Jan. 17, 2016
 
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – A 10-0 run by Illinois to open the game doomed the Wisconsin women's basketball team as the Badgers fell at Illinois 71-65 on Sunday afternoon.

"I'm very disappointed in our start to the game," head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "We had low energy, we were lethargic and I'm not sure why but we're going to figure it out. We can't have these kind of starts and expect to win the game.

"(Illinois) was hungry. They hadn't won a game in the Big Ten and lost several before that. We don't have room to do the things we're doing at the start of the game. It's a lack of focus and we have to figure it out."

The Illini went up 10-0 to start the game and the Badgers didn't get on the board until senior Nicole Bauman hit a 3-pointer with 5:25 on the clock. The Bauman shot kicked off a 7-0 UW run to pull Wisconsin within three (10-7) with 3:55 to go.  A 6-0 Illinois run put the home team up 16-7 before a Cayla McMorris bucket cut the lead to 16-9 at the end of the period.

Wisconsin cut the lead to four (20-16) halfway through the second quarter but a 7-2 run gave Illinois its largest lead of the game to that point at 29-18 with 3:20 to play. The Illini extended their lead to 35-22 with 53 seconds remaining but another McMorris shot cut it to 35-25 at the half.

A shot by Rosanna Gambino with less than three minutes gone in the third quarter pulled UW within seven (39-32). Illinois upped its lead to 14 twice in the period, including at 54-40 with 2:28 on the clock. The Illini took their largest lead of the game (60-45) with just under seven minutes to play in the game.

A 7-0 run over the next two minutes brought the Badgers within eight (60-52) with 5:02 remaining. Two 3-pointers by Bauman keyed a 6-3 Wisconsin run and pulled UW within five (63-58) with 3:13 to play. The Badgers also trailed by five (65-60) with less than two minutes to play but Illinois hit two straight baskets to go up 69-60. Wisconsin would get no closer than six points for the remainder of the game.

"You have to take the ball to the basket," Kelsey said of the second half of play. "We settled for too many long shots when we have a lot of space in front of us that nobody is occupying on the defense. There are parts of the floor that we don't take advantage of. Eventually we did and we got to the free-throw line 23 times.

"They had four people in foul trouble. We should've had that earlier in the game and not late. Once you dig a hole, we could never really get it under 10 and when we did time ran out."

The Badgers made 18-of-23 free throws (78.3 percent) in the game, including 17-of-21 (81 percent) in the second half. The 18 makes by the Badgers tied a season single-game high.

Wisconsin shot 36.8 percent (21-of-57) from the field, including just 34.4 percent (11-of-32) in the first half. The Badgers had three players in double figures led by 17 from Bauman. McMorris added 16 points and senior Michala Johnson chipped in 12 points.

Illinois had four players in double figures behind 16 apiece from Alex Wittinger and Chatrice White. White had a double-double with a game-high 11 rebounds as the Illini outboarded the Badgers 37-35. Redshirt junior Avyanna Young led UW with eight rebounds while Johnson added seven.

The Badgers return home to face No. 8 Maryland on Wednesday at 7 p.m. In the Kohl Center.

"Hey, anybody can be knocked off at any time," Kelsey said of facing the Terrapins. "You have to come out and play. Hopefully this will stir us up to come out and give our best. Maryland is a Final Four team but they're not going to go undefeated so why not us? We have to do what we're supposed to do."