The Badgers’ energy, enthusiasm and youth propelled the team on a 15-2 run late in the second half to tie the game at 70-70. Their inexperience, however, is what eventually resulted in an 82-81 loss.
“I knew Wisconsin was going to come to play today. They really needed this win especially at home, and I thought they were really going to come out and play well and I thought they did,” Ball State head coach Tracy Roller said. “It was one of those games were you hate to have somebody lose, and we’re privileged to walk out of here with the win.”
Starting in her first game at home, Badger point guard Ashley Josephson led the team with 17 points and at times took control of the game when no one else would. From the tip-off, Josephson was actively calling for the ball and leading the Badgers’ offense.
As Ball State began to press, Josephson remained calm and handled the press with the ease of a veteran. Her shooting performance included making 6-10 field goals, 3-4 free throws and 2-2 three-point attempts. Both three-pointers were key for the Badgers — the first one started the team’s 15-2 run, which eventually tied the game at 70, and the other answered a three-pointer by Ball State to tie the game at 73.
With 10.3 seconds left in the game, head coach Jane Albright once again put the ball in Josephson’s hands, but this time Josephson failed to convert on a well-defended jump shot as time expired.
“I know Ashley is feeling like [the loss] was her fault, and it certainly wasn’t. She did a great job of hitting a lot of shots to get us in that ‘come back and a tweak here and there and that shot’s in’ (situation),” head coach Jane Albright said. “I was really proud of her; she certainly played like a very veteran point guard tonight.”
As Josephson came into the press room with her head down, she reiterated the disappointment of having picked up her dribble with 5 seconds left and not being able to get off a quality shot.
“I’d say for your fifth game of your college career, if that’s the worst thing you do all day, you’re OK — and another half of a second on the clock and Ebba’s got that tip in,” Albright said. “It’s a real hard thing to swallow, and we don’t really have an option except to stay positive and keep focused.”
The Badgers were also aided by a pair of other underclassman who saw their numbers increase with the level of their play. Freshman Jordan Wilson brought her energy and hustle onto the court, scoring four points, grabbing five rebounds and converting two assists in 19 minutes. Sophomore Shawna Nicols contributed a career-high five points and transitioned into the point guard position for Josephson, committing just a single turnover.
“I don’t think anyone ever hit a three over Jordan, she really was very aggressive going out to their folks that can hit some threes,” Albright said. “She’s just really active around the basket and I think she doesn’t fade away from physical contact, she keeps getting better too.”
Four Badgers reached the double-digit scoring plateau — Ebba Gebisa and Kristi Seeger each scored 11 points, and Josephson’s 17 points were matched by Emily Ashbaugh. For Josephson and Ashbaugh, the totals represented career highs, and both players were instrumental in the team’s second-half comeback effort.
“We’ve had our jitters, we’ve had our moments, we’ve all been unsure and [now] we’re going to play together and we’re going to play hard and we’re going to attack whoever we’re going after regardless of who they are,” Ashbaugh said. “I think that I was a lot more comfortable knowing that everybody else was OK with what we were doing.”
The Badgers have only managed one exhibition win this season in four home games and have failed to get on track during their 1-5 start. The one-point loss to Ball State follows their 25-point home opener blowout at the hands of UW-Green Bay.
“I think we improved tremendously since the Green Bay game,” Albright said. “We did a lot of really great things. We weren’t really in search of a moral victory; we needed a W tonight.”
