Over the past five games, UW women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone has shuffled her starting lineup, searching for a spark to ignite the struggling Badgers (8-9, 2-5). In her search for the right combination, Stone has sent both senior captains to the bench and introduced two reserves to the starting lineup.
In yesterday’s 69-53 win over Northwestern, Stone found the spark and the combination she had been searching for. Against a small Northwestern squad that does not have a player listed over 6-foot-4 on its roster, Stone took 6-foot-7 center Lello Gebisa out of the starting lineup for the second time this season, opting for 6-foot-1 forward Jordan Wilson.
Making her fourth start of the year, Wilson contributed immediately. The talented sophomore scored six of the Badgers’ first 11 points, leading an 11-0 run that put Wisconsin ahead by six points. After Wilson provided an early spark, the Badgers closed out the first half on a 23-10 run to take a commanding 34-15 halftime lead.
In her most impressive performance this season, Wilson scored a career-high 15 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to record the second double-double of her career. She also posted a career-high five assists and pulled down six offensive rebounds.
Stone’s post combination of Wilson and senior captain Emily Ashbaugh, Wisconsin’s fourth different combination in as many games, dominated inside to give the Badgers a 20-4 edge in points in the paint in the half. Ashbaugh and Wilson owned the glass, as the Badgers out-rebounded the Wildcats 43-21, limiting Northwestern to fewer rebounds than any opponent this season.
“Wilson and Ashbaugh did us in, in the first half,” Northwestern head coach June Olkowski said. “They did a nice job of pounding the ball inside.”
Ashbaugh and Wilson were on the same page all game. When Ashbaugh had a strong inside position, Wilson found her with a pass. When Wilson’s hook shot rattled out, Ashbaugh was there to collect the rebound.
“Jordan and I were really feeling each other,” Ashbaugh said. “There was great communication on the court. It might not have been verbal, but we knew where each other was going to be.”
At one point, the duo connected for three consecutive baskets during a 10-3 Wisconsin run.
“That was an awesome feeling to connect in that way, see the open pass to each other,” Wilson said. “It was just so much fun to have the passes there and to be finishing our lay-ups and everything clicking. It was so much fun to play with her.”
The rest of Stone’s lineup was equally in sync. Led by guard Ashley Josephson, who scored a game-high 16 points, pulled down a career-high eight rebounds, and knocked down a career-high four three-point shots, the Badgers did not play like a team that had previously won just one conference game all year.
“We’re just able to find the open player,” Josephson said. “Steph [Rich] is really looking to penetrate and kick it out to me and it’s working, so we’ll keep doing it.”
The Badgers ran their offense effectively, committing the second fewest turnovers in school history (nine).
“Nine turnovers is pretty noteworthy,” Stone said. “At halftime, we only had three and I didn’t tell the team that. I told them we had an opportunity to break a school record for turnovers.”
Stone has made numerous coaching moves this season, cycling players in and out of the starting lineup and shifting the offensive focus from the post to the perimeter to counter the opponent’s defensive tendencies. Whether they were personnel decisions, like the move that put Wilson in the starting lineup, or strategic choices, like the decision to pound the ball inside early to open up the perimeter for Josephson, Stone made all the right moves yesterday and earned a decisive victory.
