For the first time in 40 days, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team (11-10, 2-8 Big Ten) added a tally to its win column, defeating the Michigan Wolverines (14-7, 5-5) 82-75 at the Kohl Center to snap an eight-game losing streak on Wednesday night.
Junior forward Serah Williams led the Badgers with 22 points and added seven rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Combined, the trio of juniors Natalie Leuzinger and Lily Krahn and graduate student Tess Myers shot 11-for-18 on three-pointers.
Standout Michigan freshman Olivia Olson paced the Wolverines in points with 30 on 13-of-19 shooting.
Wisconsin doubled its season average in made three-pointers, burying 12 triples on the night. Nine of those makes came in the first half, their most made three-pointers in a half this season. But it wasn’t just the sheer volume of three-pointers that warranted attention, it was the lack of production from inside the arc.
The Badgers shot 3-for-9 on two-pointers during the first 20 minutes as 27 of its 34 first-half points came from long range.
After being burned defensively on the perimeter, Michigan turned its focus on shutting down the Badgers’ three-point attack in the second half. While they succeeded in running the Badgers off the three-point line, the Wolverines left ample space inside for Williams and sophomore Carter McCray to work.
“[Michigan] had to make an adjustment because the shooters were making shots,” Badger head coach Marisa Moseley said. “They had to pick their poison.”
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Williams and the Badgers took advantage of the Wolverines’ adjustments and exploited Michigan’s interior defense late. The star forward accumulated 14 points in the final quarter, going 3-for-3 from the field and 8-for-9 from the charity stripe.
Williams was at the forefront of a massive momentum shift late in the fourth, making two free throws, stripping the ball from junior Yulia Grabovskaia and making an and-one jumper while falling to the ground to send the Kohl Center into a frenzy and give Wisconsin its first lead of the fourth quarter.
McCray added an and-one of her own on Wisconsin’s next offensive possession, resulting in one of the loudest crowd pops the Kohl Center has had this season. Though the Badgers only led by three, momentum was fully on their side with two minutes to play.
Ronnie Porter would score four straight points in the ensuing 90 seconds, stretching Wisconsin’s advantage to seven points and forcing Michigan to intentionally foul. Despite shooting 70% as a team leading up to Wednesday’s game, Wisconsin went 7-for-8 from the charity stripe in the final minute and ended the game 18-for-21 (85.7%) on free throws.
Not only was it a statement victory for Wisconsin, but it also provided a chance to the Badgers to exhale after finally coming out on the winning end of a tight game.
“Our last few losses, we were right there,” Leuzinger said. “We just had to find a way to play four full quarters and tonight we did that.”
Now 11-10 on the season and 2-8 in conference play, Wisconsin will hit the road, where they will face off against Purdue on Sunday, Feb. 2 at 1 p.m.