With the regular season coming to an end, the Badgers would like nothing more than to get into the Big Ten tournament with a first round bye.

Currently third in the conference, Lisa Stone’s team controls its own destiny. If the Badgers can pick up a road win against Penn State this Thursday, it would greatly help their chances.

Nobody in the middle of the conference has been able to gain much separation from the others, meaning the race for seeding will likely come down to a photo finish. But Stone is not one to scoreboard watch. She would rather her team focus on one game at a time and take care of what is on their plate.

“We’re getting ready for Penn State, and that is all that is on our mind,” Stone insisted. “That’s all that’s on our mind.”

Stone has been instilling this mentality into her players’ heads all year. The players want to accomplish something big this year, and the only way to do that is to win the next game on the schedule.

The Badgers have been fairly consistent all year, and you need look no further than the starting lineup as evidence. Currently sitting with a record of 19-8 (9-7 Big Ten), Stone has sent out the same starting five for every game this year.

“There’s consistency there. There’s also competition in practice, because kids want to play,” Stone said. “You listen to people building their resume throughout practice, that’s what they’re doing. When you look at who’s your first guard off the bench, who’s your first post off the bench.”

Some of that consistency has been called into question lately with the Badgers alternating between wins and losses over their last nine games. With the increased spark off the bench, however, the Badgers look to right the ship this week.

Sophomore Anya Covington seems to have broken out of her slump with 19 points and nine rebounds off the bench against Michigan on Sunday. She appears to have hit her stride just in time for UW to have a say while jockeying for Big Ten tournament seeding.

“This is exactly what you need this time of year, is to have somebody like Anya step in and give the team a lift, get production from your bench,” Stone said. “Again, just a solid contribution. I was very, very happy and the team was happy for her too.”

Stone would like nothing more than to have her players watching basketball on the first day of the tournament rather than playing, especially since every game against a Big Ten foe this year could turn out to be an upset.

Only two teams in the conference hold losing records at this point in the season: Minnesota and Indiana, both at 13-14. If her team can avoid doing battle in the first round, Stone and the Badgers would be able to breathe a heavy sigh of relief; that is, until the second round.

“We need to win on Thursday,” she said. “We need to worry less about what everyone else has to do and take care of ourselves. That’s truly what it is.”

For the Badgers, it is simple: win and hang on to the bye. For those trailing the Badgers in the conference standings, it becomes much more complicated.

Teams will have to get wins and hope for certain combinations of other teams losing to leap into position for a bye in the conference tournament. Stone has been keeping it as simple as possible, and the Badgers would like to take the mathematics out of it for the other teams by picking up two more victories this week.

If the Badgers can maintain the game plan implemented by Stone and remain focused on what is ahead of them, they can find themselves sitting in a nice position come next week.

Stone has laid it out nice and clear regarding what the team has to do: win.

If the conference tournament were to start tonight, the Badgers would possess the coveted first round bye. With matchups looming this week against Penn State and Iowa, who are both teams within striking distance of the Badgers, UW looks to remain in a favorable position and receive that first round bye.

All the Badgers have to do is what Stone has been preaching since day one: take it one game at a time.

“Now is not the time to let up, now is the time to forge forward and finish strong,” Stone said. “The way you finish strong is staying focused on the next game, and that’s Penn State.”