As the Big Ten season kicks into high gear, the Wisconsin Badgers (14-4, 4-3) find themselves in position to potentially reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
Once again, the non-conference season provided little challenge for the Badgers, as their only loss came on Nov. 24 in a 60-58 contest against intrastate rival Wisconsin-Green Bay. In that game, the Badgers outscored the Phoenix 30-29 in the second half and put together a 14-3 run in the game’s final six minutes, but ultimately fell short.
The next six games for Wisconsin saw six road contests, including three in Eugene, Ore., for the World Vision Invitational. The Badgers took home the title with an impressive sweep of West Coast opponents Portland State, Oregon and Cal State Fullerton. Junior guard Alyssa Karel took home the tournament MVP award, and junior forward Lin Zastrow joined her on the All-Tournament team.
Karel has been the team’s offensive leader throughout the first half of the season, averaging 14.4 points per game, good for ninth in the conference. Zastrow, meanwhile, is third on the team with an average of 7.8 points per game while shooting 50.5 percent from the floor, which is fourth in the Big Ten.
UW completed that six game road swing by going 2-1, with the only loss coming Dec. 6 against national power Ohio State, 70-55. Against the then-No. 3 Buckeyes, the Badgers managed to build a 28-20 lead at halftime before giving up 50 points in the second half. Ohio State limited Karel to only 10 points on 4-for-10 shooting, while Wisconsin was unable to stop OSU junior center and Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year Jantel Lavender, who contributed 23 points and 10 rebounds.
Once the Badgers returned to Madison, a three-game win streak followed with blowout wins over SIU Edwardsville, Robert Morris and Michigan State. Any momentum Wisconsin gathered with its return home quickly disappeared, however, as its next two games resulted in losses to conference opponents.
Against Iowa on Dec. 31, Wisconsin only converted 33.9 percent of its shots and fell 61-51. Three days later, the Badgers lost a back-and-forth contest in Illinois, who inbounded the ball under its own hoop with 2.3 seconds remaining and converted a wide-open layup.
With two consecutive wins over Purdue and Michigan, however, Wisconsin has righted the ship and currently stands with a .500 conference record.
Against Michigan, freshman guard Taylor Wurtz played the most impressive game of her young career, pouring in 27 points and nine rebounds in 28 minutes of play. The 6-foot guard has been the team’s most pleasant surprise, providing 7.6 points in an average 18 minutes per game of playing time, and impressed the media enough against Michigan to earn the Big Ten Freshman of the Week award during the week of Jan. 11.
With twelve Big Ten games left on the schedule, look for the Badgers to continue their success in conference play.
