While many students on campus will be enjoying a little rest and relaxation over the winter break, the UW women’s basketball team will be hard at work trying to improve on its current 2-5 record. The Badgers will be preparing for their Dec. 14 game against the Drake Bulldogs in Iowa before opening a four-game homestand, which includes all-important Big Ten matchups with Penn State and Purdue.
The Badgers have made strides in a number of different areas since the season opener against Northern Illinois, but will need to continue improving if they hope to be successful once conference play begins.
Through its first seven games, UW’s frontcourt has proven its ability to dominate a game on both ends of the floor, as the Badgers have won the rebounding edge in all but two of their contests and are averaging nearly five blocks a game.
Individually, the Badgers have received strong interior play from junior center Emily Ashbaugh, who is averaging 10.7 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. She recorded career highs in each of UW’s last two contests, scoring 17 points against Ball State last week and pulling down 12 boards in Tuesday’s matchup with Eastern Illinois.
Ashbaugh and the other UW post players have been able to score at will and outmuscle opposing teams throughout their non-conference schedule. However, once UW’s Big Ten slate is in full swing, they will be facing larger, more physical opponents.
Consequently, Stephanie Rich, Ashley Josephson and the other UW backcourt players will need to start consistently knocking down shots to help share some of the scoring load and stretch opposing defenses.
Although Rich has gained acknowledgement from her teammates and coaches alike for her ability to hit the perimeter jumper, she has struggled, with the exception of the Washington game, to find her stroke this season.
And with senior guard Leah Hefte out of the lineup for at least another two weeks with a dislocated right shoulder, the team will be relying heavily on Rich’s scoring if it hopes to make a run in coming weeks.
Also playing more minutes because of the injury to Hefte is freshman phenomena Ashley Josephson. Josephson has been maturing into a more savvy floor leader with each game, solidifying her role as the team’s starting point guard.
After playing an all-around great game against a talented Ball State squad last week, in which she scored a team high 17 points on 6-10 shooting, she struggled to find her touch in Tuesday’s matchup, finishing the game with just nine points and going just 3-10 from the field.
Although she has played in just seven games as a Badger, Josephson is the team’s starting point guard and will be looked to as one of the team’s leaders throughout the season. Subsequently, if the team hopes to be successful this year, it will need Josephson to prove herself as a consistent scoring threat.
Rich and Josephson will not need to carry the entire scoring load in the backcourt, however. Sophomore reserve guard Shawna Nichols, who has been playing through chronic back pains throughout the season, has emerged as one of the Badgers’ premier bench players.
In just 14 minutes of playing time against Eastern Illinois, Nichols dished out a pair of assists, came up with three boards and forced the Panthers into a number of poor passes.
She also demonstrated her toughness late in the second half when she took a charge, bad back and all, to prevent a would be lay-up on an Eastern Illinois fast break.
As a result, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Badgers’ backcourt duties were performed by committee, with Nichols being part of a three-person rotation spearheaded by Rich and Josephson.
Regardless of who plays the bulk of the minutes down low or on the perimeter, the Badgers will ultimately need an overall team effort if they hope to improve on their 2-5 start to the season. And with a challenging Big Ten schedule on the horizon, UW will need to keep improving in every facet of the game if it hopes to be a contender in the conference this year.
