The Wisconsin women’s basketball team is set to host the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh at 2 p.m. on Oct. 30. Despite the proximity between the two schools, this will be their first ever women’s basketball game, and it’s set to be a good one. From the new head coach entrance for the Badgers, Marisa Moseley, to the incredibly successful 2020-21 season for the Titans, the game will most definitely not disappoint.
Coming into the highly anticipated season, Moseley has very high expectations. The former Boston University head coach has hopes to completely turn around a team that had consecutive losing records under previous head coach Jonathon Tsipis. Over the years, Moseley has risen through the ranks of coaching, making her way through different conferences, setting a fire in teams that were unable to find success before. From being a pivotal part of the transformations of Denver and Minnesota to revolutionizing the Terrier program (Boston University), she has sights to replicate that glory with the Badgers.
This starts with this coming opener against UW-Oshkosh. Unlike Madison, Oshkosh had an incredibly successful season last year, coming off a 9-2 overall record, complemented by a 6-2 conference record. The excitement of the coming season is greatly credited to their star-studded senior class, some of which include Abby Kaiser, Nikki Arneson and Leah Porath, to name a few.
The Titans will offer a challenge to the Badgers, but nothing that the Red and White can’t handle. Although hard to predict the starting five for the season, with the new coach, some key stars of the team will likely be on the court for the in-state matchup, one of whom being graduate guard Katie Nelson. Nelson comes to Madison, transferring from Boston, where she played under Moseley for three years. Nelson led the Terriers with her 3-point shooting and incredible basketball IQ, two skills bound to help the Badgers immensely. In terms of returning players, Wisconsin has many that have a lot to offer, from Sydney Hilliard (guard) to Sara Stapleton (guard/forward) to Julie Pospisilova (guard). Not only does the team have three consistent players in the trio, but senior Alex Luehring and junior Tara Stauffacher offered plenty to last year’s team and are bound to do so under Moseley.
With that in mind, the matchup between the two schools is going to be a good one. The Badgers need a turnaround, and with the coach, lineup and freshman class that they have this season, they have great potential for a “restart,” with the game this coming Saturday.
