SPORTS
Wisconsin travels to Marquette for in-state rivalry
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Also by Mitch Goza:
- Ward stays hot, scores 14 (December 10, 2007)
- Mistakes concern coach (December 7, 2007)
- Badgers tame in-state rival Panthers (December 5, 2007)
- UW prepares to 'Challenge' ACC (November 30, 2007)
- Badgers must regroup, improve (November 27, 2007)
Related Stories:
- No. 62 Wisconsin looks to maintain momentum (March 8, 2006)
- UW takes on final in-state rival (October 27, 2004)
- Rivalry of many sorts for UW (December 8, 2006)
- UW looking to sweep state opponents in '04 (November 3, 2004)
- UW set to face rival Marquette (October 11, 2006)
by Mitch Goza
Friday, November 16, 2007
After a week off from competition, the women's
basketball team is ready to play its second game of the season against rival
and fellow Wisconsin school, Marquette. The Golden Eagles will look to spoil
the Badgers' first AP poll ranking — they're No. 25 — in five years by
upsetting the Badgers tomorrow in Milwaukee.
The matchup will be held at the Bradley Center,
home of the Milwaukee Bucks. But Stone feels her team should be ready and
unaffected by the added hype.
"We are used to a bigger facility. It will be a
great crowd, a great environment for women's basketball, both for Marquette and
Wisconsin fans," UW head coach Lisa Stone said. "The stage is set for a great
game."
To date this season, the Badgers have faced off
against relatively unknown teams in smaller, local universities. A team like
Marquette, which has earned its place in the national spotlight over the years,
however, has Wisconsin's attention.
"We will be playing a formidable opponent that we
respect a great deal," Stone said. "[Marquette] is a team that has great
postseason success [and is] well-coached."
In Wisconsin's last outing, the bigger players
were benched due to matchup problems when Cleveland State went to an all-guard
lineup. This Marquette team, however, will allow for Wisconsin to unleash its
formidable forwards.
"I think Saturday will really test our team
defense, something coach has really been stressing in practice," UW freshman
Lin Zastrow said. "The matchups will be a lot better in this game [than against
Cleveland State]."
Stone can't say enough about this team's depth,
expecting to rotate 10 to 12 players into the game, but it will tested as the
team will be facing its most difficult challenge this year. The Golden Eagles'
offense is dangerous and dynamic, led by junior guard Krystal Ellis.
Ellis, named to the 2007 all-Big East first team,
was one of five Golden Eagles in double figures Monday against Loyola
University.
"She can do it all. She can stretch the defense
and can get to the basket," Stone said of Ellis. "She's running the show for
them and gives Marquette a ton of athleticism up on top."
Ellis has been big
reason why Marquette has been successful in recent years.
"She's a great player,
great kid; she had great success in high school and a great year last year,"
Stone said. "She helped [Marquette] get as far as they've gone so far these
past seasons."
Senior Jolene
Anderson, who has led the Badgers in each of her four seasons, dropped 37
points on Cleveland State. Sophomore Rae Lin D'Alie chipped in with 10 points.
The last time these two teams played was in
2005-06 when Marquette won by double digits. The Badgers, having returned most
of their stars from a season ago, are much more experienced than the fairly
young Golden Eagles. The depth and experience factors may ultimately put the
Badgers over the top Friday night.
For each fan in attendance, up to 4,000, Marquette head coach Terri Mitchell will donate $1 to the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Milwaukee. Mitchell tried the same act of generosity last season when her team played Connecticut, setting a record for attendance that game.
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