[media-credit name=’AJ Maclean’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]While many believe that exhibition games are largely meaningless, the Badgers’ game against the Wisconsin AAU team was far from meaningless for freshman guard Jolene Anderson. The state of Wisconsin’s all-time leading prep scorer Anderson got the chance to take on the player whose record she broke, current WNBA star and member of the Wisconsin AAU team Anna DeForge.

“Obviously it was special,” Anderson said. “I learned a lot of things by just watching her today.”

For much of the first half, it appeared to be the crowd who was receiving a lesson as Anderson and DeForge put on a veritable shooting clinic. Entering the second half of play, the top two scorers in Wisconsin prep history led their respective teams in scoring. DeForge, with 15 points, and Anderson, with 14 points, were both shooting at a 50 percent clip in the first half, with Anderson hitting 3-5 from behind the arc.

“It was fun to look up at the score board and see 14 and 15 points for them,” Wisconsin AAU assistant coach Keith Noll said. “I just said it’s the oldster meeting the youngster.”

But as the game progressed it became clear that the elder would get the last laugh in this battle. DeForge, who led the WNBA in three-pointers and averaged 14.4 points per game with the Phoenix Mercury, went on a tear early in the second half.

In a 3:30 stretch starting at the 18:26 mark, DeForge put up eight points, grabbed three rebounds and dished out a pair of assists. DeForge’s stats over this stretch were better than the full game totals of four of her teammates and six Badger players.

DeForge ended the game leading all scorers with 23 points, while chipping in 12 rebounds, five assists and no turnovers. Anderson did not fair quite as well, but still put up impressive numbers, pitching in 18 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists.

“At the end of the game they didn’t really have that one player who could go ahead and take over the game when they needed a basket,” DeForge said of the Badgers. “I told Jolene (Anderson) after the game that, look you’re a scorer you have to go ahead. I know you’re young, but go ahead and take that initiative.”

However, in a losing effort, Anderson showed in her first game in the Wisconsin starting lineup that she can be another reliable scorer in the Badgers’ attack. With six freshmen currently on the team, the Badgers will need a significant contribution from the freshman class.

“I think that Jolene (Anderson) silenced all the doubt people had about if she could play,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “She proved she can play; she can flat out play. And I know our other guards are happy she is out there.”

While this was the first face-to-face meeting between Anderson and DeForge, it was not the first correspondence between the two. Prior to Anderson’s record-breaking performance, DeForge sent her an autographed picture and a note congratulating her on her accomplishments.

“I got her address from somebody back here in Wisconsin and just said congratulations, because I know how hard it is; that is a huge feat,” DeForge said. “I held that record for 10 years; that was a long time, and she’ll probably hold it forever.”