Faced with the toughest competition of its young season, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team rebounded from a 15-point deficit Sunday against the Cleveland State Vikings to win its third game, 70-68.
Led by junior guard Alyssa Karel — the high scorer for the Badgers with 14 points — junior forward Lin Zastrow and freshman guard Taylor Wurtz, Wisconsin was able to put together a crucial, game-saving 15-5 run with about 11 minutes left to play.
“I’m very proud of our basketball team for hanging in there,” Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. “We had opportunities to stop playing, but this team wants to win and represent and hold home court.”
From the start, Cleveland State came out strong offensively with a strong 13-2 run that put the Vikings ahead 24-14 early in the first half. At halftime, they led 40-28 and scored 16 points off 11 Badger turnovers. Guards Shawnita Garland and Kailey Klein provided most of the Cleveland State firepower, scoring 23 and 19 points, respectively. Klein especially gave Wisconsin trouble, scoring early and often en route to 14 points at halftime. In the second half, however, the Badgers switched defensive assignments and enlisted Karel to stifle Klein’s offense.
“The thing about a player like Kailey is that you don’t defend her with just one person,” Karel said. “I was very confident that my teammates were going to be in the gap, and a player like that, she can shoot the three in your face so I knew I had to get out there and pressure her.”
“That might have been one of her all-around best games,” Stone added of Karel. “She played all 40 minutes, was really stepping up to the plate, saying, ‘Coach, I’ll take her,’ and we put her on Kailey Klein. When your leading scorer decides to be the best defensive player on the team, that’s a great call by Alyssa.”
Contributing to the halftime deficit was Zastrow’s early foul trouble.
Playing only seven minutes in the first half, the Badgers’ key post defensive player racked up two early fouls and failed to score. In the second half, however, Zastrow came back strong, scoring 12 points and finishing the game with an impressive eight offensive rebounds.
“I became a little bit more confident, and I knew the coaches had really challenged all of us,” Zastrow said of her second half play. “I think I took that to heart and said ‘I got to step up and help the team,’ and I think we all did that and that’s why we resulted in a win.”
Coming out of halftime, the Vikings held a 13-point lead until the Badgers were able to make their run. After the lead was cut to five with 8:45 remaining, Wurtz made one foul shot and senior guard Rae Lin D’Alie hit a 3-pointer to cut the score to 54-53. The very next possession, however, saw the Vikings get a four-point play on a poor foul by sophomore guard Jade Davis.
After trading points the next few possessions, Wurtz put the Badgers ahead 69-68 with a nice layup off a drive-and-spin move with 1:38 remaining. Cleveland State (1-2) was unable to score the rest of the game, and Wurtz iced the game after making a free throw with 16.5 seconds left. The Vikings drove and had two chances to the tie the game, but failed to score on a short jumper and the subsequent putback.
“Taylor made some big plays as a freshman down the stretch,” Stone said. “As a freshman, in her first close game as a Division I player, answers for us, she took Klein right to the basket.”
Coming up, Wisconsin (3-0) will host UW-Green Bay (3-0) Tuesday night at the Kohl Center. The game will be the second of three in-state matchups for the Badgers this season. Last year, Wisconsin defeated UW-Green Bay on the road, 59-47, and Stone is guardedly confident about where her team stands after three games.
“What this does for you this early in the season is it should develop some confidence,” Stone said. “Confidence comes from being involved and through being in a situation like this. I thought we were very poised in the timeouts; no one was panicking.”