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[/media-credit]Wisconsin opened the season with two victories over the weekend, defeating Houston 77-54 on Friday and Cleveland State 84-59 on Sunday. Sunday's matchup marked a homecoming for Cleveland State coach Kate Peterson, who was the recruiting coordinator for Wisconsin from 1998-2003. The return turned out to be a sour one for Peterson, who saw her team fall behind early 16-4 and fail to recover.
"We did want to start a little bit better. They were very focused and they found the open looks and they knocked them down, starting with Jolene Anderson," said Peterson.
Anderson accounted for the first seven Badger points and ended the game with 13 points and five rebounds, but was limited to just 10 minutes in the second half after sustaining a cut on her lip. The Vikings were paced by freshman Dominique Butler with 14 points, who saw 30 minutes of action off the bench.
"[Butler] probably is one of the players on our team — probably the only player on our team — who is as athletically talented as some of the Wisconsin players," Peterson said.
The Badgers shot nearly 48 percent from the field during the game and were able to hold the Vikings to just 37 percent. Cleveland State's zone defense presented problems for the Badgers throughout the game as they struggled to convert from behind the 3-point arc, connecting on just 6 of 19 attempts.
"Their zone slowed us down quite a bit, and we didn't attack as much as we probably should have. We also avoided the post players inside, but once we got it inside, Danielle (Ward) got to the free-throw line," head coach Lisa Stone said.
The Badgers were able to get to the line 28 times in the second half after going just 3-for-4 in the first. Ward led the team with 13 trips to the line and posted her first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds after finishing one rebound short of a double-double on Friday. Sunday also saw career highs for a number of UW players, including guards Akiya Alexander and Shari' Welton. Alexander and Welton posted career numbers in points with nine and six, respectively.
"I thought they played great. They did what they were supposed to do. They both rebounded, they played defense, and that's what we expect from them," fellow sophomore guard Janese Banks said.
In Friday's contest, Wisconsin also used a hot start to lead them to victory as they jumped on the Lady Cougars 29-11 midway through the first half and never looked back.
"Wisconsin just really beat us in every phase of the game. I thought they just got on a roll and just picked us apart," Houston head coach Joe Curl said.
The Badgers' ability to find the open player was evident in their 14 assists to just one turnover in the first half. Houston came out in the second half and stifled the Badger offense that shot 48 percent from the field for a 24-point lead at the break.
Freshman Sha'Ratta Hawkins led the way for Houston, providing the Cougars with 28 points off the bench, including five buckets from behind the arc.
"Hawkins went on a scoring spree, obviously, in the second half, but outside of that I think we did a decent job on her," Stone said.
The Badgers held the Cougars' leading scorer, Ryan Meyers, in check in the first half, restraining her to just four points. Houston had a two-woman show, with Meyers and Hawkins the only players posting double-figure scoring totals on a team which saw no other player score more than four points.
Jolene Anderson led the Badgers in scoring with 20 points and five rebounds. Anderson's backcourt mate, Banks, finished right behind her with 19 points, six boards and four assists. "[Anderson and Banks] have a swagger, a confidence about them and a year of seasoning," Curl said.
The Badgers' fast start marks the second-straight year Wisconsin has opened the season 2-0. Next up for the Badgers is the Rainbow Wahini Classic in Hawaii, where the team will meet Idaho State Friday in the first round of the tournament.
