MADISON, Wis. – It was a battle to the end but the Wisconsin women's basketball team dropped its second-straight Big Ten Conference game, falling to Rutgers, 70-65, on Friday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
Three Badgers (1-2, 0-2 B1G) scored in double figures as sophomore
Sydney Hilliard scored 20-plus points for the third-straight game, leading all scorers with 22 tallies. Junior
Imani Lewis picked up her second-straight double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds while graduate transfer and Madison native
Estella Moschkau scored a career-high 13 points.
Rutgers (2-0, 1-0) also had three players score in double figures, led by 18 points from Zipporah Broughton. The Scarlet Knights won the game with their defense, forcing 27 Badger turnovers with their 22 steals. Rutgers scored 27 points off turnovers, including 25 fast-break notches.
Wisconsin held the lead over the Scarlet Knights for most of the first half, even taking a one-point lead (27-26) into halftime.
After the break, Rutgers turned up its defense, forcing seven Badger turnovers, to outscore Wisconsin 27-19 in the third quarter. A 7-2 run by the Scarlet Knights put them up 49-42 with 1:23 to play the quarter, a lead they would maintain after three periods (53-46).
Rutgers took its largest lead of the game at 65-55 with 3:45 to play but a late fourth-quarter push from the Badgers closed the gap to four points (67-63) with under a minute to play. Free-throw shooting put the game away for the Scarlet Knights as they made 3-6 down the stretch.
Wisconsin shot 45.8% (22-48) from the field, including 33.3% (4-12) from 3-point range while holding Rutgers to 36.2% (25-69) and just 11.8% (2-17) from deep. Both teams went to the line more than 20 times as 39 fouls were called in the game. The Badgers made 17-23 (73.9%) while Rutgers connected on 18-26 (69.2%).
UW outrebounded its third opponent of the season, finishing with a 40-33 edge over the Scarlet Knights.
Straight from the Court:
Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis:
"I think today you just saw a team that was really excited to have the opportunity to play its third game of the year. You can put all the statistics and everything aside, I'm looking at the growth component and making comparisons of not only where we were at this point last year but where we were against similar opponents.
"We held a Rutgers team to 35 percent (field goal shooting). We held one of the best players in the country (Arella Guirantes) to 3-for-14 from the field. Our half-court defense was pretty darn special today. Obviously the points off turnovers end up being a huge factor in getting easy baskets for them and getting them fired up, but I thought our execution once we got it into the half court - whether it was against the zone or the changing defenses they had at the end - we did a good job."
Sophomore guard Sydney Hilliard:
"They're very scrappy on defense. Always in the passing lanes, always looking to pick your pocket. But as Coach said, he told me I needed to be more aggressive (in the second half) and I think it helps the team when anyone is getting downhill. I just look to be aggressive and kick it to my teammates when they're open."
Graduate guard Estella Moschkau:
"As coach mentioned, there's no team like (Rutgers) in the PAC-12, maybe in the half court, but nothing with the press so it was definitely something new. They do speed you up and that's where they get you. They make you make poor decisions in transition, and I think as we prepare for next time, we'll definitely keep working against that press in practice."
Notes to Know:
- Graduate transfer Estella Moschkau scored a career high 13 points, making a career-best four field goals, including a career-high 3-5 from 3-point range. The 6-foot-1 guard went 2-2 from the free throw line, both career highs.
- Sophomore guard Sydney Hilliard scored 20-plus points for the third-straight game. The Monroe, Wisconsin, native scored a game-high 22 points, shooting 7-9 from the field and a career best 8-12 from the free-throw line.
- Freshman Kate Thompson scored a career-high four points, shooting 1-5 from the field and 2-3 from the line, and added a career-best five rebounds.
- Junior Imani Lewis tallied her second-straight double-double of the season with 12 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. The 6-foot-1 forward has 20 double-doubles for her career, which ranks her eighth at Wisconsin. She needs one more double-double to move into a tie for seventh.
- Sophomore Tara Stauffacher tied her career best with seven points, shooting 2-3 from the field, including 1-2 from 3-point range. She also went 2-2 from the free-throw line.
Up next
Wisconsin added a game to its original schedule and will play North Dakota Sunday at 2 p.m. from the Kohl Center. The game will be available to watch on Big Ten Network+ and listeners can tune in on U-100.9.
