The Wisconsin women’s basketball team defeated the UW-Whitewater Warhawks 84-64 in a preseason exhibition game at the Kohl Center.
This is the second time these two teams have met. The Badgers won the first matchup 70-54 on Nov. 3, 2011.
Wisconsin is coming off an 11-20 overall record and 6-12 record against Big Ten opponents last season. The Warhawks had an overall record of 23-7 and were 10-4 against opponents in the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.
Eleven out of 14 Badgers played in today’s exhibition, including the team’s five freshmen: Leena Pantibandla, Ana Guillen, Tessa Grady, Imbie Jones and D’Yanis Jiminez, the last of whom earned a spot in Sunday’s starting lineup.
Sophomore Ronnie Porter made a highly contested layup to start off scoring for the Badgers. Sophomore Serah Williams scored next for Wisconsin with two free throws. On the defensive end, the Badgers snagged seven defensive rebounds and three steals.
Williams led the Badgers in first-quarter scoring with 12 points. The first quarter ended at 17-21, with the Badgers only up by four going into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, an offensive rebound and assist from senior Natalie Leuzinger led to a basket from Williams. Leuzinger scored five points, including a 3-pointer toward the end of the quarter to put the Badgers up 40-27. As a team, the Badgers only accumulated two team fouls in the first half while the Warhawks had four. The Badgers outscored the Warhawks and led 42-27 at the end of the half.
Williams scored first in the third quarter after a steal. With an assist from Porter, Williams was able to score in the paint. Williams’ steal added to the five total steals from the Badgers in the third quarter.
A 3-pointer from senior Brooke Scharamek put the Badgers up by 20 points to47-27. The team went 2-of-5 from the 3-point line in the quarter, with both makes coming from Schramek. Jimenez scored to end the quarter, putting the Badgers up 72-42.
A steal from Porter early on in the fourth led to a fast break, where she was able to capitalize. Porter added six points to her total in the last quarter. The Badgers gathered five offensive rebounds and four on the defensive side.
Despite being down by 30 at the start of the quarter, the Warhawks continued trying and eventually got the lead down to 20 to end the game. The Badgers fouled the Warhawks seven times in the fourth quarter, giving Whitewater an additional five points from the free throw line.
To lead the Badgers through the first half, Williams scored 24 points with an additional four rebounds. Williams ended the game with 30 points, five rebounds and one block, making her one of three Badgers to put up double digit points. Porter scored 18 points, while Jiminez added 15 to the Badgers high scoring outing against the Warhawks.
Wisconsin will face the UW-Milwaukee Panthers on Tuesday, Nov. 7 at the Kohl Center.
