The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team (10-19, 5-12 Big Ten) survived a late run by Northwestern (9-19, 2-15) in the fourth quarter and defeated the Wildcats 64–57 Thursday in Evanston.
The Badgers continue to impress late in the season — head coach Marisa Moseley’s squad has won three of their last four matchups and eclipsed the 10-win mark for the first time since the 2019-2020 season.
The cardinal and white started the game shooting lights-out from the perimeter. The Badgers drilled 4-of-7 3-pointers in the first frame. Guard Maty Wilke led the charge and converted 3-of-4 3-pointers from the corner to help the Badgers notch an early 19–14 lead after ten minutes.
The Badgers continued to look strong in the opening minutes of the second quarter, extending a 6–0 run to end the first frame into a 15–1 run in the second quarter. Wisconsin’s stifling defense proved effective in throwing Northwestern out of balance — UW forced nine Wildcat turnovers and converted 16 points off giveaways in the first half.
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The Badgers defensive aggression came at a cost and led to 10 total team fouls by halftime, seven of which were committed in the second quarter. Junior Brooke Schramek, senior Julie Pospisilova and freshman Serah Williams found themselves in early foul trouble.
The trio combined for seven of the team’s 10 total fouls in the first half. The Wildcats benefited from the charity stripe with an 8-of-12 clip from the free throw line. Wisconsin’s fouls allowed Northwestern to respond with an 11–4 run late in the half, led by forward Sydney Wood, who scored five points from free throws in the second frame.
Despite a late run by the Wildcats to close the second quarter, Moseley’s squad entered the locker room with a slim 32–26 lead at halftime.
Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown’s halftime speech rallied the Wildcats coming out of the locker room, and his group shot a team-best 6-of-15 from the field for 17 points in the third quarter. Northwestern’s 10–2 run halfway through the third quarter cut Wisconsin’s lead to one, but the Badgers responded with a 6–2 run in the closing minutes to maintain a five-point advantage heading into the final frame.
Northwestern continued to close on the Badgers in the final ten minutes. UW diminished an eight-point deficit to tie up the game at 56 with 2:35 remaining. Wisconsin responded with back-to-back layups by Wilke to regain the advantage in the closing minutes. In the final minute of the contest, guard Avery LaBarbera and Wilke converted both of their free throw attempts to seal the 64–57 victory.
Pospisilova, playing in front of her parents from Prague for the first time since her freshman season, led the Badgers with 20 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Wilke tied her career-high with 17 points, grabbed six boards and snagged two steals. LaBarbera rounded out Wisconsin’s double-digit scorers with 11 points, and Williams had three blocks for the second straight game.
Northwestern was led by fifth-year guard Wood, who scored 17 points and converted eight of nine looks from the free throw line. Freshman guard Caroline Lau scored nine points in the contest, seven of which came in the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin returns to the Kohl Center to close out the regular season against No. 12 Michigan on Sunday, Feb. 26.
