Senior Brooke Schramek’s bucket with 0.8 seconds remaining gave the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team a nail-biting 66-64 win over South Dakota State University and moved UW to 3-0 for the first time since the 2018-2019 season.
The Badgers led 33-32 after two quarters, despite a heroic effort from South Dakota State’s Brooklyn Meyer. Meyer slashed her way to 14 first-half points on 6-of-8 shooting through two quarters. The sophomore ultimately finished with a game-high 19 points.
South Dakota State — who finished last season 29-6 and was a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament — struggled out of the locker room. The Jackrabbits recorded 10 turnovers and six total field goal attempts in the third quarter, yet still mustered 14 points thanks to efficient shooting and four free throws.
Meanwhile, sophomore Ronnie Porter spent the third stuffing the stat sheet in an electric stretch of individual excellence for the Badgers. Porter tallied nine points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals in the third quarter alone to give UW an eight-point lead going into the fourth. For the game, Porter recorded 17 points, six assists and five steals, which were all team highs.
“Defensively, just staying aggressive because I’m undersized and offensively making them guess every time,” Porter said as to her strategy to success.
Through three games, Porter leads the team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.
UW maintained a comfortable lead over South Dakota State throughout the start of the fourth quarter. Sophomore Sania Copeland’s three-pointer put the Badgers ahead 60-51 with just over five-minutes left in the game.
The Jackrabbits promptly embarked on a furious 11-2 run and tied the game at 62-62 with 51 seconds left. The run was in no small part due to UW’s foul trouble, as the Badgers committed seven fouls and allowed ten free throw attempts in the quarter.
Consistent interior pressure from South Dakota State also got standout rim protector sophomore Serah Williams into foul trouble. Despite recording four blocks, Williams played just 17 minutes and fouled out with four minutes left.
Women’s Basketball: Slow start does not faze Wisconsin in non-conference win
Both teams traded baskets in the final minute to keep it tied, and UW found itself with a chance at the final shot with 23 seconds left. Freshman D’Yanis Jimenez slipped while driving to the hoop but regained her balance and found Schramek under the basket for the game-winning layup.
After the game, Schramek credited the young point guard for the game-winning assist.
“[Jimenez] found a quick little pocket and I knew we were running out of time and I was wide open on the left side,” Schramek said. “I was like ‘I need to make this layup, I need to do this for the team’ and there were still .8 so some of us were celebrating but I was like ‘guys, .8 is a lot of time.’”
Following the basket, UW was able to force a difficult Meyer inbound and won the game 66-64 off of the ensuing Jackrabbit turnover.
Though the final possession did not go exactly how head coach Marisa Moseley drew it up, she was still impressed with the team’s improvisation despite the broken play.
“It was supposed to be a high ball screen but you know players make plays and that’s what it comes down to,” Moseley said. “If you want me to draw that up 20 more times I could never draw that up again.”
The Badgers will play their first road game of the year this Sunday at Kansas State University. The Wildcats were 19-17 last season and are a perfect 3-0 to begin 2023.
