Wisconsin Outlasts Iowa State
December 07, 2003 | Women's Basketball
In a thrilling, down-to-the-wire finish, the University of Wisconsin defeated Iowa State University 76-73 in the Kohl Center this afternoon. The first home win of Coach Lisa Stone 's career improves the Badgers to 3-3, while Iowa State drops to 3-2.
Wisconsin controlled the action in the first half and built a 16-point advantage by the intermission. Iowa State came out of the locker room strong and mounted a furious rally that fell just short. The Cyclones were 7-13 on three pointers in the final period, as they battled back to tie the score at 73-73 with 17 seconds left to play. UW guard Ashley Josephson countered with an old-fashioned three-point play on a drive to the basket in the final seconds that gave Wisconsin the final margin of 76-73.
'Wow what a great win; I am so very very proud of this basketball team,' said Coach Stone. 'It was a tremendous team effort. It 's a special day and the start of something I hope is very special.
Wisconsin built its first-half lead on the strength of outside shooting and tight defense. The Badgers made 55% of their three-point attempts in the period and scored 20 points off of 14 Cyclone turnovers.
Paced by two Stephanie Rich steals, UW jumped out to an early 8-2 lead after three minutes of action. Iowa State closed the gap to one point, 11-10, on back-to-back three-point baskets two minutes later. The Badgers battled foul and turnover trouble as the game stayed close with Wisconsin holding a slim 20-19 lead with 7:58 left on the clock.
UW then found its offensive stride and took control of the game with a 21-6 run to end the half. Five different Badgers scored during the surge which saw UW shoot a perfect 4-4 from beyond the three-point arc. On the defensive end, Wisconsin forced four turnovers and limited the Cyclones to 2-9 shooting down the stretch as the Badgers took a 41-25 lead into halftime.
In the second half, the Cyclones picked up where the Badgers had left off. ISU made 56% of its shots from the floor and committed only four turnovers in the final frame to get back in the game. The Cyclones opened the half with a 16-5 run to narrow the Badger lead to five points, 46-41, after six minutes of action. Wisconsin withstood the challenge and built its lead back up to double digits, leading by as many as 12 points (65-53) with 6:24 left to play.
Iowa State again rallied and outscored the Badgers 20-8 over the next six minutes to even the score at 73-73. The Cyclones made six of their last seven shots of the game to fuel their game-tying surge. The Cyclones were unable to stop Josephson on the ensuing possession, however, as she drove down the right side of the lane and drew the foul as she made the lay-up.
'When Iowa State made their run, we didn't go into the tank,' praised Coach Stone. 'We showed courage; we showed commitment; we showed emotion out there, which was outstanding; and we kept the crowd in the game. '
Wisconsin had a balanced offensive attack as all five Badger starters scored in double figures. Lello Gebisa led the way with 17 points and eight rebounds, while Josephson finished with 13 points. Emily Ashbaugh chipped in with 12 points, and Ebba Gebisa added 11 points and six assists. Point guard Stephanie Rich scored ten points and dished out a game-high eight assists.
Erica Junod led the Cyclones with 18 points on 7-10 shooting, and Lyndsey Medders contributed 15 points. Megan Ronhovde came off of the bench to hit three three pointers and finish with 14 points. Lisa Kreiner led ISU down low with eight points and a game-high nine rebounds.
The Badgers take to the road and play at in-state rival UW-Green Bay this coming Saturday, December 13th at 1:00 P.M.
