MADISON, Wis. – EVANSTON, Ill. – Despite leading after the first quarter, the Wisconsin women's basketball team wasn't able to hold on to the advantage, falling to Northwestern, 72-46, on Sunday afternoon.
Wisconsin (10-9, 1-6 BIG) came out hot in the first quarter using a 7-0 run with 3:06 left in the period, making it an early eight-point game, 15-7. UW made 12-of-15 points in the paint, but would be unable to keep the lead.
Northwestern found their rhythm late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter, using a 15-0 run to take a 22-15 lead with 4:11 to play in the second. The Wildcats held the Badgers to just two points in the second quarter as senior
Marsha Howard connected on UW's only basket (22-17) at the 3:34 mark in the second quarter.
The Wildcat duo of Lindsey Pulliam and Pallas Kunaiyi-Akpanah were hard to contain as both led NU with 21 points. Pulliam shot 11-12 (91.7 percent) from the free-throw line and added three steals while Kunaiyi-Akpanah led all players with 15 rebounds and three blocks.
UW attacked in the third quarter, using a 6-0 run in the middle of the period to make it 40-29 at the four-minute mark. The Badgers took advantage of their full-court press to pull within 10 twice in the period, including at 44-34 with 2:03 to play.
A free-throw fest in the fourth quarter gave NU the upper hand as the Wildcats shot 76.9 (10-13) in the last quarter to extend their lead by 23 points (72-46).
The Badger duo of senior
Marsha Howard and junior
Suzanne Gilreath led the Badgers with 11 points. The duo would also shoot 100 percent from the free-throw line on the day - Howard (1-1) and Gilreath (3-3). Howard also led the team in rebounds with nine.
UW shot a season-low 24.6 percent (16-65) from the field, including just 12.5 percent (3-24) from 3-point range. The Badgers improved from the free-throw line, hitting 61.1 percent (11-18). NU shot 43.1 percent (25-58) from the field, but just 10 percent (1-10) beyond the arc. The Wildcats took advantage of 19 Badger fouls, shooting 77.8 percent (21-27) from the charity line.
The Badgers gave up the ball only 13 times but Northwestern had 10 steals, scoring 22 points off UW turnovers. The Wildcats dished off 18 assists while having only nine turnovers.
NU outrebounded UW 48-41.
Straight from the court
"I think confidence is an amazing thing, but you have to credit Northwestern defense. I thought we were much better in the third quarter, we did not shoot as well as we would have liked, but we attacked and got to the line.
"I think our ball pressure was better than it was on Thursday night against Minnesota, but when someone has 2-to-1 on assists to turnovers, you are not doing enough to make them uncomfortable."
- Head coach Jonathan Tsipis
Up next
The Badgers are back in the Kohl Center for a two-game home stand beginning with a re-match versus Penn State on Thursday night. The game tips off at 7 p.m.
