PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Notching their first Big Ten Conference win of the season and their first conference road win since 2020, the Wisconsin women's basketball team outscored Rutgers, 19-8, in the fourth quarter to win 49-45.

Wisconsin (4-12, 1-5 B1G) struggled with its shooting in the first half, trailing 19-7 after the first period, but kept themselves in close range with Rutgers (7-12, 0-7) thanks to their pressure-filled defense that forced the Scarlet Knights into 10 first-half turnovers. A low-scoring first half allowed Wisconsin to close the Rutgers' lead to 27-18 at the half.

The Badger offense started to heat up in the third quarter, opening the period on a 6-0 run, cutting the RU lead to 27-24 with 8:04 on the clock. Rutgers got its lead back up to 10 (36-26) with 1:35 remaining before a Kate Nelson 3-pointer with 1:21 left to play changed the momentum for Wisconsin. The Badgers outscored Rutgers, 12-10 in the third period, but trailed 37-30 heading into the final quarter.

The fourth period proved to be all Badgers on both ends of the court. Defensively, Wisconsin forced 15 second-half turnovers while offensively it was the guard trio of Nelson, Sydney Hilliard and Julie Pospisilova that closed the game out for the Badgers.

Nelson scored five of the first seven points for UW in the fourth quarter, cutting the Scarlet Knight lead to 39-37 with 7:26 remaining. It was Pospisilova who would scored four straight points to tie the game at 41 with 4:58 to play and give Wisconsin its first lead of the game (43-41) with 3:12 remaining in the game. Two free throws from Sara Stapleton put the Badgers up 45-41 with 2:21 on the clock.

The Scarlet Knights would make it a two-point game (47-45) before Hilliard hit a clutch fade-away baseline jumper as the shot clock expir, giving Wisconsin a 47-43 lead with 1:29 to play. Rutgers cut UW's lead to 47-45 with 1:07 remaining and had a chance for a game-winning 3-pointer with two seconds on the clock but once again the Wisconsin defense came up big, forcing a shot-clock violation to reclaim the ball. The Badgers went 2-4 from the free-throw line over the last seconds for the win.

Hilliard and Pospisilova shared game-high honors with 13 points a piece while Hilliard led Wisconsin with six rebounds from Hilliard. Nelson added nine points on the day, going 2-4 from deep.

Wisconsin shot 37.5% (18-48) from the field while Rutgers hit 47.5% (19-40) but just 33.3% (2-9) in the fourth quarter. The Badgers had the advantage from the free-throw line, shooting 71.4% (10-14) while the Scarlet Knights made just 50% (5-10).

RU out-rebounded Wisconsin 33-19 but the Badgers had a season-high 15 steals, forcing an opponent season-high 25 turnovers. Halle Douglass led all players with a career-high five steals. UW scored 21 points off turnovers. Wisconsin had 14 turnovers.

Straight from the court

Head Coach Marisa Moseley

"Our kids really had a never-die attitude. We had some big plays and some big moments from a lot of different kids. Sara Stapleton came in and gave us some huge minutes. Katie Nelson, Sydney Hilliard and Julie Pospisilova all really stepped up and made some big shots. It was a team, a collective win and even on a day when it didn't feel like any ball was going (in), our defense really stepped up for us and we were able to make them when it counted.

One of the critical moments for me was when Halle Douglass made that steal on the press. We've been struggling this season with getting those 50-50 balls and she really sacrificed, got down and knocked the ball away, and we were able to get the possession back. Once we started settling in and executing, and our kids were feeling more comfortable with running our stuff. We played at the pace that we wanted to. We did an excellent job of handling their pressure. I'm just proud all-around of our effort and of them really buying into our preparation and game plan.

It feels really good. I'm just incredibly proud for my kids because they work extremely hard. We continue to challenge them and they answer the call. I'm really proud for them and for them to have that feeling, and build their confidence that we can compete in this league." 

Notes to Know

• Sophomore Halle Douglass tied her career high with a team-high four assists. She also recorded a career-high five steals.
• Freshman Krystyna Ellew tied her career best with two steals.
• Junior Julie Pospisilova continues her double-figure scoring streak, scoring in double-figures all 14 games she has played in this season. The 6-foot-1 guard shared game-high honors with Sydney Hilliard with 13 points.
• After missing the Illinois game on Jan. 9 and playing only eight minutes vs. Minnesota on Jan. 12, Sydney Hilliard shared game-high honors with Julie Pospisilova with 13 points. She shot 6-10 from the field and pulled down a team-high six rebounds.
• Junior Sara Stapleton shot a perfect 4-4 from the free-throw line, her fourth game this season she shot 1.000 from the charity stripe. On the season, the post is 24-35 (.706) from the line.
• Wisconsin wins its first Big Ten road game since defeating Illinois, 73-64, on Feb. 2, 2020.
• The Badgers pulled down a season-low 19 rebounds, which ties for second on the UW record list for fewest rebounds.
• UW made just three 3-pointers, tying a season low for makes.

Up next

The Badgers stay on the road to face off against No. 11 Michigan Thursday night in their second matchup with the Wolverines this season. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT from the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan.