Game Coverage
Saturday, Dec. 2 | 11 a.m. — Madison, Wis - Kohl Center
MADISON, Wis. – After the women's basketball program's best start since 2012-13, the Badgers (4-3 overall) are gearing up for their return home to the Kohl Center Saturday to face La Salle. UW enters a tough stretch with the Explorers, playing five games in the span of just nine days, including road games at No. 23 Marquette and at Butler.
Saturday's game will be broadcast live on BTN Plus and on FloHoops.com. The game can be heard live on 100.9FM while live statistics can be found at UWBadgers.com.
1. LOOKING BACK: On Wednesday, the Badgers defeated Pittsburgh (58-57) in a nail-biter face-off as part of the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Wisconsin battled back at the end after a slow fourth quarter for the Badgers. UW also shot a season-high 85.7 percent from the free-throw line and dominated the board with 48 rebounds to the panthers' 25. Marsha Howard also saw the first double-double of her career scoring 14 points and adding 15 rebounds.
2. EXPLORING THE EXPLORERS: La Salle has started its season with a 4-3 record after going 2-0 at the Christmas City Classic defeating New Hampshire (59-51) and Lehigh (69-61). Following a season-opening win against Lafayette (74-47) the Explorers faced three-straight loses. This Saturday will be the first time that the Badgers and Explorers have faced each other in program history. However, head coach Jonathan Tsipis faced La Salle four times in his time in the Atlantic 10 conference at the helm of George Washington and holds a 3-1 record against the Explorers.
3. FOLLOW THE LEADER: Leading the Explorers is Amy Griffin who has 103 points on the season and an average of 17.2 per game. La Salle averages 59.3 points per game while their opponents average 62.2 points per game. The Badgers currently average 63.1 points per game and are led by Cayla McMorris who also has 103 points on the season for an average of 14.7 points per game.
4. DOUBLE DIPPING: Several Badgers have rocketed into the double digits all across the stat sheet. Senior guard Cayla McMorris has scored in the double digits six of seven games and exceeded 20 points against both Southern University and Syracuse. Marsha Howard has also seen her fair share of impressive figures. The junior forward currently averages 12.3 points per game and 8.1 rebounds including a career-best 15 rebounds against Pittsburgh last Wednesday. Sophomores Courtney Fredrickson, Abby Laszewski, Kendra Van Leeuwen and Suzanne Gilreath have all reached double-digit scoring this season as well.
5. THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE!: Wisconsin has been playing in some extremely close games in the start of the season. Four of the Badgers' games have been decided by three points or less as four of those games have been in the team's last five contests. Aside from a 15-point loss to George Washington, UW has won three games by less than three points and has only suffered one loss by three points in the last five games. UW's upcoming opponent La Salle has also been playing in some close games as of late. The Explorers' last three games have all been decided by eight points or less, and all three have been victories for La Salle.
