Like any basketball coach, UW head coach Jane Albright knows how to kill a zone defense. You’ve got to pass well enough to create open outside shots. More importantly, you’ve got to make those shots.
And with UW’s two best scorers (forwards Tamara Moore and Jessie Stomski) poised to threaten opponents from inside the free-throw line, it seemed logical for UW’s foes to sink into zones against the Badgers. So, during the offseason, Albright adjusted her attack.
“In the past we’ve had a lot of different zone offenses, and we basically have two now — one if it’s an odd-front zone and one if it’s an even front,” Albright said. “We’ve just really worked more on the principles of how to get somebody open and how to read the holes, and I think they’ve really responded to the simplicity of it.”
But the way the Badgers were shooting before last weekend’s Arizona Classic tournament, it’s no wonder that most opponents shifted into zones to try and decelerate UW’s high-powered offense.
At times this season Wisconsin’s outside shooters have struggled to drain open shots. As Albright pointed out last week, the players get plenty of open looks each game. It’s just that in games against Texas, Florida and Cleveland State, the Badgers’ shooters appeared to leave their outside strokes in the locker room.
Look at the shooting percentages. Going into Arizona, the Badgers had connected on only 32 percent of their three point shots. That includes a five-for-14 performance against Texas, a six-for-18 dud against Florida and a five-for-18 stinker against Cleveland State. And with power forward Jessie Stomski — who scores virtually all her points inside the paint — on pace to break the school record for career double-doubles, it’s no wonder that most of Wisconsin’s opponents have experimented with zone defenses.
After nailing 18 of 39 three-pointers in Arizona, however, Wisconsin seems ready to permanently deconstruct their opponents’ zones.
“When you have a team shooting like that, it means one person gives up a good shot to give another kid a great shot,” Albright said. “We really passed the ball well and got some easy baskets from our defense.”
Indeed, Wisconsin passed unselfishly in both games. The Badgers tallied assists on 43 of their 65 field goals against Pitt and Holy Cross. Give credit to Moore, who played much of the tournament as a point guard and finished the weekend with 17 assists.
But senior shooting guard Kyle Black made the biggest difference for Wisconsin. Last weekend Black, who led the Big Ten in three-point shooting last season, shot an otherworldly 12 for 17 from behind the arc. She drained five of her six three-point attempts Friday against Pittsburgh, and Sunday she set the UW record for threes in a game by hitting seven of 11 attempts. In two games she raised her three-point shooting percentage for the season from 26 percent to 45 percent.
“I thought that Kyle really took advantage of a zone defense that was really trying to pack it in on Jessie and guard Tamara very tightly,” Albright said. “I thought our team did a good job of getting her open looks.”
On the rebound: In addition to improving their outside shooting, the Badgers have also picked up their rebounding at both ends of the floor. After being dominated under the basket by Texas two days after Thanksgiving (the Longhorns out-rebounded the Badgers by 12), UW responded by grabbing 36 more rebounds than its next three opponents.
“Rebounding is something we’re trying to turn from a weakness into a strength and really have emphasized that in every practice,” Albright said.
That leaves the Badgers’ tendency to commit turnovers as the only other weakness they haven’t been able to correct. Currently UW averages more than 20 giveaways per game. However, by forcing their opponents into more than 23 turnovers per game, the Badgers have minimized the damage.
As the season progresses and Wisconsin becomes more comfortable in its offensive and defensive schemes, the already favorable turnover margin should creep even more in UW’s favor.
