Indianapolis, Ind. -- The No. 13-seed Wisconsin women's basketball team opened up the 2019 Big Ten Conference Women's Basketball Tournament on Wednesday defeating No. 12-seed Penn State, 65-57, at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Badgers came out hot and clawed their way past the Lady Lions, avenging two regular-season losses, to stay alive in the tournament.

It was the first post-season game for Wisconsin freshman Imani Lewis and she led the game with 17 points and added nine boards while senior Marsha Howard in her final post-season tournament recorded her ninth double-double of the season with 15 points and 14 rebounds. Junior Kendra VanLeeuwen also shot in double figures with 10 points while shooting 4-4 from the field.
 
Senior Kelly Karlis, in her first and final Big Ten Tournament, led the Badgers with a career-high eight assists and two blocks.
 
Wisconsin (14-17) came out on a mission from the tip off, leading 13-5 at the first media timeout at the 5:15 mark of the first quarter. UW continued to score and used a 5-0 run to start the second quarter (23-11) to grab its first 12-point lead with 5:03 left until the half (28-16).
 
Penn State (12-18) found some rhythm in the third quarter, using a 7-0 run to close out the period to come within five points of the Badgers (43-38). PSU outscored UW 16-11 in the third.
 
The Lady Lions grabbed the first points of the fourth quarter to get as close as three points (43-40) at the 8:44 mark and used four 3-pointers in the quarter to try to make a game of it. But the Badgers were able to counter back and seal the deal as the Lady Lions were forced to foul and Wisconsin made six free throws in that last two minutes of the game.
 
UW connected on 41 percent (25-61) from the field, including 25 percent (2-8) from 3-point range, and 56.5 percent (13-23) from the free-throw line.
 
PSU shot 35 percent (21-60) from the field, including 29.3 percent (7-24) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 percent (8-12) from the charity stripe.
 
UW dominated off the glass, outrebounding PSU 45-37, leading to 15 second-chance points.
 
Wisconsin also outscored PSU 38-16 from the paint and 18-5 points off of turnovers.
 
Kamaria McDaniel led the Lady Lions with 16 points, including three from 3-point range, while Teniya Page grabbed 14 points and two from three-point range.


 
Notes to know 

• The Badgers advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2017.
• Redshirt senior Kelly Karlis dished off a career-high eight assists.
• Wisconsin improves to 3-1 on neutral courts this season.

Straight from the Court

""It's hard to beat a team three times and when you're the team that lost the first two it's easy to believe in that.
 
"I thought we were really active in the first half, but we obviously had to weather the storm with Imani Lewis being in foul trouble. I thought we had poise in the last six minutes and had better shots. With the lead, we took good enough care with the basketball and made free-throws, but that poise helped us win.
 
"We get the chance to continue to play another great team and our kids are excited about it and another chance to advance."

     - Head coach Jonathan Tsipis 


"I sent out a group text to everyone letting them know that this could potentially be it for me and Kelly (Karlis), but that we weren't going out without a fight. We just wanted to have everyone play confident, together, and to keep battling. The response I got back from my teammates were 'let's go, we aren't letting you guys go out like this,' and we will continue to fight, and whatever the outcome is we were going to do it together.
 
"Offensively it was a slow start for me, but I continued to crash the boards the entire game to get us extra possessions or limiting them to one shot a possession because they have a lot of shooters around the perimeter and big bodies inside. And when the opportunity presented itself with a bucket, that was when things started to roll in."

     - Senior Marsha Howard


"Before the game my dad talked to me and said to just play hard and give everything you have because you never know what could happen throughout the game. He said no matter what happens, always keep your head held high and never give up. Even the seniors said they didn't want this to be their last game and I said, 'I got you, this won't be your last game.' So, it's about always keeping my head in the game, listening and being mindful of what is going on.

     - Freshman Imani Lewis


Up Next
The Badgers are moving on in the Big Ten Tournament and will match up against No. 5-seed Ohio tomorrow for Game 4. Tip-off is set at approximately at 1:30 p.m. CT from the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.