Feb. 4, 2010
Box Score | Boxscore 
| Listen to the game-winning call by Mike Heller
MINNEAPOLIS - Forget that Wisconsin led throughout regulation, it's a Border Battle and it took double overtime until the Badgers could prevail 76-74 at Minnesota Thursday. Twin Cities native Alyssa Karel provided the final drama hitting a pullup jumper in the lane off a steal by Lin Zastrow with two seconds left in the second overtime for the win. Wisconsin moves to 17-6 and 7-5 on the season while Minnesota falls to 11-11 and 4-7 in the Big Ten.
The game almost ended with a Badger win in regulation until Minnesota freshman China Antoine hit a contested 3-pointer as time expired to tie it at 58 at the end of round one. Senior Rae Lin D'Alie hit a 3-pointer for three of her game-high 20 points to put UW up 63-62 with 33 seconds left in the first overtime, but Minnesota countered to lead 65-63. Anya Covington took a feed from Teah Gant for a lay-in to tie it at 65 with 13 seconds left to go to the second overtime.
The night started when Wisconsin jumped out to a 6-0 lead and extended it to as much as 13 points, 24-11, with 4:20 left in the first half. However, Minnesota finished the half strong on an 8-3 run to come within 27-19 at the break.
The Badger defense held Minnesota to 11 percent field goal shooting enroute to a 19-7 lead with 9:40 left. UW finished the half shooting 10-23 for 43.5 percent while holding Minnesota to just 17.9 percent for the half on 5-for28 from the floor. What held Minnesota in the game was free throw shooting where they were 8-of-8 while the Badgers got to the line more often but only converted 5-of-11 for 45.5 percent.
The Badgers led by 57-48 with 2:35 left in regulation after Rae Lin D'Alie hit two of her career-high 20 points. But Minnesota finished the game on a 10-1 run including the last second 3-pointer by Antoine to tie the game in regulation.
The Badgers are now 7-3 on the road and with seven conference wins have exceeded last season's 6-12 record. Also scoring in double figures were Alyssa Karel with 18 points , Lin Zastrow had 12, and Teah Gant had 11. Tara Steinbauer led the Badgers in rebounding with 11. Kiara Buford led the Gophers with 17.
The Badgers continue on the road facing Purdue Sunday at 1 p.m. CT in West Lafayette.
Lisa Stone Quotes
"What a border battle. Just a terrific game by both teams. I thought we were going to triple overtime.
"Our message to our players was we just have to play harder longer. And if that message didn't ring true tonight. I thought we showed a tremendous amount of will. I thought Rae Lin D'Alie had an outstanding game and for us to pull this out without her on the floor in that last overtime is a great statement about our team. Obviously Alyssa Karel being from Minnesota, (the shot to win) was a memorable moment for her.
"Great balance, solid defense. We had an issue with letting up in the first half and letting Minnesota back in, but they are a team that is very strong defensively. There is a reason why they lead the Big Ten in steals. They are longer, athletic, they pressured us quite a bit. But what a great job by both teams.
"You knew it was going to go down to the wire and we rehearsed a couple of plays yesterday. This game was one where two teams were very hungry for a win. They turned us over 22 turnovers and that's a great credit to their pressure."
