing from both teams in the first quarter, the tone of the game switched to a more defensive one that seemed to benefit the Terriers in the second. During the second quarter there were multiple stretches of play where neither team could get a point before, a crucial three pointer by Wofford’s senior scoring leader Chloe Warnik lead to a nine to three run for Wofford, swaying the momentum and scoreboard to the Terriers going into halftime.
The Badgers came out with a strong response in the third quarter however. With a few strong defensive possessions and forced turnovers, they only allowed four points for the first seven minutes of the second half.
Senior guard Suzzane Gilreath hit a pair of big threes, and combined with senior forward Abby Laszewski for 10 straight points to boost the Badger’s lead to a commanding 12 points going into the final quarter.
Freshman guard Sydney Hillard continued the Badger’s dominance off the bench, with eight points in two minutes to start the fourth.
Now with a 20 point lead for the Badgers, the Terriers called a timeout to stop the bleeding, but were never able to complete a comeback, with the final score being 78-65.
Senior Suzzane Gilreath again showed her ability to score multiple ways on the floor going 5-10 from the three point line and making her two other field goals, while Sydney Hillard continues to show that she can have a strong impact off the bench as a freshman, with 14 points in 18 minutes and an additional five rebounds.
Now with two 13 point wins in the bag, the Badgers will hope to build on this start when they go to Colorado to face the Buffaloes on Nov. 14th, before a nice three game home stretch.
