Second Half Spurs Badgers to Exhibition Win
November 14, 2002 | Women's Basketball
With three Badgers scoring in the double digits, Wisconsin came away with an 84-72 victory over Lithuania Laisve-Kaunas Thursday night at the Kohl Center. The Badgers close their exhibition season at 1-1.
In an impressive offensive effort, the game's leading scorer, sophomore Ebba Gebisa, put up 20 points for the Badgers. Junior Lello Gebisa, senior forward Kristi Seeger and sophomore Stephanie Rich posted 16, 14 and 16 points, respectively.
Taking an 11- 5 lead in the first four minutes of the game, the Badgers took control early with the help of sophomore Stephanie Rich who grabbed two steals and posted nine points during the early run. If exhibition games were included in career bests, Rich, who registered 16 points, would have surpassed her previous game high total of eight points.
Holding their lead for the majority of the first half, the Badgers trailed only twice and had a 40-39 lead at halftime.
The Badgers came alive in the second half with two 8-0 runs. The first run came off a fast break basket by Lello Gebisa, energizing both the team and the crowd. Wisconsin kept its momentum going and was able to continue dominating the second half. With the help of Ebba Gebisa's free throws, UW went on another 8-0 run late in the second half, securing their lead.
'Two significant things happened in the second half. One was that we only had four turnovers and the other is that we shot 51 percent,' coach Jane Albright said. 'Those two stats offensively will help us be a good basketball team.'
The Wisconsin defense struggled early with the accurate shooting of the Lithuania team. The team, whose players' ages ranged from 17 to 36, hit nine three-point shots and shot 75 percent at the free throw line. Neringa Zakalskiene and Valdone Sakalauskiene combined for Lithuania's nine treys and Jovita Jonkute went 8-12 from the field.
Lello Gebisa, a junior forward transfer from Duke, secured the games ' only double-double with ten minutes left in the second half. She scored 16 points and brought down 16 boards. Also close to the elusive double-double, Seeger racked up 14 points and nine rebounds.
Posting her first points of her collegiate career, Ashley Joesphson brought in seven for the Badgers and had two assists.
The Badgers look ahead to their regular season opener at Northern Illinois Nov. 22.
Printable Box Score (PDF)
