Sports

Tale of 2 games: UW defeats IU

What a difference a week can make.

Last Thursday, the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team got flat out embarrassed by the Indiana Hoosiers in Bloomington, Ind., losing 83-56. A completely different squad took the court Thursday at the Kohl Center, as the Badgers stuck it to the Hoosiers to win 60-53.

With the victory, Wisconsin improves to 12-2 at home — its best mark since the 1999-2000 season when it went 12-4.

"The hungrier team won tonight," Indiana head coach Felisha Legette-Jack said.

While Legette-Jack left feeling dejected, Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone was elated with the win.

"I'm really proud; this was a great team win," Stone said. "I give Indiana a ton of credit. Their zone defense and their matchup is for real. Again I'm proud of our team's fortitude.

"We fought the whole game, and it was a battle against a very good team."

The two matchups this season saw the home team jump out to big leads and set the tone early. Last week, the Hoosiers started the game on a 19-0 run, literally burying the Badgers right out of the gate. Thursday, the cardinal and white were the ones doing the burying, as UW jumped out to a 13-2 lead.

Despite shooting an abysmal 1-of-19 from the field during the first 15 minutes of play, IU remained in the game. Moreover, it was able to snatch a two-point lead at half, 19-17. Even with the lead, Legette-Jack remained leery.

"I don't feel comfortable with a two-point lead," Legette-Jack said. "This is the game of basketball. You can have a two-point lead or a 40-point lead, but the other team can do the same thing."

Wisconsin did not have its best shooting night of the season by any means, shooting 32 percent from the field, but its defensive intensity sealed the victory.

A week ago Hoosier center Sarah McKay torched the Badger post with 18 points and 11 boards. With fortitude and exceptional defense from sophomore Caitlin Gibson and junior Danielle Ward, McKay was 0-of-5 from the field, finishing with two points and four rebounds.

Ward and Gibson were not the only two Wisconsin players to excel on the defensive end of the floor. The Badgers as a whole held the visitors to 30 percent from the field, including 23 percent in the first half. They also forced 17 turnovers, recorded seven blocks, and out-rebounded the Hoosiers 48-33 (Ward had 11).

"The bottom line is our defense was the real deal," Stone said. "We really played hard and got some box outs. Danielle Ward gave us some big rebounds at the right time. It was a defensive presence for us in the second half. … It ended up being a grueling fight to the bitter end. I think both teams wanted this as much as the other, but fortunately it went our way."

One of UW's Achilles heels all season has been the lack of a third and fourth scorer to complement junior guard Jolene Anderson and fellow junior backcourt mate Janese Banks. It wasn't an issue last night, as freshmen Rae Lin D'Alie and Mariah Dunham scored 14 and 10 points respectively.

Dunham gave the Badgers a spark off the bench, something that is becoming somewhat of a pattern of late.

"That's Mariah," Stone said. "Mariah loves to play; she's a basketball player. When she can get out there and find her comfort level, that gets our whole team going."

D'Alie was simply "clutch," as Stone put it, going 6-for-6 from the charity stripe down the stretch. Wisconsin finished an impressive 18-of-21 from the line.

Per the norm, Anderson brought her best, leading all scorers with 20 points to go with 10 rebounds for the double-double.

Freshman guard Jamie Braun (Marshfield) led the Hoosiers with 16 points in her return to her home state.

Up next, Wisconsin looks to add to its 12-2 home mark when it faces Iowa Sunday night.