MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin women's basketball team was defeated by Nebraska, 69-57, Wednesday, Jan. 4 inside the Kohl Center. The Badgers fought back from double-digit deficits, injuries and foul trouble, but never let up during the contest.

After missing the Badgers' last game against Purdue, Serah Williams initiated Wisconsin's scoring with a crafty layup at the net. Ronnie Porter followed up with two driving layups to the basket. Trailing by two, Sania Copeland drained a three which kicked off a 7-0 run by the Badgers that tied up the contest at 13-all. After a close 10 minutes of play, the Badgers trailed the Huskers, 20-15, heading into quarter two. 

The Badgers' first points of the second quarter were long awaited, and did not come until 6:15 on the clock when Halle Douglass drained a three-pointer. Despite this, the Badgers found themselves down just seven points, but in foul trouble as Williams, Porter, and Brooke Schramek were all seated on the bench with two fouls each. As Wisconsin looked to chip away at Nebraska's lead, D'Yanis Jimenez exited the game with an injury, leaving the team with a short bench. Wisconsin headed into the locker room down 38-27 and looked to regroup in the second half.

Down 13 points early on, Wisconsin had a sizable deficit to overcome. Despite the challenge ahead, the Badgers banded together and slowly picked away at the Huskers' lead. Natalie Leuzinger and Schramek knocked down back-to-back threes to stimulate the offense, and two layups from Williams and Porter shifted the game's momentum. Wisconsin went on another 7-0 run which resulted in Wisconsin trailing by just three points with 3:20 in the third quarter. With under one second on the clock, Leuzinger dropped a thrilling two at the buzzer. Wisconsin was down just two points, 49-47, with 10 minutes remaining.  

In a back-and-forth start to the fourth quarter, Leuzinger and Schramek both sank threes to prove the Badgers' grit and undying persistence to win. However, scoring was difficult to come by in the final five minutes, leaving Wisconsin down 69-57 to finish the contest.

Wisconsin shot 36.1 (22-61) from the field range, and 21.2% (7-33) from 3-point range. The Badgers shot 75.0% (6-8)  from the free-throw line. The team outrebounded Nebraska with a total of 38, and added 15 assists. 

Nebraska went 43.9% (25-57) from field-goal range, including 33.3% (9-27)  from behind the arc. The Cornhuskers  were 55.6% (10-18)  from the free-throw line. The team was led in scoring by Natalie Potts who dropped 16 points (7-10 FG, 2-3FT) with five rebounds and three steals.

Notes to know

• Wisconsin out-rebounded Nebraska 38-36.

• Ronnie Porter finished the game with 10 points, nine rebounds and seven assists.

• Natalie Leuzinger tied her career-high in field-goals made with five. 

Up next

Wisconsin will play its first road game of 2024 as it takes on Illinois on Sunday, Jan. 7 inside the State Farm Center at 2 p.m. The game can be streamed on BTN+ or listened to on 1070 WTSO-AM.