MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's basketball team had a chance Thursday night for a Border Battle redemption versus No. 23 Minnesota at the Kohl Center, but came up short, falling 78-50.
Wisconsin (10-7, 1-5 BIG) had a slow start, down 10 points (14-4) with 4:05 left in the first period before
Marsha Howard took control. The senior scored six straight points for UW to come within six points (16-10) with 41 seconds left in the first.
Minnesota (13-4, 2-4 BIG) responded with a 7-0 start to the second quarter, increasing its lead to 24-10 at the 6:52 mark in the period. Junior
Abby Laszewski added the next five points, pulling the Badgers within single digits (24-15) with 4:52 to play in the half but the Gophers continue to score extending their lead 35-17 at the half.
Despite a strong third quarter, the Badgers were not able to hang with the Gophers in the fourth quarter. A 9-0 Minnesota run put the visitors up 66-37 with 6:17 left to play but UW never gave up as the freshmen trio of
Diamond Bragg,
Imani Lewis, and
Alex Luehring chipped in a 9-0 run late in the fourth period.
The Gophers shot 28-57 (49.1 percent) from the field while hitting 6-10 (60 percent) from 3-point range. Minnesota connected on 16-22 (72.7 percent) from the free-throw line.
UW shot 38.5 percent from the field (20-52), including 22.2 percent (2-9) beyond the arc. The Badgers struggled behind the free-throw line, shooting 38.1 percent (8-21).
Howard led the Badgers with 10 points and three steals while Laszewski added nine points and three blocks. Sophomore
Niya Beverley recorded a team-high five assists.
The Badgers struggled to contain Minnesota's Kenisha Bell, who led all players with 25 points and 10 assists. Annalese Lamke chipped in 15 points and nine rebounds while Taiye Bello added 14 points and nine rebounds for the Gophers.
Minnesota outrebounded Wisconsin 37-28 and dished off 18 assists compared to eight for the Badgers. UW gave up the ball 16 times while the Gophers had 12 turnovers.
The Badgers out blocked the Gophers, 7-4, behind Laszewski and also finished with a 9-6 advantage in steals behind three from Howard.
Notes to know
- Freshman Diamond Bragg scored a career-high five points, shooting 2-2 from the field and 1-2 from the free throw line.
- Wisconsin tied its season high with nine steals. Senior Marsha Howard had a season-high three steals while Kelly Karlis and Alex Luehring both added two takeaways.
- The Badgers set a season low, taking nine 3-point attempts, and tying a season-low by scoring on two triples.
- Minnesota scored an opponent season-high 78 points.
Straight from the court
"I think the easiest place to start is that I didn't feel like we were ready to play. Hats off to Minnesota, obviously they had some struggles coming into this game. Today, Kenisha Bell showed why she is an all-conference player from the very start in the mode she was in.
"I did think it was one of our best two or three shoot arounds of the year today. Our kids had great energy, they were locked into what we were trying to do from a defensive game plan.
"As much as we were locked in and played with great effort, today I think Minnesota wanted the game more. It's a rivalry game, it's the second time around, we're both hungry to get a Big Ten win. I think the stat sheet is very telling, but I think our group is capable of a lot more. We've got to be able to get the quick turnaround and just get ready for Northwestern."
- Head coach Jonathan Tsipis
"You just have to give credit to Minnesota. They came out ready to play. They executed on both ends of the floor and they found open players and they made open shots and they were a little hungrier than us. We just need to find our passion and what we want our outcomes to be and execute on that."
- Senior Marsha Howard
Up next
The Badgers hit the road on Sunday traveling to Northwestern. The Wildcats are 10-7 on the season and 3-3 in the Big Ten. Tip time is 3:30 pm from the new Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois.
