Looking to earn their first conference road victory, the UW women’s basketball team (8-11, 2-7) will travel to East Lansing to take on No. 20 Michigan State (16-4, 6-3) tomorrow night.
The Badgers, who have not won on the road since Dec. 13 against UW-Green Bay, hope to end a two-game losing streak and improve on their ninth position in the Big Ten standings.
Wisconsin will also look to snap a two-game losing streak against Michigan State, who leads the all-time series against Wisconsin 27-20. However, the Badgers won the last meeting between the two teams in East Lansing with an 86-78 double overtime win in 2002.
Michigan State, who currently stands sixth in the conference, enters the contest following a 78-67 loss to Iowa that snapped the Spartans’ five-game winning streak.
Prior to the Iowa game, the Spartans had gone almost a full month without a home loss. Holding an impressive 8-2 mark at the Breslin Center, Michigan State’s last home defeat before falling to Iowa came Jan. 8 against Purdue.
Over the past two years, Michigan State holds a 10-4 record in games following a loss. After the Purdue loss, the Spartans bounced back with a 64-41 trouncing of Detroit.
The Michigan State game will close out Wisconsin’s stretch of three consecutive games against ranked opponents. Though the Badgers have not earned a win over the stretch, head coach Lisa Stone remains confident that her team can compete with the Big Ten’s elite programs.
“Teams know that Wisconsin’s going to come and we’re going to battle for 40 minutes, and I’m convinced that coaches will prepare for us because they know we’re going to fight,” Stone said.
In an attempt to improve the Badgers’ offense, which currently ranks 10th in the Big Ten with an average of 57.5 points per game, Stone has changed her starting lineup often this season. Over the past six games, Stone has used six different starting units, most recently turning to forward Kjersten Bakke, forward Jordan Wilson, center Lello Gebisa, guard Ashley Josephson and guard Stephanie Rich in the loss to Minnesota.
“I’m a pretty big offensive person, and we’re trying to find the best offensive continuity and consistency we can,” Stone said. “If that’s juggling the lineup as much as we have to, then we certainly will.”
Michigan State’s defense, which ranks second in the conference with an average of just 54.8 points allowed, will test Wisconsin’s offensive improvement and allow Stone to measure the effects of her lineup shifts.
The Badgers will look to Josephson and Rich, the only Badgers to start every game this season, to overcome the Spartans’ stifling defense. Josephson, who leads Wisconsin with 11.9 points per game, is in the midst of a breakout season. As she has been all season, Josephson should serve as the preferred target for Big Ten assists leader Rich.
With 6-foot-4 center Kelli Roehrig in the starting lineup and 6-foot-3 forward Myisha Bannister coming off the bench, Michigan State matches up well with the Badgers, who feature 6-foot-7 center Lello Gebisa and 6-foot-5 center Emily Ashbaugh.
Led by forward Liz Shimek, who averages 8.5 rebounds per game, the Spartans may cause the Badgers problems on the boards. Michigan State ranks second in the conference in rebounding margin, out-rebounding opponents by 6.8 boards per game.
Though Wisconsin is overmatched on paper, Stone and the Badgers are not intimidated by the nationally ranked Spartans.
“We’re going to go after Michigan State and finish this season off on a high note,” Stone said. “We need momentum in this month going into the tournament and then into the future.”
