[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]After using full-court pressure to get back in the game with a number of late runs, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team finally ran out of time and fell 82-79 to the Wisconsin AAU squad in the Badgers’ opening exhibition game Sunday.

After trailing by as many as 16 points in the early stages of the second half, the Badgers staged a late comeback that put them in position to emerge with a win over the AAU Vikings for the second straight year. Junior guard Ashley Josephson capped a 6-0 Badger run by burying a jumper from the left wing to tie the game at 78 with 1:51 remaining in the game.

AAU guard Anna DeForge found an opening in the lane, but missed on an uncontested lay-in. On the ensuing battle for the rebound, Badger guard Jolene Anderson called a timeout while diving on the floor for the ball with 1:24 left to give the Badgers a chance at the lead. But the Badgers were unable to capitalize, as point guard Stephanie Rich had her pocket picked by former Badger Dee Dee Pate, who drove the length of the floor for a lay-up to put AAU back in front 80-78.

A missed lay-up and a turnover by Jordan Wilson on the next two Badger possessions looked to have taken the wind out of the Badgers’ sails. Still, Wisconsin was hanging in after a Wilson free throw, and the Badgers had one last chance to tie with seven seconds to play. However, AAU filled the passing lanes and Rich was called for a five second violation on the inbounds pass.

The miscue allowed AAU to dribble out the clock and celebrate its first win in three tries of its exhibition tour. The AAU squad had fallen to UW-Green Bay 73-67 the previous night and at Minnesota 82-71 Wednesday.

“I thought our team showed a lot of character coming back in the second half,” head coach Lisa Stone said. “For the most part I was proud of our kids. There are good things to come, a couple of ugly growing pains, but we’ll improve and we’ll be better next week.”

It was certainly a different AAU team than the one the Badgers pounded 84-58 last season. This time around, Anna DeForge showed why she is one of the leaders in the WNBA.

Last year, the Badger defense held DeForge to 13 points on 4-19 shooting. This time, however, she scored 23 points and added 12 rebounds, including two back-to-back three pointers with a hand in her face to give AAU a 53-41 lead.

Abby Garchek-Jaramillo also added 20 points for AAU, while another former Badger, Krista Bird, chipped in 10 points. Pate also had eight points, almost all of which came off of her five steals.

The Badgers were led offensively by Anderson, who finished 3-7 from three-point range en route to 18 points. The freshman also completed a double-double by pulling down 11 rebounds. Wisconsin’s all-time leading prep scorer, who broke DeForge’s scoring record that had held for 10 years, impressed the crowd by not only stroking her outside shots, but taking the ball to the hoop and finishing.

“This is the first I saw her, ever met her, anything, but very impressive,” DeForge said. “Small, I didn’t realize how small she was, but she plays a lot bigger than her size. She has a very nice touch. Even in the open court she is very, very polished.”

Stephanie Rich also had the hot hand from three-point land, hitting 6-9 from beyond the arc. Rich also dished out a team-high eight assists, but committed eight turnovers. As a team, the Badgers had 23 turnovers on the day.

Forward Jordan Wilson posted a double-double of her own by tallying 16 points and grabbing 12 boards.

Anderson, Rich and Wilson all hit critical baskets in the second half that allowed the Badgers to stay within striking distance. What proved to be the difference was the Badgers’ inability to knock down their free throws. As a team, the Badgers were only able to convert on 10-23 from the charity stripe.

Despite having just eight players available at his disposal, AAU head coach Keith Noll was still able to maintain the team’s intensity and not let it fall victim to fatigue. Ten players saw action on the Badger roster and each contributed on the defensive or offensive end.

With more depth than last season, Stone would like nothing better than to cycle through as many players as possible, which will also take some of the burden off Rich and Anderson.

“I’m looking for combinations, heart, energy, effort, attitude, and who’s ready to play,” Stone said. “That’s why these games are great. They are great to play to find out what you need to find out.”

Stone is eager to get back to the drawing board and get her team ready for the regular season opener against IUPUI.

“Now we need to take it another step and continue to learn so in our opener, one we’re at full-strength, two we’ve ironed out some things, three we’ve continued to mature and four we’ve continued the leadership and the blending of six (returning players) and six (freshmen),” Stone said.