After jumping out to a 32-18 halftime lead, Wisconsin appeared on its way to the next round of the WNIT. However, St. Bonaventure came roaring back in the second half, outscoring the Badgers 38-19 en route to ending Wisconsin’s season.
The Bonnies outplayed Wisconsin on both ends of the court in the second half after they had a poor first half. St. Bonaventure shot 54.2 percent in the second half and held the Badgers to only 6-of-29 shooting for a 20.7 percent clip after allowing 61.9 percent shooting in the first half.
St. Bonaventure coach Jim Crowley credited a halftime adjustment that allowed the Bonnies to contest more shots as the reason why they were able to shut down Wisconsin.
“One of the main things we wanted to do was take away their layups and their inside game, and we were getting caught on screens to give up layups in the first half,” Crowley said. “We were moving after the pass was thrown rather than when it was being thrown to get in position. We were getting screened off, and we talked about it at halftime and did a good job of adjusting, which allowed [us] to get a lot of contested shots.”
St. Bonaventure blocked nine shots, with eight of them coming in the second half, effectively shutting down Wisconsin’s inside game. Tara Steinbauer, who had 12 points in the first half, was held to only a 3-pointer in the second half as the Bonnies blocked several of her shots and never allowed her open looks.
“I don’t know if we’ve had nine blocks in the last 10 games combined,” Crowley said. “It’s just not something we do, but we were really able to get into position and contest those shots.”
The Bonnies came out in the second half and immediately began to cut into Wisconsin’s lead. The lead was down to only five points four minutes into the second half and St. Bonaventure took their first lead with 6:51 left.
“We’re disappointed in our second half,” Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone said. “It was Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a little bit. It wasn’t just our offense. You can look at our 62 percent first half and 20 percent second half, but our offensive and defensive principles just broke down.”
Steinbauer agrees with her coach and thinks that the Badgers strayed from their type of basketball.
“I definitely would attribute [the loss] to the fact that we didn’t play Wisconsin-style basketball in the second half,” Steinbauer said. “In the first half, we came out and passed the ball to each other, had a bunch of assists, we were finding the open player, and then, I think in the second half, our principles staled.”
Despite the disappointing end to the season, the Badgers are already looking forward to next year.
“I think we had a great season,” Teah Gant said. “We played a lot better than people thought we would, so I think we need to take that into the offseason and still work hard just to get better for next season.”
Steinbauer, a sophomore, is also looking forward to next season and is encouraged by the fact that the team is bringing back its entire lineup besides senior center Caitlin Gibson.
“I think we’re very talented, and I think the thing sometimes overlooked is that we’re very young,” Steinbauer said. “I think next year we’re going to bring a lot more experience, and obviously Caitlin will be missed, but we’re going to be bringing in two great players. I think you’re for sure going to see a strong Wisconsin team next year, too.”
