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The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

Independent Student Newspaper Since 1969

The Badger Herald

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OSU offers UW shot at revenge

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

With three wins in its last four games, the UW women?s basketball team will look to keep the winning going at home this Sunday against Ohio State.

The Buckeyes (8-3, 17-5) are in a three-way tie for first in the Big Ten and currently ranked No. 19 in the nation. The first meeting between the teams resulted in a 79-74 loss for the Badgers (4-7, 13-10).

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Since the Badgers? loss to the Buckeyes Jan. 20, they have gone 3-1, beating Penn State twice, most recently in Happy Valley. Despite a blowout loss to Indiana, Wisconsin has dominated in its wins with over a 17-point average margin of victory.

?I think that the way we played Ohio State [the first time] was in a lot of ways a momentum builder for us coming to play Penn State and Northwestern at home,? head coach Lisa Stone said. ?Although we didn?t win, we played very, very well [in Columbus] and found a bit of resolve.?

Falling short in the last few minutes the first time around, UW will look to the crowd for an added push to get that much needed victory.

?[Winning] could be huge, especially since we had such a rough start to the conference season,? freshman guard Alyssa Karel said. ?It would be a big victory if we could knock those guys off since we only lost by five at their place. Maybe here we will have a little more momentum that will keep us going in the right direction.?

The usual crowd of just over 5,000 may be greatly surpassed this Sunday, as the team sponsors the ?Think Pink? mentality, contributing portions of the profits to breast cancer research. Last year, the event brought in more than 15,000 fans, nearly filling the Kohl Center to capacity. Additional hype surrounds the game, as ESPN2 will be broadcasting the event, the only nationally televised appearance scheduled this year for Wisconsin.

?It?s very exciting; I think we?re all pretty pumped about it, and there is supposed to be a lot of people there,? Karel said. ?It?s a big game for us, and we are really trying to prepare in this bye week to give our best show.?

The game will still be played by the 10 on the court, however, and Stone expects her team to perform even better than a few weeks ago ? specifically freshman forward Lin Zastrow, who has emerged from the bench and put in respectable performances in the past few games, repeatedly setting career highs in scoring.

?[For] Lin Zastrow, [Penn State] was her breakout game,? Stone said. ?The toughness stepped up, and I think she knew that coming in.?

Along with points in the paint, Zastrow has proved valuable minutes while starting senior Danielle Ward has been in foul trouble. The young star believes the key to pulling off the upset on Sunday will come from strong play on one end of the court.

?Our main emphasis is defense, definitely defense,? Zastrow said. ?It?s been our motto almost all season.?

Perimeter defense gave UW the most trouble in the first matchup, but overall the team allows an average 34 percent from beyond the arc on the season.

?We?ll do a better job on Marscilla Packer, my hope is this time. I mean, she got loose for seven three?s, and that can?t happen,? Stone said. ?We?re playing a quality team, a quality opponent, but we have some confidence right now.?

Inconsistency has been a problem throughout the season in all aspects of the game. Against Penn State at home, Wisconsin posted five turnovers, yet two games later they turned the ball over 23 times. After a bye, the team knows this is the game to put everything together.

?We need to be ready to play; we can?t just show up to games and expect to win. We have a game plan, and we expect to come with a lot of energy,? Karel said.

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