[media-credit name=’AJ MACLEAN/Herald photo’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]The Wisconsin women’s basketball team (7-8, 1-5 Big Ten) closed out the non-conference portion of its schedule with an 87-71 victory over visiting Cleveland State (2-15). Viking coach Kate Peterson and player Kyle Black Rechlicz — both former Badgers — returned to the Kohl Center in a hard-fought game that saw 50 fouls called between the two teams and a combined 36 turnovers.

After six consecutive Big Ten contests, the Badgers broke from their Big Ten schedule to host the visiting Vikings in a non-conference matchup.

“That break (from Big Ten action) was needed, but it’s great to be on the court against a feisty team,” UW head coach Lisa Stone said.

The Badgers built up a 20-point halftime lead and were able to withstand a Viking rally midway through the second half to pick up their seventh victory of the season and snap a four-game losing streak. Early on, Wisconsin looked like it was still feeling the effects of their most recent loss to Illinois, as they opened the game 0-for-7 from the field.

Trailing 4-1 just one minute into the game, Wisconsin guard Jolene Anderson finally connected on a 3-pointer to even the score. From then on, Wisconsin seemed to find its rhythm offensively, as the Badgers mounted a 25-8 run that was capped off by point guard Stephanie Rich finding junior Ashley Josephson on a backdoor cut that led to an old-fashioned 3-point play. Just seconds later, Josephson connected from beyond the arc to push the lead to 32-13 with 9:24 remaining in the half.

The Badgers built their biggest lead at 43-21 after freshman Shari’ Welton scored and was fouled on a give-and-go play with 4:14 remaining. Wisconsin maintained a 48-28 advantage at the half, thanks in large part to its 11-12 performance at the charity stripe, and by burying 7-of-11 attempts from beyond the arc — with three from Rich and a pair from Josephson.

The Badgers seemed to be well on their way to a blowout win against the overmatched Vikings. However, after freshman guard Janese Banks added two shots from the charity stripe, and forward Jordan Wilson scored inside to give Wisconsin its biggest lead at 57-32 with 17:02 left in the game, the Badger offense stalled. The Vikings took advantage with a 21-4 run over the next seven minutes to get within eight points of the home team at 61-53. Cleveland State senior Mandy Sichting scored four points during the run, while fellow senior Erin Martin broke down the Badger defense by pouring in nine points, most coming at the free throw line.

“I think our defense got a little lax, but I’m not taking anything from them,” Stone said. “Anybody can beat anybody, so if you want to play here, you have to play well in the second half.”

Wisconsin, though, would prove too tough down the stretch, finally putting the clamps on the Vikings’ comeback hopes as Anderson scored 10 of her 13 points in the second half to return the margin to double digits. The freshman scored only three points in the first half after picking up her second foul fewer than four minutes into the game. Although Anderson played only 21 minutes against the Vikings, Wisconsin would get contributions from every other player on the floor. Every Wisconsin player who saw action in the game scored points, with five Badgers reaching double figures for just the second time this season. Wisconsin got 37 points from its bench, nine more than the opposition.

Rich and Banks led the Badgers in scoring with 14 points apiece. Josephson added 11 points, and senior forward Ebba Gebisa also pitched in with a season-high 11 points in just 12 minutes of playing time. Sichting, who shot 5-for-6 from the field and 7-for-8 from the free throw line, led the Vikings with 17 points. Sichting only played 22 minutes while getting into foul trouble.

Erin Martin, Cleveland State’s leading scorer on the season, finished with 16 points, including a 10-for-11 performance from the charity stripe, while guard Betsy Bower added ten points. While each team got to the free throw line often, the Badgers made six more free throws on six more attempts in setting a season high for free throws made and attempted, going 30-for-40. Wisconsin also used a 48-34 advantage on the glass to overcome some early shooting woes. The Badgers now have a week off to prepare for the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes, who will visit the Kohl Center next Thursday.

“There are some really good things to take away, and we can’t look at the score. We have to look at what we have to do now,” Stone said.