Michigan ignored the fact that a Wolverine team had not won in Madison since 1990 and that they were swept by the Badgers the last three seasons. The Wolverines followed the game plan to perfection and got their senior center Jennifer Smith all the touches she needed to frustrate the Badger defense.
It may have been Michigan forward Tabitha Pool who hit what proved to be the game winner, but without her teammate Smith’s inside presence she would not have had the chance.
The senior center came in averaging 21.2 points per game, and the third-leading scorer in the Big Ten conference did not disappoint. Smith had a near-perfect game, scoring 32 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while making all 12 of her free-throw attempts.
“Smith was a handful inside,” UW head coach Lisa Stone said.
With the Wolverines trailing by five with less than two and a half minutes remaining, Smith put her team on her back and assured them of their third Big Ten win. She nailed a jumper, then knocked down two free throws with one second left as the Wolverines survived a second-half Badger run.
Early on, the Badgers did a good job defensively of frustrating Smith and not allowing her open looks inside. Wisconsin collapsed their two post players, Lello Gebisa and Emily Ashbaugh, on Smith each time she caught the ball; as a result, she could not get off a shot.
Ashbaugh especially did a good job of fronting Smith in the second half and got her long arms on several passes that would become Badger steals. Smith herself looked frustrated at times and was held in check for the first 10 minutes. Foul trouble, though, would prove to be Wisconsin’s doom for controlling the inside game.
Ashbaugh picked up her second foul with more than 10 minutes to play in the first half and spent the rest of the half watching from the bench. Moments later, Lello Gebisa picked up her second foul and also retreated to the bench. Smith took advantage, scoring seven of her 12 first-half points in the final 10 minutes.
When Gebisa and Ashbaugh made their return in the second half, Smith was once again ineffective, but only for a while. She forced both Ashbaugh and Gebisa into another foul and picked up right where she had left off with a basket.
Gebisa eventually fouled out with 5:30 remaining in the game, and Ashbaugh was forced to play passively, strapped with four fouls of her own. Smith then went to work, scoring 20 of her team’s 28 second-half points –all of them in the final 10-minute stretch.
Due to Smith’s constant movement on offense and her physical play in the post, she often found herself wide open for a layup or made her home at the free-throw line.
“(Smith is) strong, physical, and she pushed and shoved a little bit to get position and give her credit because she made things work inside,” Stone said. “If you don’t hold your ground and draw a charge, you’re going to foul her and she’s going to go to the line and make her free throws; that’s where she gets her numbers.”
Even with Wisconsin’s post players in foul trouble, the Badgers were in the game until the final buzzer sounded; they had many chances to win but could not overcome the senior star.
