>Facing its third consecutive nationally ranked team, the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team came up short 72-47 at Michigan State Thursday.
The 25-point defeat was the Badgers’ largest loss of the year as their record falls to 8-12 and 2-8 in conference play. The Spartans are now 17-14 with a 7-3 Big Ten record.
Wisconsin never found its shooting touch in the Breslin Center, making only 33 percent of its shots from the floor and a mere 4 of 23 from beyond the 3-point arc.
The Spartans used their height advantage to give the Badger offense trouble, controlling the paint and out-rebounding UW 42-32. Michigan scored more than twice as many points in the paint (36-16) as the Badgers.
“We didn’t compete like I thought we would tonight,” said Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone. “We have to be able to control the things we can control, and we can control intensity and effort and our focus. We just didn’t play together; we didn’t play in sync.”
Things started slowly for the Badgers as Michigan State jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. Wisconsin fought back with nine straight points to tie the score at 11-11 with 12 minutes left in the half, but UW could not keep up with the MSU offense.
The Spartans found their long-range shooting touch and made 5-of-6 3-point baskets the rest of the way to keep the Badgers on their heels.
Another 11-2 run stretched the MSU lead to 22-13 at the 8:17 mark. An Ashley Josephson 3-pointer cut the Spartan lead to six points, but MSU’s Victoria Lucas-Perry made back-to-back 3-point baskets late in the half to give the home team momentum and a 33-20 halftime lead.
The speedy Spartans kept on running in the second half. UW could muster only two field goals and two free throws over the first eight minutes of the final frame, as Michigan State put the game away. The Spartans scored in spurts, taking advantage of frequent Badger scoring lulls, and UW never threatened the rest of the way.
Josephson led the Badgers with 17 points, and Emily Ashbaugh came off of the bench to add 10 points.
Kelli Roehrig scored a career-high 19 points to pace four Spartans in double figures. Lucas-Perry finished with 11 points, and Lindsay Bowen and Patrice McKinney each contributed 10 points.
— compiled from staff reports