For the first time since the 2001-02 season, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team has earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament.
As a seven seed, the Badgers (21-10) will face the tenth-seeded Vermont Catamounts (26-6) Sunday at 12:00 p.m. EST (Eastern Standard Time) in the Joyce Center in Notre Dame, Ind.
Placed in the Kansas City regional bracket, Wisconsin and Vermont are paired with second-seeded Notre Dame (27-5) and 15th-seeded Cleveland State (19-13), who will square off immediately following the Badgers and Catamounts.
“It’s a fantastic feeling,” UW junior forward Tara Steinbauer said. “It is representative of all of the hard work that we’ve put in this entire season.
“Especially for Coach Stone — I know it’s the first time in her tenure that we have ever been able to go the NCAA [Tournament], and I also think it’s a great reward for our two seniors who have worked so many long, hard hours to put this team in a position to be successful at the NCAA.”
After a season that saw the Badgers add to their reputation as a defensive powerhouse by finishing with the nation’s No. 24 scoring defense and the program’s eighth 20-win season (as well as the second under head coach Lisa Stone), Wisconsin was predicted by many to be anywhere from a seven, eight or nine seed.
Picked to finish 10th in the preseason Big Ten coaches’ poll and seventh by the media, UW used a 10-2 start in the nonconference season and four-game conference win streak in January to enter the national spotlight.
For Vermont, this year will mark the Catamounts’ sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament. Vermont is 0-5 in its previous tournament appearances and lost to top-ranked Connecticut 104-65 in the first round.
This season, UVM won the America East Conference for the second consecutive year.
For Wisconsin, the opponent is far less of a concern than simply reaching the tournament itself.
“I think our initial feeling was just a sense of accomplishment and a sense of being proud that this is something that we’ve worked so hard for,” UW junior guard Alyssa Karel said. “We feel a sense of accomplishment, but at the same time, we’re not going to be satisfied going into this tournament and losing the first game.”
Wisconsin and Vermont did not meet this season, but did share a common opponent in the NC State Wolfpack (20-13), who coincidentally is the ninth-seed in the Kansas City region.
Back on Dec. 3, 2009, the Badgers defeated the Wolfpack 53-48 in Raleigh, while the Catamounts triumphed 52-47 Nov. 14 in Raleigh.
“We’re going to prepare and we’re going to get ready to play our best basketball on Sunday against Vermont,” Stone said. “They’re a really good team and we’ll find out more about them throughout the week.”
By defeating Hartford 55-50 in the America East Conference championship Saturday, Vermont cemented its NCAA berth with the conference’s automatic bid.
Riding a three-game win streak and having won 10 of their last 11, the Catamounts have enjoyed a season that resulted in the third-most wins in program history and the most in head coach Sharon Dawley’s seven-year tenure at UVM.
Led by a duo of Canadian senior guards in May Kotsopoulos and Courtnay Pilypaitis, who average 17.3 and 14.8 points per game respectively, Vermont averages 66.7 points per game and shoots 41.1 percent from the field and 35.3 percent from 3-point range. In addition, Pilypaitis also leads the team with 8.0 rebounds per game.
After implementing a new “4-out, 1-in” motion offense, Wisconsin averaged 62.5 points per game on 43.4 percent shooting from the field and 34.7 shooting from 3-point land. Once again, Karel led the Badgers in scoring with 14.4 points per game, while senior guard Rae Lin D’Alie contributed 8.9 and Steinbauer averaged 8.7.
“I think, offensively, we just need to continue to work together and get everybody involved and have multiple options,” UW senior guard Teah Gant said. “I think that’s a real big thing that we do. And defensively, just sticking to what we do and what we’ve learned since last year. Just basically sticking to our principles and doing the little things.”
This year marks the Badgers’ seventh NCAA tournament appearance, as UW has been a mainstay in the WNIT the past three seasons.
In its previous NCAA appearances, Wisconsin is 2-6, with 1994-95 and 1995-96 marking the only campaigns in which the Badgers advanced to the second round.
“They’re confident, they’re excited,” Stone said of her squad. “I believe they feel like they’ve been rewarded, but they’re not done yet. They’re hungry. They’re hungry to do well in the tournament.”
