The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team will try to accomplish two things when it takes the floor on Sunday: avenge a recent loss to Michigan State and send senior center Caitlin Gibson out as a winner.
Sunday is Senior Day and as important as that is, it’s magnified by the fact the Badgers are still fighting for a WNIT berth. Wisconsin has been in a slump since they started out the year 10-1, and a victory over Michigan State would be huge in pushing them to a possible postseason tournament invitation.
The last time the two teams played on Jan. 25, Michigan State was able to eek out a 59-50 win after the Badgers had closed the gap to only three points with a few minutes left. The Spartans were led by Lykendra Johnson and Allyssa DeHaan, who scored 14 and 11 points, respectively. Mariah Dunham and Alyssa Karel scored 14 and 13 points each to lead the Badgers.
Michigan State comes into the game at the top of the Big Ten standings with an 11-3 record and 18-7 record overall. Two players average in double figures, with Aisha Jefferson leading the team with 11.5 points per game and DeHaan chipping in with 11.
Not only do the Spartans have a consistent offense, but they also have a stingy defense. Michigan State allows only 55.6 points per game, tied with Ohio State for the best in the Big Ten, and 34.1 percent shooting. They also force 18.4 turnovers per game.
As has been the case for the past few games, post-play will play a huge role for the Badgers. Michigan’s DeHaan is the tallest player in the Big Ten, measuring in at 6-foot-9, and could be the key to the game. Wisconsin will counter with Lin Zastrow and Tara Steinbauer, who are both almost a half-foot shorter than DeHaan.
“It just comes down to us working hard in practice,” Zastrow said in an earlier interview. “We have to make sure we do it right in practice so we do it right in games. Every team has good post players and we have to bring it every game.”
After Dunham was dismissed a few weeks ago, Steinbauer has seen extended playing time and recorded her first career double-double against Penn State last Thursday. Zastrow has also stepped up her play recently as she scored 14 points and pulled in 9 rebounds against Indiana on Monday.
“Post play is a huge factor for us in every game,” Steinbauer said in an earlier interview. “Recently, we’ve been working a lot on our communication. Hopefully, if we keep working on that in that in practice, we’ll be able to lock down on the post players and it will show up in games.”
