With the worst record in the Big Ten, the UW women’s basketball team is looking toward the second half of the season for consistency, respect and victories.
After 13 regular-season games, the team is 2-11 and 0-3 in Big Ten play. Its need for consistency is still remaining, and its continued philosophy of building after each loss has still not resulted in wins.
“We definitely have preparation for going forward; we look at film and then try and figure out what it is we need to be better at,” head coach Jane Albright said. “[The players] work really hard with the staff and are really improving drastically each time out, and I really respect and honor them for that.”
Statistically, the Badgers should be much better than their 2-11 record shows. They are first in the Big Ten in blocked shots at 4.85 per game and second in three-point shooting, and sophomore guard Stephanie Rich is a top-10 player in steals, with 2.23 steals per game.
After the loss to Illinois Jan. 12, the Badgers had lost their sixth-straight game, tying their longest losing streak of last season and placing them at the bottom of the Big Ten standings.
One of the biggest contributors to the losing streak has been the team’s 23 turnovers per game. Averaging nearly seven more turnovers than their opponents, the Badger starters are failing to take care of the basketball.
“We have moments of brilliance where we’ll have games where we can really take care of the ball, or we’ll have games where we can shoot the lights out, [or] we’ll have games where we dominate the boards,” junior captain Emily Ashbaugh said. “I think that we’ve had the strengths in every area at different times — we’ve just had a really hard time getting them all on the court on the same occasion.”
The Badgers are actually out-rebounding their opponents by five boards a game, grabbing a season-high 59 rebounds against Pepperdine. As a team, they are out-shooting their opponents 43 percent to 42 percent from the field and 39 percent to 35 percent from behind the arch. However, although the Badgers’ percentages beat their opponents’, Badger opponents have actually made 28 more field goals and 34 more three-pointers than the Badgers.
It is the team’s lack of control with the ball that is leading to an exorbitant number of turnovers and losses. With the defense playing as poorly as it is and the offense continuing to turn the ball over, it will be a struggle for the Badgers to turn this season around.
“We have big plans for the rest of the season,” Ashbaugh said. “A rocky start and then continuing rockiness are making it more difficult, but we still have the same goals as we had at the beginning of the season.”
Consistency will be the Badgers’ biggest requirement for success in the second half of this season. Behind a youthful backcourt consisting of a freshman and two sophomores, the Badgers are just waiting for everything to come together at once.
Leading the team in points with 10.3 per game and 2.9 assists per game, Rich has had problems this season making shots when it matters. She currently has the worst field-goal-shooting percentage on the team and yet still leads the team in field-goal attempts. Averaging 9.3 points per game and 2.54 turnovers a game, Josephson handles the ball the best out of the Badger starting five.
“I’ve tried to work on having a positive attitude even going into the worst situation,” Josephson said. “The point-guard position is what I like to be out there playing. I like to have the ball in my hands and to be able to set up the plays.”
The Badgers have received the biggest boost this season from forward transfer Lello Gebisa. Gebisa is second on the team in scoring with 9.7 points per game and is third in the conference in blocks, averaging 1.77 per game.
“She’s been really big in a lot of areas. I think she’s really just trying to be consistent every game,” Albright said. “She certainly has proven that she is a dominating presence in the lane.”
It seems that whenever the Badgers have to have a bucket, they go down low to Gebisa. With Ashbaugh at 6 feet 5 inches and Gebisa at 6 feet 7 inches, the duo make up the tallest center-forward duo in the Big Ten.
“It’s a confidence booster to know that if I’m high and she’s low, then I don’t need to be low,” Ashbaugh said. “It is easier to pass to Lello because I know where she wants the ball, and I know where I would want the ball if I was in her position.”
The Badgers still hope to manage a winning record from this season, but unless they come out as a completely different team in the second half, it will be an uphill struggle all the way.
