Meeting of the UW's Tonight in Seattle
December 02, 2002 | Women's Basketball
Tonight, the Badgers (1-3) return to junior center Emily Ashbaugh's home area with a game at the University of Washington in Seattle at 9 p.m. CST. Washington (3-1) of the Pac-10 beat St. Bonaventure 105-48 in the opening round of the Seattle Times Classic Friday. The Huskies beat Kentucky, 88-56 in the championship.
Wisconsin took the host team to overtime in nip-tuck game but lost to the Wave in the championship of the Pepperdine Tournament, 67-7 Saturday. UW picked up its first win of the season with a 58-49 victory over Texas-Arlington in the opening round of the tournament in Malibu, Calif., Friday.
RADIO/TELEVISION
Monday's game at Washington will be on WIBA 1310 AM at 9 p.m. with Aaron Sims. The pregame begins one-half hour before tip. The games are also available over the internet at UWBADGERS.COM, just click on Game Day and women's basketball. There is no television coverage.
WISCONSIN COACH JANE ALBRIGHT
Beginning her ninth season, Jane Albright is the winningest women 's basketball coach in Wisconsin history with a 155-89 (.635 percent) record. She has led UW to a school record eight consecutive winning seasons, seven post-season tournament bids and four 20-win seasons. Wisconsin has attended five NCAA tournaments and was the 2000 WNIT Champion and 1999 WNIT runnerup champion. She began the year ranked 53rd among winningest active coaches in the NCAA, and 47th for all-time Division I wins.
INJURY REPORT
The Badgers will be without one of their leading scorers, Leah Hefte, who dislocated her right shoulder Nov. 28 in practice. Hefte will be out 3-4 weeks. The senior tri-captain led the Badgers with 11 points at NIU and she is averaging 9.0 points per game. She is one of UW's main three-point threats hitting 2-of-3 on the season.
SEASON IN REVIEW
The win over Texas-Arlington at the Pepperdine Tournament was welcome tonic for the Badgers who opened the season 0-2 for the first time since 1989. Wisconsin jelled down the stretch executing offensively for a strong 9-0 finishing that put the nip-and-tuck game away, 58-49.
UW grew up in the championship game with Pepperdine, a team that uses a run-and-gun offense and sticky, harrassing defense. Wisconsin opened with a 10-2 lead, and remained composed through 13 ties and 14 lead changes before succumbing, 67-74, in OT.
In the opening week of play, UW returned to Coach Jane Albright 's old stomping ground for its season opener with Northern Illinois University. But there wasn't anything truly familiar about the occasion especially the result. Albright, NIU's winning coach during her 10-year tenure, saw her young Badgers lose on a last second shot to a veteran NIU squad, 47-49. The game opened NIU's new Convocation Center.
Wisconsin's home opener Sunday saw improved play but a loss none-the less to UW-Green Bay, 77-52. Wisconsin fell behind early when the Phoenix hit 8-of-11 three pointers in the first stanza but remained in striking distance down six at the half, 34-28. The veteran Green Bay team turned on the after-burners though forcing UW into 24 turnovers and finishing with a Kohl Center record .611 percent on 11-of-18 three-pointers to give Wisconsin its worst loss ever to the Phoenix.
UW STARTING LINEUPS
Games Record Lineup (F'F'C'G 'G)
1 0-1 EGebisa, LGebisa, Ashbaugh, Seeger, Rich
2 0-1 EGebisa, Seeger, Ashbaugh, Hefte, Rich
3-4 1-1 EGebisa, Seeger, Ashbaugh, Rich, Josephson
TEAM AND INDIVIDUAL NOTES
WISCONSIN'S KEY PERSONNEL
' The Badgers returned two starters from last season 's 19-12 team that qualified for it's second-straight NCAA tournament. The top returning scorer is starting center Emily Ashbaugh (Woodinville, Wash.) who averaged 6.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game. She had a breakout game vs. UT-Arlington with 13 points, seven rebounds and a career-high assists and is averaging a career-best 8.5 points 7.3 rebounds per game.
' The other starter returning is senior Kristi Seeger (Stoughton, Wis.) who is the lone double-figure scorer averaging 10.8 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Last year she contributed 3.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. She is hitting .567 percent from the floor.
' With the injury to Leah Hefte, sophomore guard Stephanie Rich (Crawfordsville, Iowa), who has doubled at point and shooting guard, has started at the two and plays some three. After not scoring in the first game, she had a career-high nine points vs. UTA, and a new career-high 11 points vs. Pepperdine. She is averaging 6.8 points per game.
' Senior Leah Hefte (McFarland, Wis.) injured her shoulder Nov. 28 and is out 3-4 weeks. She came off the bench to lead UW in scoring at NIU with 11 points. She is the second-leading scorer after two games with a 9.0 points per game average is hitting 8-13 for .615 percent including 2-of-3 treys.
' Sophomore Ebba Gebisa (W. Lafayette, Ind.) was the second top returning scorer (5.0 ppg) and has started every game averaging 7.8 points and 6.0 rebounds. She is the top free throw shooter hitting .11-13 for .846 percent.
' Ebba's sister, 6-7 junior center Lello Gebisa (W. Lafayette, Ind.) came off the bench to score 16 points in both exhibition games and added 16 rebounds against Lithuania. She started at NIU and had eight points, nine boards and four blocks. She is averaging 6.5 points and 6.3 rebounds, and leads the team in blocks with seven on the season.
' Freshman point guard Ashley Josephson (Onalaska, Wis.) had her first start Nov. 29 vs. UTA. Also an offensive threat, she is averaging 7.3 points per game and has the best free throw percentage hitting 8-9 for .889 percent.
' The Gebisas are Wisconsin's third sister duo to play basketball in school history. They must have played horse in their driveway growing up as they lead the Badgers in free throw shooting (10 or more made). Ebba is 11-13 for .846 % and Lello is 10-12 for .833%.
' Four Badgers average 6.0 or more rebounds per game 'Seeger 7.3; Ashbaugh 7.3; Ebba Gebisa 6.0; Lello Gebisa 6.3.
WISCONSIN TEAM NOTES
' The Badgers are outrebounding opponents by 11, 41.5 to 30.3 with a season-high 59 in the Pepperdine game (59-28 rebounds).
' Senior tri-captains, Leah Hefte and Kristi Seeger, are leading on the court as well as Wisconsin's top scorers with Seeger averaging 10.3 and Hefte 9.0 points per game.
' After opening the season shooting a dismal .356 percent from the floor and just .214 percent from beyond the arc, Wisconsin's improved to .522 percent in the win over UTA.
' The Badgers have held three opponents to .400 or below in field goal percentage.
' Wisconsin's turnovers are its nemesis averaging 26.2 compared to 17.4 per game by the opponents. UW had a season high 37 turnovers in the overtime loss to Pepperdine.
' UW has nine players averaging 11 or more minutes per game.
' Wisconsin likes to `pound it inside' with opponents shooting twice as many three-pointers as Wisconsin (UW 25 attempts, opponents 57).
' The last time a Wisconsin team started 1-3 was 1989-90.
' UW-Green Bay's 11-of-18 three-pointers set Kohl Center opponent marks for three-point goals made and for best three-point percentage at .611 percent.
' Wisconsin's 52 points versus UW-Green Bay tied the Kohl Center mark for fewest points.
' The home-opening loss to UW-Green Bay Sunday was just the 15th in the Kohl Center (52-15) and the 21st home loss for Coach Jane Albright (89-21) since 1994-95.
' Under Jane Albright, UW has won five out of eight regular season tournaments when playing in the championship finals. The Badgers have placed third five times. UW has never been fourth in any regular season tournament since Albright arrived in 1994.
WISCONSIN ON THE ROAD
UW is 1-2 this season but was 9-9 (.500) away from the Kohl Center last season (5-3 neutral games). UW finished 3-5 in Big Ten road appearances. UW had a 9-8 (.529) road mark in 2001 and was 5-3 on the road vs. the Big Ten. 9-8 was the best road record since 1995'96 (11-6, .647). The best-ever Badger road record of 10-4 (.714) was set in 1981'82 (UW finished 19-8 overall). The best Big Ten road mark of 6-3 was set in 1983, the first year of conference round robin play.
