After ending their five-game losing streak with a 58-52 victory over Penn State, the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team will look to make it two wins in a row against Indiana Monday night.
The last time they met on Jan. 15, the Hoosiers squeaked out a 64-61 win at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Whitney Thomas led Indiana with 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Jori Davis and Jamie Braun chipped in 18 and 14 points, respectively. Lin Zastrow also had 13 points to lead the Badgers.
Wisconsin (15-10, 5-9) turned the ball over 20 times and got into major foul trouble in the game, which resulted in both Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer fouling out and only playing 13 and 10 minutes each.
“I think I got a few bad breaks [with fouls],” Karel said. “There were just a few things that some refs call that others don’t. I got called for two quick fouls right away, and when that happens, it’s just hard to get going. I just have to be smarter.”
With Mariah Dunham’s dismissal, Steinbauer is especially key for the Badgers because of their shortage of post players.
“It’s unfortunate that I fouled out last time,” Steinbauer said. “I’m a very aggressive player. That was just a tough game all around, and this time I’ll definitely work to keep my hands off them and work more with my feet. Hopefully, I can stay in a little longer.”
Along with Thomas, Indiana also has forward Amber Jackson. Jackson leads the team in scoring, averaging 13 points per game, with Thomas averaging another 12.5 points. Thus, post play will be important for Wisconsin.
“We’ve definitely been talking about them all week,” Steinbauer said. “We know they are both all-around players. They can both shoot from the outside, take it off the dribble and post up inside, so I think it’s just a matter of mentally preparing ourselves. We have to bring our ‘A’ game to defend them.”
Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone also realizes the importance of containing Jackson and Thomas.
“We have to keep them off the glass,” Stone said. “Indiana is a very good offensive rebounding team. In my opinion, Whitney Thomas is one of the best players in the conference. She’s a threat from everywhere on the floor and is probably one of the best rebounders in the conference.”
Another aspect that hurt Wisconsin in the last meeting was the 15 offensive rebounds Indiana collected that led to 13 points.
“Last time, it came down to rebounds,” Karel said. “I think we would have been able to win if we had gotten one or two more defensive rebounds, and those second-chance points really hurt us.”
“We have to rebound the basketball,” Stone added. “When we get offensive and defensive rebounds we are a much better team.”
As with most games, Wisconsin knows that to have success, its defense will be the deciding factor.
“We know they are a penetrating team, so we’ll have to work on being in the gaps,” Steinbauer said. “We want them to have to shoot the outside jumper. If we can take away the post game from them too, that would obviously be really good, too.”
“We really have to get back on transition defense,” Stone said. “We get back on defense, our defense is much better because it’s set.”
For a team that prides itself on rarely turning the ball over, 20 turnovers wasn’t something the Badgers were accustomed to. Those turnovers led to 25 Indiana points.
“We can’t have turnovers,” Stone said. “When we take care of the ball, we get really good shots. This all sounds pretty simple, but if we can play transition defense, rebound and value the basketball, we’re in pretty good shape.”
