[media-credit name=’GREGORY DIXON/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]

The Wisconsin women?s basketball team will look to snap a
four-game losing streak when they return home to the Kohl Center to face Penn
State Thursday night.

After suffering two losses in overtime during that stretch ?
most recently to the conference leader Ohio State ? the Badgers (8-9, 1-6) will
have another opportunity for their second conference win against the Lady Lions
(13-6, 4-3).

Following a difficult blow against the conference-leading
Buckeyes, falling 79-74 in overtime, Badgers head coach Lisa Stone mentioned
that her team played well despite the loss.

?[The improvement] was certainly nice to see, especially
with Lin Zastrow ? who, you know, we?ve been waiting all year for that,? Stone
said. ?Tara Steinbauer also gave us great energy, got eight boards for us and
played very physical in an environment that?s not easy.?

Senior Jolene Anderson hopes to use the overtime loss as a
building block for the team’s future games, including Thursday?s matchup
against Penn State.

?We really just needed to pay attention to details and as a
senior captain, I take responsibility for what happened [in the loss],?
Anderson said. ?I?ll learn from it, as well as my team, and we?ll just move
on.?

Before setting the career scoring mark for a UW women?s
basketball player, Anderson posted several nights in which she scored far below
her average of nearly 20 points per game, even failing to break double digits
late into the nonconference season. In Big Ten play, however, Anderson has been
able to score more than 30 points on multiple occasions, including Michigan and
Iowa.

Penn State visits the Kohl Center coming off a win over
Michigan that snapped a two-game losing streak, led by a 14-point,
eight-assist, four-rebound performance by junior Brianne O?Rourke. Not
including O?Rourke, the Lady Lions have three more players averaging more than
10 points a game.

With the Badgers sitting last in Big Ten scoring defense and
the Lady Lions just above in 10th place in scoring offense, Thursday?s contest
could prove to be a shootout.

Under a new coaching regime, Penn State is now led by
Coquese Washington, whom Stone holds in high regard.

?She?s brilliant. She?s been under a great coach in Muffet
McGraw at Notre Dame, eventually taking over for [McGraw] when she became ill,?
Stone said. ?She?s got great patience. She?s certainly no-nonsense and a very
good disciplinarian.?

Senior Janese Banks remains confident on the outlook for the
remainder of the season, admitting that her team needs just an added bit of
effort to pull off wins in the close games.

?I think we?re heading towards [team identity] and I think
we?re heading towards the toughness, but I think we just gotta get to that
point where we get stuff done,? Banks said. ?I think those past few games we?ve
played harder and fought harder and showed some signs of toughness, but still,
it?s a loss. We don?t want any sympathy wins or anything like that, but I think
that we?re working harder and everyone on the team is trying.?

The last meeting between these teams was the only time the
two met last season, with Penn State pulling off a 70-61 victory at the Bryce
Jordan Center in Happy Valley. As close games have been the trend this season
for the Badgers, Stone hopes her team can handle the little things at home to
pull off a much-needed victory.??We?re watching a lot more film right now,
doing a lot of teaching through the details in terms of offense and defense. We
had more defensive breakdowns than offensive breakdowns,? Stone said. ?Our team
is getting stronger through adversity, and I know that sounds funny, but our
team is getting stronger.??