The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team (11-19, 6-12 Big Ten) enters the Big Ten tournament as one of the hottest teams in the conference and looks to extend their win streak against head coach Katie Gearlds and the Purdue Boilermakers (18-9, 9-8 Big Ten) Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Wisconsin faced Purdue once this season Jan. 1 in West Lafayette, Indiana. The Boilermakers defeated the Badgers 73-61. The Badgers are 10-15 against the Boilermakers overall and 1-2 against the black and gold in the Big Ten Tournament.
Wisconsin has not faced Purdue in a conference tournament match since March 4, 2015, where the Badgers lost in heartbreaking fashion 58-56 in the opening round. The cardinal and white scored the game-winning shot at the end of regulation, but it was eventually ruled too late by the officials after a long deliberation.
The Badgers enter this year’s tournament having won their last three games, including an upset 78-70 victory against No. 12 Michigan in the regular season finale. Wisconsin’s win streak is the second longest in the Big Ten, trailing only the University of Maryland, who is entering into the tournament on a six-game win streak.
Badger Basketball clings for postseason play in year of transition
Wisconsin’s stellar finish at the end the regular season was good enough for the cardinal and white to earn the No. 10 seed and a bye through the first round of the conference tournament. The Badgers bested Rutgers, Minnesota and Northwestern in the past five games to escape first-round play.
Marisa Moseley enters the Big Ten tournament looking for her first postseason win as head coach since coming to Madison. If Wisconsin defeats Purdue Thursday, the Badgers will face No. 2 Iowa Friday at 5:30 p.m. in Minneapolis.
Scouting the Boilermakers
Purdue enters the Big Ten tournament finishing the regular season at 18-9, including 9-8 in the Big Ten conference. The Boilermakers finished their final week of play 1-2, defeating Penn State 86-82 in between losses to No. 2 Indiana (83-60) and Minnesota (77-69). The black-and-gold have two wins against AP Top 25 opponents, besting No. 22 Illinois (62-52) and No. 2 Ohio State (73-65) in back-to-back road wins in late January.
Led by second-year head coach Gearlds, the Boilermakers average 71.7 points per game. Purdue is strongest at the charity stripe — the Boilermakers rank third in the Big Ten and 32nd out of 350 qualified Division I programs with a 76.9% from the line.
The Badgers have a chance to expose the Boilermakers rebounding issues — Purdue ranks 12th in the Big Ten with 35.4 total boards per game. Most of their issues revolve around the offensive glass. The black and gold only grab 8.6 offensive rebounds per game, which is 329th amongst Division I programs.
Purdue names to watch
Purdue is led by fifth-year guard Lasha Petree who leads the team and ranks 13th in the Big Ten with 15 points per game. The transfer from Bradley and Rutgers has scored over 20 points in her last three contests and over 10 points in her last six games. The Michigan native is an accurate shooter who converts 43.2% from the field and 81% from the free throw line this year.
Senior guard Jeane Terry is the team’s best and Big Ten’s fifth–best rebounder, grabbing 7.6 boards per game. While the Illinois transfer stands at 5’11’’, she is a versatile player who has boasted two double-doubles, including a 10-rebound, 10-assist performance last week against Penn State during the regular season.The Michigan native is also effective on defense, ranking third in the Big Ten with 2.3 steals per game.
