The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team moves on to the next round of the Big Ten Tournament after defeating Rutgers 61-55 Wednesday.
UW took advantage of a sluggish first half from the Scarlet Knights in which they only mustered 13 points. Rutgers was 3-28 in the first half from the field and as a result, the Badgers took a 27-13 lead into the locker room at halftime.
UW almost squandered the first half advantage however, as they were outscored 23-21 in the third quarter and 19-13 in the fourth. Rutgers got within six with 35 seconds remaining but they would get no closer as UW did enough to hold off the second half comeback.
Avyanna Young had another excellent game for the Badgers as she had 21 points on 5-7 shooting from the field. Marsha Howard was the only other Badger who scored in double digits as she pitched in 12 points of her own.
The Badgers once again struggled in the turnover department but the offense did just enough to push them into the next round.
Rutgers was led by Shrita Parker who has been the Scarlet Knights’ main offensive threat the whole season. Parker had 22 points on 7-19 shooting with three 3-pointers.
Two other Scarlet Knights scored in double figures, Khadaizha Sanders had 11 and Victoria Harris had 10. Another three players in double figures were offset by the fact that the four bench players who entered the game did not score.
UW was able to significantly impact the fluidity of the Rutgers’ offense as they contained Parker and forced the rest of the team to beat them. Overall, Rutgers finished 18-67 from the field with 15 of those buckets coming in the second half.
The Badgers shot 50 percent from the field and while they took far less shots than Rutgers, they were able to cash in on a lot more of their opportunities and hold on for their ninth win of the season.
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Another interesting stat was the turnover line. Rutgers (11) had half the amount of the Badgers (22). The cold shooting from the Scarlet Knights bailed the Badgers out and prevented another loss caused by excessive turnovers and sloppy plays.
The 14-seeded Badgers will move onto the next round of the tournament and will take on the 6-seeded Michigan State Spartans. The game will be on BTN 25 minutes after the conclusion of 7-seeded Penn State and 10-seeded Minnesota Thursday.
