More than halfway through the 2005-06 season, the UW women's basketball team is currently struggling to make it past the toughest part of its schedule.

After opening the Big Ten schedule with a victory at Purdue, the Badgers have lost the ensuing five conference games and have not received any help due to a plethora of injuries.

To make matters worse, sophomore guard Akiya Alexander — who had been the premier off-the-bench choice for head coach Lisa Stone — has been declared academically ineligible for the second semester after having taken a personal leave of absence for the past four games.

Despite all the setbacks, Wisconsin will attempt to set all matters aside and get back on track as they host Iowa Thursday at the Kohl Center in yet another tough Big Ten battle.

While the Hawkeyes may not be one of the top teams in the conference, their guards
— particularly Big Ten scoring leader Crystal Smith — have allowed them to remain competitive in Big Ten play.

"I think when you look at a lot of the teams that we've played so far this year, they're senior-laden at perimeter," Stone said of Iowa. "(Smith) is one of the best in the business, the quickest player and I said this last year, she's the quickest player I've ever seen.

"She's very, very fast. They can rely on her to get to the free throw line; she gets to the line a lot because she's so fast and can penetrate," Stone added.

Aside from Smith, another important Hawkeye Stone has been scouting is 6-foot-6 freshman center Megan Skouby, the tallest women's basketball player in school history.

Skouby has been off to a stellar start as of late by averaging 19.0 points over the past four games — highlighted by a 20-point performance at Michigan and 27 points against Michigan State.

"That kid can flat-out play," Stone said.

Though this may be a must win game for Stone's squad, this contest means more in the eyes of the bench boss.

Stone played her collegiate career at Iowa City, where she scored 1,129 points in her four years — good for 14th in Iowa history.

And Stone would like nothing more than to beat her alma mater on her new team's home court, especially considering there is a strong personal connection with her and Crystal Smith.

"Her father, Michael Morgan, who played at Iowa the same time Barry (Davis) was wrestling at Iowa and I was playing at Iowa, so quite the connection going on here today," Stone said. "That's his daughter and she's a lot like her father, but he was not quite as quick as she is."

In order to knock off her former team, Stone desperately needs to find some consistency as her squad is coming off a disappointing 84-54 loss to Illinois — just one game after coming within six points of upsetting Michigan State, a game in which the Badgers actually led by as much as 10 at one point.

"We're kind of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a little bit," Stone said of the inconsistencies.

Even so, Stone is confident Wisconsin will get back on track and Thursday's game against Iowa will be very telling of how the Badgers will be able to complete the Big Ten schedule.

"We only play Iowa once this year and we have them at home," Stone said. "This is one that we need to rebound for. We need to look forward, look forward to the next two more at home before we go on the road again. We need to make a late push at some juncture."

Injuries finally decrease: There is actually some good news for the Grateful Red — according to Stone, Annie Nelson, who has been dealing with a shoulder injury, is close to playing at 100 percent after playing the past couple games at about 80 percent and Janese Banks, who has been battling a foot injury, may be able to return to action as early as Thursday.

Both returns will be welcome additions to a team that has been injury-riddled this season and is looking to snap a four-game losing streak with a win against Iowa.

In wake of all the injuries, Stone has added 5-foot-7-freshman point guard Kelsey Henrickson to the Badger roster as a practice player. The Monroe, Wis., native transferred from North Dakota State where she signed her national letter of intent, but never played for the Bisons. Henrickson will sit out for one full academic year and will have three and a half years of eligibility beginning in January of 2007.