University of Wisconsin women’s basketball finished their regular season Sunday with a 68-48 road loss to the Purdue Boilermakers (19-10, 10-8). Just three days earlier, the Badgers faced the then-6th ranked Maryland Terrapins (27-3, 16-2) on the road and made it a close one just falling short 83-77.

The difference in play between the two games left head coach Bobbie Kelsey with a lot to be desired in her press conference Monday.

“Just disappointed in our play yesterday against Purdue,” Kelsey said. “In the Maryland game, I thought we found some offense and obviously played the sixth best team in the country to a six point game. [I’m] disappointed we couldn’t make that a consistent theme in our game against Purdue.”

Wisconsin’s (7-21, 3-15) schedule did not do them any favors in terms of difficulty, but Kelsey said the adversity can help the Badgers as they prepare for the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis this week, which features three teams ranked in the top 25.

The Badgers enter the conference tournament as a 13-seed and will face the 12th-seeded Northwestern Wildcats (15-15, 4-14). In their previous meeting two weeks ago, the Badgers lost to the Wildcats 71-53.

Kelsey sees the Big Ten Tournament as a chance to improve on previous mistakes and a chance for her team to regroup.

“The tournament is another chance to correct some wrongs,” Kelsey said. “Everybody’s at 0-0, so it’s an opportunity for us to go in and just take it one game at a time and see what we can do.”

In preparation for the Badgers’ first round game against Northwestern, Kelsey said they need to play more consistently, especially against a Wildcats team that struggled in Big Ten play this season. Kelsey also added that her team will need to keep the turnovers to a minimum as Northwestern leads the Big Ten in steals.

In a tournament setting where one loss sends a team home, Kelsey said they need to make shots. She added that the missed opportunities on open shots make a difference in a game and will be pivotal in the Big Ten Tournament.

“Nothing helps you other than making shots. That’s the difference between a six point game against the 6th best team in the country and a 20 point game against Purdue,” Kelsey said. “There are times when we’re just missing them. If we don’t make shots, we’re going to have a tough time.”

The Badgers will go up against Northwestern on Wednesday March 2 at 12:30 p.m. The game will air on the Big Ten Network.