South Bend, Ind. — It was a tale of two halves tonight as the University of Wisconsin lost on the road to Notre Dame University 82-64. The Badgers stayed close over the first 20 minutes but could not keep pace with the Fighting Irish, who put the game away in the second half. UW drops to 2-3 on the season, while the Fighting Irish, who were ranked 17th last week, even out their record at 3-3.

The Badgers pounded the ball inside in the early going, and Emily Ashbaugh scored eight of UW’s first 11 points to give Wisconsin an 11-6 lead after five minutes of action. Notre Dame responded with a tight defense that forced five turnovers and held UW scoreless for four minutes.

Wisconsin tied the score twice more — the last time at 24-24 with just over four minutes to go. The Irish ended the half, though, with a 12-5 run to take control of the game and go into halftime with a 36-29 advantage. ND’s Duffy, who tallied 19 of her career-high 25 points in the opening frame, scored 10 points to fuel the Irish’s half-ending surge.

The Badgers closed the gap to 13 points late in the second half, but Notre Dame went 7-8 from the foul line down the stretch to preserve the victory.

“I really felt that our team was mentally and physically prepared for this game,” said Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone. “The longer we spend time together as a team, the more we understand our strengths and weaknesses. I think in this game we played against a program with a great tradition, great coaching, and great players, and our team didn’t fear our opponent. I thought that was demonstrated in the first half when we were battling.”

Ashbaugh led three Badgers in double figures, with 16 points to go along with eight rebounds. Ashley Josephson contributed 15 points, and Ebba Gebisa chipped in with 13. Guard Stephanie Rich dished out a career-high 12 assists in directing the Badger offense.