Senior guard Kyle Black earned her first all-tournament recognition this evening, garnering Most Valuable Player honors in leading UW to an 80-71 victory over Holy Cross last night in the championship game of the Arizona Basketball Classic.
Black made a school-record seven three-point baskets (on 11 attempts) and collected a career-high 26 points as Wisconsin improves to 5-1 on the season. Holy Cross, who upset the host Wildcats of Arizona in the opening round, falls to 5-2.
“I’m just really proud of our effort tonight,” said Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright. “We have a lot of very talented individuals, but they were very unselfish today and played great team offense and team defense.”
Led by Black’s sharpshooting, the Badgers adjusted well to the tight zone defense of the Crusaders. Holy Cross clogged the paint throughout the game in an effort to stifle Wisconsin’s effective inside game and quick transition play.
UW was up to the challenge, and Black rained five consecutive three-pointers over the Crusader zone to start the game, propelling the Badgers to an early 21-9 lead after 12 minutes of play.
Badger ball-handling miscues opened the door for Holy Cross, however, who mounted a 15-4 run to take its only lead of the game at 25-24 with five minutes remaining in the half. Both teams had trouble finding the basket for the rest of the half, but Wisconsin took a slim 29-25 lead into the locker room.
The versatile Badger offense finally found its inside game in the second half and pounded the ball into forward Jessie Stomski, who collected a double-double for the third straight game.
Stomski, who notched 15 points and 12 rebounds in the game, led the Badgers in the paint as UW missed only 10 shots in the second half (17-27) en route to 63 percent shooting in the final frame.
“Wisconsin just had too many weapons,” said Holy Cross coach Bill Gibbons. “They are a very good team that is big and strong. We had trouble trying to contain all of their players.”
The Badgers built a 19-point lead, 56-37, midway through the second half, but the Crusaders refused to give up and fought their way back into the game with a three-point barrage of their own. Led by the outside shooting of Jeannette Paukert, who finished the game with 15 points, Holy Cross closed to within 67-63 with only three minutes showing on the clock.
Black, once again, found the range and hit her seventh three-pointer of the game to fuel a 6-0 run that pushed the Badger lead to an insurmountable 73-63 with two minutes left to play.
Wisconsin made 5-7 free throws down the stretch to preserve the victory.
Point guard Tamara Moore, who joined Stomski and Black on the all-tournament team, finished the game with 16 points. She added nine assists, four rebounds, and two steals in a fine all-around performance. Center Emily Ashbaugh contributed eight points and eight rebounds, including some big boards late in the second half.
