Most of the talk about the Wisconsin women’s basketball team prior to Sunday’s exhibition against UW-Oshkosh revolved around the team’s new “four out, one in” offense. Unfortunately, it was difficult to assess the team’s new system, as the Badgers jumped out to a startling 62-8 halftime lead — built primarily off 22 Titan turnovers — and coasted to a 106-39 win.
The outcome was never in doubt, as the Badgers held Oshkosh without a field goal for almost 14 minutes to start the contest. For the game, the Badgers shot a remarkable 63 percent from the floor and forced 32 turnovers that led to 52 points, compared to just three points off turnovers for the visitors.
Tara Steinbauer, a 6-foot-1 junior forward, led five Badgers in double figures with 25 points on 12-of-13 shooting. Furthermore, every Badger that saw the court — including walk-on freshman Aly Bucierka who joined the team a week ago — scored at least two points.
Despite the statistics, UW head coach Lisa Stone said the game was not about numbers but about execution.
“What we tried to do is execute, both offensively and defensively,” Stone said. “We talked about making sure that we abided by our defensive principles, that we had offensive efficiency and that we took care of the ball. And I thought, for the most part, we did a pretty good job of that.”
Twelve Badger steals in the first 13 minutes produced an up-and-down type game, full of easy transition layups. Taking advantage of a wave of Titan turnovers, as well as superior size and athleticism, Wisconsin manufactured a 44-4 margin before UW-Oshkosh made its first field goal, a mid-range jumper from junior Michelle Boeder.
When not running off turnovers for easy buckets, the Badgers repeatedly fed the ball down low to Steinbauer, who overmatched smaller Titan defenders, creating space for UW perimeter players, including senior guard Rae Lin D’Alie, who went 4-of-5 from 3-point range.
“When we can have a presence inside like Tara, it really relieves some pressure on the perimeter,” Stone said. “When they started keying on Tara, then it allowed our playmakers to make plays. I thought we shot the ball very well — 64, 65 percent is very high for us.”
Joining Steinbauer in double figures were D’Alie, who chipped in 19 points plus six assists, junior guard Alyssa Karel — the Badgers returning leading scorer — with 15, sophomore forward and tri-captain Anya Covington, who had 12 to go with a team-high five steals, and freshman guard Taylor Wurtz, who scored 10 points in her first game action in cardinal and white.
Wurtz, a top-100 high school player at Ripon High School, demonstrated her promise throughout the contest, hitting a 3-pointer, grabbing five boards, and finishing with four steals — second on the team to Covington.
“[She] is a versatile player,” Stone said of Wurtz, who handled point guard duties at times. “She’s very confident, very strong with the basketball. And you’ll see her handling the ball a lot this year, whether it’s at the point or the off-guard or even the four position. She’s very confident, and we’re confident in her offensively.”
Since the game was an exhibition, none of the stats count toward the season. If they did, though, the Badgers would have rewritten the record book with their domination. The team made two-thirds of its first-half attempts and 45-of-72 for the game. In addition, they outscored the Titans 70 to 10 in the paint and 26 to 0 in fast-break points.
As for the oft-discussed preseason topic of a new offense, there were glimpses of its potential interspersed with all the fast-break scoring. On the opening possession, tri-captain and senior guard Teah Gant — last season’s team MVP — blew past her defender into an open gap created by good spacing, something vital to the new scheme. Although she missed the layup, on the following possession, Gant received a wing screen from a fellow guard to open her up for mid-range jumper, which she buried.
Stone said the team is still getting comfortable with the new guard-oriented half-court setup.
“Our new offense is daily a work in progress,” Stone said. “Our screen setting and our screen reads and who has the hot hand and those types of things, that’s going to be a daily work in progress. But … the kids like the offense in terms of giving them the ability to create and giving them some space to work. But it’s far from a masterpiece yet.”
Looking forward, the Badgers will open up their regular season Sunday against North Dakota at the Kohl Center. The Sioux should provide a stiffer test for UW, as they are picked to finish first in the inaugural season of the Great West Conference.
