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UW tries to end home stand well

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Also by Jonah Braun:

UW tries to end home stand well (December 11, 2007)
Balanced scoring attack leads Badgers over Falcons (December 10, 2007)
Depth evident as entire roster sees action (December 5, 2007)
Badgers to fight Panthers (December 4, 2007)
UW nets hoops win (December 3, 2007)

by Jonah Braun

Tuesday, December 11, 2007

After winning its last three games, the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team looks to continue its home success against UW-Green Bay Tuesday. With the Big Ten season on the horizon, the Badgers have a chance to complete a perfect home stand to gain momentum and energy before conference play.

Senior Jolene Anderson feels that despite the team's winning streak, it still has much on which to improve during the rest of the home stretch. In fact, she is disappointed with the team's play in its victories.

"The way we came out in general just wasn't good," Anderson said. "Not knowing the offense, the plays, it was little stuff like that just needs to get better and needs to change."

UW-GB features talented guards, including junior Kati Harty and senior Kayla Groh, who scored 19 points in the Phoenix's last game against Kansas State.

The Badgers are anticipating a hard-fought game with the in-state rivals coming to play at the Kohl Center. With Green Bay's returning starting lineup, Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone expects a similar display from previous years.

"… When you look at what they can do offensively and defensively, it's very similar to last year," Stone said in Monday's press conference. "They'll spread you out, drive, draw and dish, that's their offense, try to crash the boards hard, and then disrupt you offensively. They're going to play hard. That's the bottom line. And we have got to bring our lunch pail, go to work, and outwork this team…"

Despite winning its last three games by double-digit margins, Anderson, as well as many other Badgers, expect improvements from the squad in the next few games.

"There are so many things that we have to work on," Anderson said. "It doesn't really matter if we win by double digits. We just need to keep our opponents below their averages. When it comes to us not achieving our goals that we set before the game … we're never satisfied with a win like that."Despite their recent success, other players echoed Anderson's sentiments.

"We have to keep improving on the things that we're emphasizing during practice," freshman Alyssa Karel said. "We talk a lot about it, but nothing's going to change until we actually get better at it. It really has gotten to the point where we really need to buckle down and get stuff done. Until we do that, I don't think anyone's going to be happy with our performance."

Coming off a postponed game against Air Force, Wisconsin had limited practice time in preparation for UW-GB. The Phoenix is also coming off a victory, featuring four scorers in double figures, similar to the Badgers' performance last night against the Falcons.

Regardless, Stone feels that the schedule will not be an issue.

"They've got some very, very nice players," Stone said. "It's a short turnaround for us, but actually, in my opinion, it's good for us to get right back out on the court tomorrow and play and keep the momentum going."

With the final two games remaining before facing its first Big Ten opponent, Wisconsin will try to bring the consistent energy that has been lacking in the last few games, but it also must carry with it a sense of urgency and focus.

"We just need to get everybody on the same page when it comes to game time," Anderson said. "I don't care how you get ready, I just want to be able to go around the locker room and look in everybody's eyes and know that they're ready to play without them saying anything. … We need to go into this game and play our game and come out with a victory."

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