The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team fell short to the Northwestern Wildcats 69-43 on the road Sunday at the Welsh-Ryan Arena.
Prior to the matchup, Wisconsin sat at 10-10 and was 3-7 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats had a 7-14 record and are 2-8 in the conference.
Senior Brooke Schramek, sophomore Ronnie Porter, sophomore Sania Copeland, senior Natalie Leuzinger and sophomore Serah Williams started for the Badgers.
Despite winning the tip-off, Wisconsin struggled throughout the first quarter as Northwestern held the Badgers to zero points for the first three minutes. Back-to-back scoring from Williams and Porter helped Wisconsin end their scoring drought.
The Badgers’ biggest struggle came from their eight turnovers, which almost matched their nine points in the quarter. The Wildcats benefitted from the Badgers’ turnovers, creating a 10-point lead to enter the second quarter up 19-9.
Northwestern’s momentum picked up in the second quarter as Wisconsin was unable to score for the first four minutes. The Wildcats increased their lead as the Badgers struggled.
Turnovers continued to hurt the Badgers. At one point in the quarter, Wisconsin’s turnovers amounted to more than their points.
A 3-pointer from Porter finally put the Badgers in double-digits and gave them much-needed momentum to cut Northwestern's lead to single digits to end the quarter. The score going into halftime was 31-23.
Northwestern quickly created another double-digit lead at the beginning of the third quarter with a 3-pointer from sophomore guard Caroline Lau.
Northwestern’s defense was a key part of their success. They racked up six steals, converting two of them into scoring opportunities.
The Wildcats defense held Williams to zero points in the quarter, shutting down Wisconsin’s leading scorer.
Despite their effort, the Badgers continued to come up empty-handed. As a team, Wisconsin scored only eight points in the quarter compared to the Wildcats’ 21 points.
The final quarter of the game was no different than the first three quarters. Northwestern continued to dominate and increase their lead. Unfortunately for the Badgers, Williams left the court with less than eight minutes to go due to injury, and Porter also left the game after an injury.
The Wildcats finished the game with a 26-point lead win over the Badgers, finishing 69-43.
Sunday’s low score marks the fewest points the Badgers have scored so far this season and their lowest score since the 2021-22 season, when the Badgers managed just 42 points against Ohio State.
Northwestern’s Lau led all scorers with a career-high 24 points. Lau had a perfect game, making every shot she attempted.
Williams led Wisconsin in scoring with 11 points and 11 rebounds, marking her eighth consecutive double-double.
Williams’ performance Sunday puts her alongside Wisconsin women’s basketball legend Theresa Huff, who also attained eight consecutive double-doubles during her time as a Badger.
Sunday’s matchup was the second between the two teams of the season, with Northwestern winning both. Northwestern leads the all-time series 19-9.
The Wisconsin women’s basketball game will return to the Kohl Center on Feb. 11 to take on Penn State.
