After a tough overtime loss Monday night, the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team finds itself in a familiar place during Tuesday’s practice: trying to forget about the Indiana game and move on to Iowa.
The 67-61 defeat at the hands of the Hoosiers marks the seventh time in 10 conference losses this season the Badgers were competitive in the last three minutes of regulation or later.
“You know, it’s kind of been the question after a lot of games this year,” Alyssa Karel said about bouncing back from the loss. “I think we’ve just got to put in the back or get it out of our mind.”
“It’s always tough to put a loss like that behind you, especially when it was so close all throughout the game and even going into overtime,” forward Tara Steinbauer added. “Moving forward and focusing on Iowa is important, especially with such a short turnaround.”
Although the heartbreaking losses have taken a toll on the Badgers, they aren’t about to give up. Wisconsin fully intends to remain competitive and make some noise in its remaining three games and the Big Ten tournament.
“You’ve got choices to make,” UW head coach Lisa Stone said of the situation. “You can sit here and cry about it, or you can pick yourself back up off the ground and do something about it. That’s what we did today.”
After defeating the Badgers, IU head coach Felisha Legette-Jack opened her postgame press conference by noting how impressed she was with Wisconsin, adding she believed they would bounce back well from the loss.
“They’re going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Big Ten Tournament, no doubt about that,” Legette-Jack said. “They have the best defense, possibly in the conference.”
Wisconsin led 52-48 with under a minute to play before Kim Roberson hit an open shot from beyond the arc with 1.3 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime.
From there, the teams went back and forth to a 57-57 tie just over halfway through the extra period. Then Marshfield, Wis., native Jamie Braun hit a deep three to put the Hoosiers ahead to stay. Sophomore guard Jori Davis followed with a long two-point jumper to give Indiana a five-point lead.
The Badgers never gave up, however, cutting the lead back to three points and continuing to foul through the end of the game to send Indiana to the free throw line.
“I feel bad for the players,” Stone said. “They played their butts off and laid it on the line. Our job right now is to pick ourselves up and finish strong.”
But the Badgers will be able to keep their heads up knowing though their record may not show it, they have remained competitive with or defeated nearly every Big Ten opponent they’ve matched up against this season.
In addition to the Indiana home loss, Wisconsin lost by three points at Northwestern and Indiana, by two points at Penn State and by one point at home against Purdue.
Despite losing by nine points in the end, the Badgers trailed by just three at Michigan State with 1:17 remaining in the game. UW also was within seven points in the last two minutes of their home contest with Ohio State.
What’s more impressive is the fact that MSU and OSU are tied atop the Big Ten standings, each with an 11-3 record in conference play. Indiana is just 2 1/2 games behind at 9-6, good for sixth in the Big Ten.
Purdue, which needed a three-pointer in the last eight seconds to edge past Wisconsin, sits just behind the conference leaders at 11-4. Minnesota, which the Badgers beat at home in December, is fourth in the standings.
“I want our players to understand that we’re playing with the best,” Stone said. “We’re right there with the best, and you know, we’re learning every time we do it.”
