SPORTS
Senior powers Badgers
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Also by Jonah Braun:
- This week in college, losers win (January 31, 2008)
- Badgers face Hoosiers, trying to extend win streak (January 31, 2008)
- Senior guard Banks provides vocal leadership (January 28, 2008)
- Badgers get back on track against Lions (January 25, 2008)
- Conference crowns are up in air (January 21, 2008)
Related Stories:
- Men's soccer team faces tough weekend (October 4, 2001)
- Badgers face Hoosiers, trying to extend win streak (January 31, 2008)
- Streaking Badgers still alive in Big Ten (January 29, 2008)
- Wisconsin women's basketball team making progress (February 5, 2003)
- Badgers hit the road (February 19, 2003)
by Jonah Braun
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Coming off consecutive wins in the Big Ten for the first
time this season, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team went 1-1 this week on a
tough road trip at Indiana and Penn State. Despite winning three of its last
four games, the Badgers remain at the bottom of the Big Ten standings with a
4-7 record.
Going into the road trip, the Badgers had been playing far
better basketball than the preceding conference games, but going to Indiana,
where the team was 2-26, proved to be a daunting task, as the Hoosiers routed
Wisconsin 86-62.
Following Indiana, the Badgers went to Penn State, where
they had not won in 14 tries. Nevertheless, Wisconsin went on to defeat the
Lady Lions by a commanding 18-point margin.
With a week off before their next game, the Badgers will
look to improve as they play Ohio State, the first place team in the Big Ten.
After losing to the Buckeyes in their first match of the season, Wisconsin will
hope to rebound and move up in the standings.
Wisconsin relies on Anderson
During their recent stretch of strong play, the Badgers have
counted on the team’s leaders, mainly senior Jolene Anderson to lead the way
both in terms of scoring and mental effort. In the win over Penn State on
Sunday, Anderson provided a large bulk of the offense, playing all 40 minutes
while scoring 30 points and tying a career high with 14 rebounds.
“Jolene Anderson threw the team on her back, and that was a
big difference maker right there,” head coach Lisa Stone said in her Monday
press conference. “She played all 40 minutes, has 18 [points] at the half, is
rebounding like crazy, and we had three freshmen out there most of the time.”
Anderson has achieved several milestones this season, including
becoming UW’s all-time leading scorer in women’s basketball, but more
importantly, she has kept her team in games when the other two seniors, Janese
Banks and Danielle Ward, have been unable to contribute.
“When you’re strapped with fouls with your two senior
running mates, with Danielle and Janese on the bench, we were able to give ourselves
a cushion and really ride out Jolene,” Stone said. “She did a tremendous job
keeping things together for us.”
The three seniors are averaging 41.4 points per game and
have been proving to Stone and the rest of the Badgers that their success is
vital to the team’s future.
Lin Zastrow making noise
Since scoring 15 points against Ohio State Jan. 20, Zastrow
has continued to find her stroke. Since that game against the Buckeyes, Zastrow
has dominated the inside presence of the court, scored 18 points and had ten
rebounds in Wisconsin’s win over Penn State.
“Lin Zastrow’s growth has been huge for us,” Stone said. “We
have a presence inside that we haven’t had consistently since I’ve been here.
It allows us to score inside, in the point, as opposed to outside at the three
point line.”
With Ward haunted by foul trouble all season, Zastrow has
finally emerged as the inside presence Stone had hoped she would become.
Zastrow’s play has been so impressive this season that she has been the No. 1
option down low, despite Ward’s status as a senior and more experienced player.
“Danielle is the first one to be cheering for Lin in there,”
Stone said. “There’s quite the unselfishness there. Lin’s ready to go. She’s
playing a lot of minutes and building confidence.”
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