The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team fell to 5-4 on the season after a thorough 65–87 loss at the hands of the now 10-1, No. 4 ranked University of Iowa and their elite offense.
The sellout crowd was the women’s team’s second ever since 2002. Fans flocked to the Kohl Center hours before the game with hundreds outside the doors two-and-a-half hours before the game started. By the time the doors opened, the line to enter the heavily-anticipated matchup had stretched all the way down the Kohl Center front plaza and around the corner to the neighboring Nicholas Center — a distance that measured roughly 500 feet.
Many of those in attendance were supporters of UW’s opponent as a plethora of Hawkeyes fans filled the Badgers’ arena. The well-traveling fans rivaled the number of UW fans and let loose multiple “Let’s go Hawkeyes” chants throughout the course of the game.
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Despite the raucous environment, the heavy underdog Badgers brought a fierce mentality to the first quarter. UW jumped to a quick 11–5 lead and left the first quarter tied at 21. The Badgers’ forward Serah Williams had an especially strong first quarter — tallying six points and three boards while shooting a perfect 3-for-3 from the field.
A strong defensive presence saw UW hold Iowa to zero threes on five attempts.
“I think it was more just the complete team defense,” head coach Marisa Moseley said after the game. “I was really pleased with it and I think again, it just shows us what’s possible.”
Williams’ strong game was put into purgatory after the sophomore picked up her third foul with 7:36 remaining in the second quarter. Moseley subbed Williams out of the game with UW leading 26–23. Iowa promptly embarked on an extended 20–7 run to end the second quarter and entered the locker room with a 43–33 lead.
Williams finished the game with 15 efficient points during 17 minutes of game action. The foul trouble was largely due to Iowa’s Hannah Stuelke’s rim pressure. Stuelke played without a minutes limit for the first time since landing awkwardly during their November win over Purdue University Fort Wayne.
“I think drawing fouls is really important that got [Williams] out of the game for more minutes,” Stuelke said. “She’s an amazing player.”
Stuelke’s full return included 21 points on 8-of-16 shooting along with eight of her team’s 17 free throw attempts.
That halftime lead was also largely driven by Iowa’s Caitlin Clark — who entered the matchup averaging an incendiary 30 points, seven rebounds and eight assists. The standout senior did not disappoint the Iowa fans in attendance by scoring 15 points on 11 shots in the first half.
Despite missing multiple deep threes earlier in the quarter, Clark uncorked and buried a shot well behind the arc with 10 seconds remaining in the half which sent the many Iowa fans in attendance into a frenzy.
“Obviously, Serah Williams is a huge part of what we do and when she’s in foul trouble, it changes the complexity of our team,” Moseley said. “I think there was a little bit of a momentum swing with that three that Caitlin hit there at the end of the half.”
Iowa’s already white-hot offense kept their momentum going entering the second half and ultimately tallied 27 points in a third-quarter that saw them shoot 4-5 from deep. By the time the buzzer signaled the end of the quarter, the Hawkeyes led 70–51 over the Badgers.
The fourth quarter saw an electric Kohl Center briefly become dead silent with 74 seconds left in the game when Clark, who was playing despite her team leading by 24, took an awkward fall and spent extended time on the ground. Clark pounded her fist multiple times into the hardwood but was ultimately able to walk off under her own power, return to the bench, and give a postgame interview with the Big Ten Network TV crew where she said her knees were “a little banged up” but appeared unconcerned.
After the game, Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder expressed regret for leaving Clark in the game, mentioning that Clark spent multiple minutes by the scorers table before being subbed in the final time.
“You never want any player to get hurt, but it can happen in the first minute as well as the last couple of minutes. When we have a lead, I need to be more cognizant of that,” Bluder said.
Injury aside, fans who attended the game to watch Clark play were not left disappointed. Clark managed a game-high 28 points on 19 shots to go along with nine rebounds and five assists. The effort moved Clark into the top ten on the all-time points leaderboard.
UW’s point guard Ronnie Porter was pleased with the fan showing, although she expressed hope that Wisconsin’s effort would lead to more returning fans.
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“I think it was great seeing all those people especially that we don’t usually have that big of a fan base,” Porter said. “I wish they would come more. That’s the goal, especially after tonight.”
Porter had an excellent performance on the night — managing a team-high 17 points along with three assists and seven rebounds. The rebounds were especially impressive given Porter’s 5-foot-4 frame.
With an overall record of 5-4, UW sits well ahead of the 3-6 record the team had nine games into the previous season. Bucky will get a chance to rebound on Wednesday as the team will take to the road and play at the University of St. Thomas, who enters with a 3-4 record.
