Purdue boils UW women’s basketball
The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (8-10, 2-6) gave No. 6 Purdue (17-2, 7-1) a go of it but fell short in the second half, losing 58-42 Thursday in West Lafayette, Ind.
The Boilermakers remain in second place in the Big Ten.
Early in the first half Purdue looked unbeatable. The team began with an 8-0 run and widened its lead to 21-8 at the 7:58 mark. The Badgers fought back from the 13-point hole.
Sophomore Kjersten Bakke, who ripped down a career-high eight rebounds, scored back-to-back baskets to jumpstart a 13-4 run that pulled UW within two points with one minute remaining in the first half. Steph Rich sank a pair of 3-pointers to aid the Badger charge.
Purdue’s Erika Valek answered, burying a 3-ball to stretch the Boilermaker advantage to 28-23 entering the locker room.
Purdue emerged on fire in the second half, scoring seven consecutive points and increasing its lead to 13. Wisconsin again whittled away at Purdue’s lead.
UW pulled within seven after four minutes of action following a layup from Lello Gebisa. Lello and her sister Ebba made their homecomings in the game, with Ebba being held scoreless and Lello recording her fourth double-double of the season. Lello scored 17 points and had 10 rebounds to lead Wisconsin in her first and only collegiate game at Mackey Arena.
Gebisa’s efforts were not enough for the Badgers, as All-American Boilermaker Sherika Wright came up with a big basket to snuff out each Wisconsin rally.
Wright scored one timely bucket after another on her way to a game-high 19 points. She also tallied six rebounds.
The Boilermakers proceeded gradually to distance themselves from the visitors during the game’s final minutes and captured the victory. Purdue took advantage of 20 UW turnovers and converted them into 23 points.
“I am very, very proud of my basketball team,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “We put ourselves in a position to compete with one of the top teams in the country at their place. We weren’t afraid; there was not a deer-in-the-headlights look.”
“I’m finding some competitors, and that is a good thing to find as we go into February. The improvements we are making are amazing. The effort that this team is giving me is outstanding. I really believe we’re getting everything we can out of this team, and hopefully the W’s will come soon.”
Wisconsin returns home Sunday to face 13th-ranked University of Minnesota at 3:30 p.m. at the Kohl Center.
— compiled from staff reports
