The Badger Herald: UW faces must-win situation at Drake

Sports: Women's Basketball

UW faces must-win situation at Drake

Stone looks to break 7-game losing streak against former team

Laura Hill/The Badger Herald

Wisconsin senior guard Alyssa Karel knows UW must limit turnovers to upend the Bulldogs.

By Ian McCue
Wednesday, December 8, 2010 4:57 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, December 8, 2010 11:44:45 p.m.

The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (2-6) cannot seem to put together their strongest performances in the right games, but will be looking to do that and break a seven-game losing stretch against the Drake Bulldogs (5-2) Thursday.

Facing head coach Lisa Stone’s former school — she coached the Bulldogs from 2000 to 2003 — this could be a great opportunity for the Badgers to end their losing streak with a road victory at the Knapp Center. However, Wisconsin still needs to improve on several aspects of their game if they want to come out of Des Moines with a win.

“We’ve been focusing on rebounding, taking care of the ball and getting the ball inside and out with the post,” freshman guard Morgan Paige said. “The last couple games we’ve been doing better with the defensive rebounding, and it’s just the amount of turnovers that we’re really struggling with and the full court pressure.”

Although UW had some defensive struggles earlier this year, they have held their last three opponents, including a very talented Duke squad, to less than 60 points and will look for the same defensive intensity against Drake.

However, turnovers have certainly been a major issue for the Badgers all year, and it was no more detrimental to the team than in their last game against Oklahoma State, when they handed the ball over 25 times, the most this season. Wisconsin’s last three losses have all come by eight points or less, proof that these specific issues are holding the team back right now.

“A lot of these games are so close, and if we just had decreased our turnovers by four or five turnovers, we might have gotten some of these wins,” senior guard Alyssa Karel said. “So I think just definitely taking care of the ball should be our focus.”

Drake may not be the most highly touted or flashy team the Badgers have faced so far, but the Missouri Valley Conference opponent relies on a good shooting game to put up an average of 68.3 points per game. Shooting almost 43 percent from the field and 36.9 percent from beyond the arc, the Bulldogs’ offense will not be easy to slow down.

As a mid-major opponent, Drake could also be looking to make a statement against a more recognized Big Ten squad in Wisconsin.

“Drake’s a great opponent,” assistant coach Ty Margenthaler said. “They play physical…this is a game where I guarantee you they circled on their calendar. They’ve got a Big Ten opponent coming in their gym, so we definitely have to be ready.”

The Bulldogs’ high-scoring offense is led by senior guard Kristin Turk, who averages nearly 20 points per game. On the defensive end, junior forward Rachael Hackbarth grabs an average of seven rebounds per game to go along with more than 12 points per contest.

Despite the inside presence of Hackbarth, the UW coaching staff believes the team will find most of their offensive success on the inside with their post players. Since Drake is a relatively undersized team, the game could be won in the paint for the Badgers.

“One thing I think we really need to take advantage of is our strength and size; some of the bigger schools that have played them have done that,” Margenthaler said. “And that’s something we’re going to try to do…get the ball inside to Lin
[Zastrow] and Tara [Steinbauer] and Anya [Covington]…so I’m hoping that in a 40 minute game, that will take over.”

Giving up an average of 61.1 points per game, Wisconsin should be able to put up some points against a more offensively-minded team.

Despite their recent losses, many of which were very close, the Badgers are keeping things in perspective and remembering that the conference season has not even started yet. If the team can get these basic issues resolved now, then they will be playing better in the most important part of the season.

“I think it’s just a matter of getting over that hump. We’re so close; we do a lot of things right every game,” Karel said. “But, it’s just a matter of putting it all together, and I think these first games can be the hardest.”

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