It can be quite a lot of pressure to put the team on your back game in and game out, but for Wisconsin junior Stephanie Rich, that’s what being a point guard is all about. A point guard is expected to not only push the ball up the floor but also to control the offense. In one of the most competitive conferences in the country, the Big Ten, Rich has shown she is capable of that and much more.

Initially regarded as a shooting guard in her first collegiate season, the Crawfordsville, Iowa, native was forced to reexamine her role last season due to the Badgers’ lack of depth at the point-guard position.

“I wasn’t coming to Wisconsin to be a point guard, but you just have to roll with the punches and this is what I have to do for this team,” Rich said. “Whether it’s in my best interest is not my concern.”

With teammate Ashley Josephson assuming the shooting-guard duties this season and backup point guard Shawna Nichols out for the season as a result of multiple head injuries, Rich is the team’s primary option at point and has developed into one of the conference’s premier point guards.

“She’s taken on the role of point guard due to needs and has taken on that role in great fashion,” UW head coach Lisa Stone said. “She will do whatever I ask her to do.”

Rich’s accomplishments have gone far beyond filling the Badgers’ vacancy at point guard. Rich has proven herself as one of the team’s most versatile players with her ability to play three different positions when called upon by the coaching staff. Rich admits that jumping from position to position can be difficult at times, but the junior standout is always up for the challenge.

“It’s hard once you get flowing in the game,” Rich said. “We have so many plays, and it’s hard to remember every position on the floor. You just have to be in complete focus on the task at hand, whether that’s playing the one, the two or the three.”

While directing the Badger attack, Rich leads the Big Ten with 6.2 assists per game and is the Badgers’ second-leading scorer with an average of 10.5 points per contest. The talented junior also ranks third in the Big Ten in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.75).

In addition to her passing abilities, Rich provides one of Wisconsin’s main threats from the perimeter. Rich is a streaky shooter, capable of lighting it up from beyond the arc and struggling through shooting droughts. In Sunday’s loss to Minnesota, Rich went 1-11 from the floor and shot 0-7 from the 3-point range. In the Badgers’ win against UW-Green Bay earlier this season, Rich knocked down 4-6 treys en route to a season-high 19 points.

“The shooting hasn’t gone as well as I thought it would,” Rich said. “It’s just a matter of time before hopefully the ball will go in the hoop.”

Still, Rich is more than capable of turning around her shootings woes and finding her rhythm. Even when Rich is not scoring, she has carried her team in other ways. Twice this season, she has matched her career high of 12 assists, and on the defensive end she has matched her career high with five steals earlier this season.

“It’s nice that I can get my teammates the ball in a position to score and they knock down the shot,” Rich said.

As a junior, Rich is one of the Badgers’ most experienced players. Over the season, she has set an example for the younger players with her tireless work ethic.

“She works very hard in practice and gives it her all,” Stone said. “That’s something that’s very valuable to our team.”

Rich is the only player on the team to start every game over the last two seasons. She leads the team in minutes played with nearly 38 per game and has been known to play the entire 40 minutes in key games.

“Playing 40 minutes a game is hard on the bones,” Rich said. “It’s getting hard to wake up in the morning sometimes and walk to class. You just have to be in great shape and when it comes down to the end of the game, you just have to suck it up.”

From a 16-1 start in her freshman season to a 7-21 finish last year, it is safe to say that Rich has experienced the high and lows of Wisconsin basketball. Through it all, Rich has no regrets about her decision to play for Wisconsin.

“Coming here was the best decision for me,” Rich said. “Nothing can replace the fun I’ve had here.”

Despite the team’s struggles this season, Rich remains confident that the Badgers will finish the year on a high note.

“We can’t have any more excuses, Rich said. “We need to start executing what we have learned these last couple months.”