MADISON, Wis – The Wisconsin women's basketball team (1-1-0, 0-1 B1G) returns to the Kohl Center this Friday to face-off with its second Big Ten opponent of the season, the Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0) with tip-off scheduled for 2 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.

Here are five things to know before tuning in:
 
1. REACHING NEW PEAKS: For the second game in a row, starting guard Sydney Hilliard surpassed her career high in points, setting a bigger and better goal for herself in each game this season. The guard scored 26 points versus Iowa last Saturday, surpassing her previous career high of 24, which she scored against Western Illinois in the Badgers' season opener. Hilliard has also notched new career high this season in field goals made with 11, assists with six and minutes with 38.
 
2. FRESH PLAYERS: The Badgers boast four freshman players who have seen the court so far this season. Brooke Schramek leads the way for the freshmen, averaging 16 minutes a game as she had a strong outing at Iowa with six points, three rebounds and shooting 4-4 from the free-throw line. Forward Kate Thompson has also played in both games for the Badgers so far this season, averaging eight minutes and two rebounds a game. The other two freshmen seeing playing time so far for Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis are Halle Douglass and Lovisa Djurström. Djurström made her debut against Western Illinois and Douglass saw her first minutes at Iowa last weekend. This Wisconsin depth will be a key factor moving into the rest of the season.  
 
3. MADISON'S STAPLE: Sophomore Sara Stapleton has taken on a much larger role for the Badgers in her second year at forward and is continuing to be a presence in the paint. The Minnesota native is averaging just over eight points and seven rebounds a game in 22 minutes of play. Moving into a starting role, Stapleton continues to take on a large amount of Wisconsin's rebounding core and paint defense. She recorded her first career double-double versus Western Illinois and continues to set career highs early in the season.
 
4. SCOUTING RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights are 1-0 so far this season, defeating Monmouth in their season opener, but Rutgers has not played a game since its opener, two weeks ago. The Scarlet Knights' defensive outing was the most impressive part of their 1-0 start, holding Monmouth to only 38 points total including just four points in the second quarter. Senior guard Arella Guirantes has emerged as the all-around leader for Rutgers, putting up an impressive stat line of 22 points, five rebound, five assists, three steals and three blocks against Monmouth. The Badgers only lost to Rutgers by three points at the Kohl Center last season and will seek out their first Big Ten win of the year this Friday.
 
5. HOW TO WATCH: The Badgers make their first appearance on the Big Ten Network with Friday's game. Fans can also listen to Jon Arias and George Haas call the game on U 100.9 FM radio. Find live stats and updates by following @BadgerWBB on any social media platform as well.