The Badgers have been relying on Jolene Anderson since her
freshman year at Wisconsin. Unfortunately for UW, Anderson shot 3-of-12 from
the field Tuesday night, notching a season-low 11 points against UW-Milwaukee.

With Anderson's lack of offensive presence against UWM, the
Badgers needed another player to lead their team to victory over their in-state
rival.

Luckily for Wisconsin, its other two seniors showed up to
play.

Seniors Janese Banks and Danielle Ward each recorded and
tied their season highs with 23 and 10 points respectively, leading the Badgers
to a commanding 79-59 victory.

The two seniors knew that with Anderson not playing up to
her normal standards, it was important for them to take charge of the game and
pull together the team to make up for their star teammate's atypical
performance.

"I think Jolene knew that if she was struggling, her
teammates would be there to rally behind her," Banks said. "She wasn't here
tonight, and everyone has those nights. If she were up here, she'd be saying
the same thing — that we would be behind her 100 percent."

Compared to her 22.4 points per game average, Anderson's
performance was anything but impressive. Without the other seniors'
contributions, the game could have looked different.

Banks took charge from the start of the game, leading the
Badgers when Anderson was on the bench. The senior forward led both teams in
scoring, and Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone did not let that point go
unnoticed.

"Janese Banks was on fire and our team found her, and I
thought she did a great job on getting on the offensive boards and got nice put
backs, made her free throws and did some nice things for us," Stone said.

Ward's presence on the floor was felt right from the start,
when the opening tip-off went to her for an easy lay-up, followed by an
impressive block on the defensive end of the court.

Ward, who usually is not a main source of offense for
Wisconsin, grabbed six rebounds and had three blocks. She also saw Anderson's
seeming inability to score as an opportunity for the other players to step up
offensively.

"Of course we want Jolene to do what she has to do, but we
just have to do whatever it takes to win the game," Ward said. "Even when
someone is back on the boards, or points, or whatever, we just have to do
whatever we can do to win."

Matched up against UWM star Traci Edwards, Ward used her
athletic ability to contain the powerful forward.

"She's very athletic," Edwards said. "I liked coming in and
playing against her, it was a good match-up for the most part, and we played to
our advantages."

Banks and Ward, however, were not the only significant
contributors in the victory. Sophomore guard Rae Lin D'Alie had an impressive
stat line, registering eight points, seven assists and six rebounds.

"Rae was great, she gave us the energy," Stone said. "I give
her the keys to the car, and I tell her to take over and drive that team. I
thought she had great energy and made tremendous decisions, especially in the
second half."

Above all, the Badgers have the ability to win without
Anderson being the only source of offense. In fact, in beating Milwaukee, 11 of
15 Badgers scored.

"I think Lisa has done a nice job with this team,"
UW-Milwaukee head coach Sandy Botham said. "There's no doubt that she's got the
most depth she's ever had, and they have a lot of different options now, which
makes them that much more dangerous."