Nineteen first-half turnovers and 32 miscues during the game were the story as Wisconsin struggled early and often before losing to Ohio State 82-55 in Columbus. The Badgers moved to 17-10 on the season and finished the Big Ten in a three-way tie for fifth place with an 8-8 record.
Ohio State moves to 13-14 on the season and is also tied for fifth in the conference. The Badgers will be the sixth seed in the upcoming Big Ten tournament and will meet eleventh-seeded Northwestern next Thursday in Indianapolis.
Wisconsin failed to get on track until midway through the first half as Ohio State took advantage of Badger miscues to build a 29-14 lead with 6:55 left. UW had six turnovers in the first four minutes and finished with 19 for the period. Kyle Black had 11 of her team-high 16 points early in the game and was the only bright spot for the Badgers.
Wisconsin went on a 6-0 run late in the half to pull within 29-20 at the 3:41 mark, but the Badgers could get no closer the rest of the way. Ohio State finished the period with a12-4 run to take a 41-24 lead into the locker room.
The turnover bug continued to plague Wisconsin in the second half, and the Badgers were forced to play without leading- scorer Jessie Stomski, who suffered a concussion in the first half and logged only 16 minutes on the court.
Ohio State added to its lead throughout the second stanza and eventually built its greatest lead to 80-45 with five minutes remaining. A late 10-2 Wisconsin rally shaved the final margin to 82-55. It was the worst loss for the Badgers in Columbus since 1993, and it avenged the Buckeyes 35-point loss to Wisconsin two years ago when UW last played at Ohio State.
“I will tell you what I told my team,” Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright said. “I would have bet the bank that I would never have seen this out of this group. I was very surprised by our lack of intensity, our lack of teamwork, and our lack of execution, particularly in the first ten minutes. I guess that the game at Minnesota took an unbelievable amount of energy from us and from Minnesota [who lost to Michigan State today].”
Black shot 6-10 from the field, including four of her eight attempts from beyond the three-point arc, to lead Wisconsin with 16 points. Point guard Tamara Moore was the only other UW player in double figures with 10 points to go along with seven rebounds. Guard Kristi Seeger came off of the bench to contribute six points and grab eight rebounds — seven on the offensive end.
Center Courtenay Coleman led the Buckeyes with 18 points, while forward D’wan Shackleford chipped in with 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Tomeka Brown also scored 16 points, while Lauren Shenk added 10 points and a game-high six assists.