An effective combination of stifling interior defense and expeditious transition offense resulted in the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team earning a dominant 75-54 win over Northern Illinois University and moving to 5-2 on the young season.
An exciting first quarter saw six lead changes and both teams struggled to secure an advantage until UW came alive before the buzzer. Northern Illinois senior Kortney Drake had an especially strong first quarter by totalling nine of the Huskies’ 14 first-quarter points off of three 3-pointers. Despite Drake’s scoring efforts, the Badgers managed a 7-0 run to end the first and took a 20-14 lead into the second quarter.
The already red-hot Badgers exploded into supernova status in the second period with the team rattling off an additional 16-0 run. Between the run to end the first quarter and the explosion in the second, UW totaled a 23-2 run over the course of five minutes and fifty-two seconds of game time. The first half ultimately concluded with the Badgers holding a commanding 44-23 lead.
“I really loved watching my team in the first half,” UW head coach Marisa Moseley said after the game. “I think that we played some of the best, most clean basketball we’ve played probably since I’ve been here. It’s one of our best showings.”
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UW’s first-half success was largely built on aggressive rim protection that led to Northern Illinois taking 40 of their 70 total shots from behind the arc. The Huskies in the first half had four total points in the paint — including zero in the first quarter.
That interior defense was anchored by sophomore Serah Williams who had a strong performance despite shooting 6-for-17 from the floor. Williams led the team with 16 points and showed encouraging improvements regarding areas of weakness. Despite shooting 64% from the free throw line and averaging 4.3 turnovers per game going into the game, Williams was a perfect 4-for-4 from the stripe and committed just one turnover while also recording four blocks.
The seven blocks recorded by the team was a season high and the result was holding the Huskies to 5-for-30 from inside the three-point arc. Northern Illinois ultimately took 40 three pointers during the game, making 11.
“A lot of their game plan was to be able to drive and kick and get their shots, open shooters and our defensive plan is to try to protect the paint first” Moseley said. “Giving up 11 threes to a team is not ideal for us. But I think conversely, they only made 16 field goals.”
Out of the break, UW extended the lead in the third quarter in large part due to freshman D’Yanis Jimenez who tallied four assists in the third quarter alone. Jimenez finished the game with 13 points on perfect 4-for-4 shooting including 3-for-3 from deep while spearheading a vicious fast-break offense with her six assists. The Badgers scored 22 fastbreak points on the night while racking up 20 assists, which was four more than the team average.
“I think right now we’re just playing very unselfishly, which is boosting everyone’s confidence, “ senior Brooke Schramek said, as she finished the game with nine points, eight rebounds and six assists. “We really feed off of each other’s energy and confidence.”
The 5-2 start is the team’s best since the 2018-2019 team began the year 6-0. This Sunday, UW will stay in Madison and take on Butler University — also 5-2.
