After holding a double-digit lead in the beginning of the fourth quarter, the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team (10-10, 2-7 Big Ten) fell in heartbreaking fashion to Nebraska (15-5, 5-4) Saturday.
Wisconsin will look to recover in two big road games this week, first traveling to Bloomington Thursday night against Indiana (16-5, 6-3), then to Champagne Sunday against Illinois (10-9, 1-7).
Women’s Basketball: Badgers collapse late, fall to Nebraska at home
Though the Badgers out-rebounded Nebraska and had a higher field goal percentage, Nebraska was ultimately able to hold off the Badgers. In the loss, Wisconsin got contributions from a variety of scorers with three players scoring in double-digits. Sophomore Imani Lewis led the way with 22 points.
The steady scoring of senior forward Abby Laszewski will be critical for a Badger win Thursday. Behind Lewis, Laszewski has been a consistent second scoring option. With her final season winding down, Laszewski has brought her play up a notch, averaging 13.3 points per game on 46% shooting from the field. Laszewski has notched double-digit scoring in 14 of Wisconsin’s 20 games.
After a three-game losing skid, the No. 20 Hoosiers have responded nicely, notching consecutive double-digit wins against Penn State and Minnesota. Indiana is extremely balanced offensively, with four players averaging double-digits.
The catalyst for Indiana’s attack is sophomore guard Grace Berger. Coming off an efficient 25-point performance on 10-for-13 shooting, Berger will look to continue shouldering the Indiana attack. Berger averages a team-high 13.8 points per game.
Women’s Basketball: Badgers snap losing streak, win in Minnesota
Following Thursday’s game, Wisconsin hits the road again — this time in Champagne against Illinois.
It has been a trying season for Illinois Head Coach Nancy Fahey’s team. With only one conference win, the Illini have been beaten up in conference play. Illinois has lost three consecutive games including an ugly 77–47 loss to The Ohio State University in Columbus.
The Illini have struggled to score, shooting only 38.6% as a team from the floor and 63% from the free-throw line. Illinois ranks last in the Big Ten in scoring at 64.6 points per game.
An Illinois player to watch for will be senior forward Ali Andrews. Andrews is an experienced forward and has appeared in all 102 games in her Illini career. Andrews can stretch the floor and ranks second on the team with 25 3-pointers made.
After these two games, the Badgers will prepare for a rivalry game, looking to sweep Minnesota for the first time since 2010-11.
