Following Wednesday’s up-and-down battle against Nebraska, Marisa Moseley’s Wisconsin squad (7-20, 4-13 Big Ten) ventures to West Lafayette for a showdown with Katie Gearlds and the Purdue Boilermakers (16-12, 7-10 Big Ten) Feb. 27.
The two last met Feb. 13 of this year, when UW pulled off the most miraculous comeback in program history and secured its fourth conference victory of the season.
The Badgers held Gearlds’ group to just 17 combined second-half points. With a 2-3 record against Purdue since December of 2018, Wisconsin aims to complete the sweep this season.
Orchestrated by first-year head coach Katie Gearlds, anchor of the 2016 and 2017 National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics championship teams at Marian University, the Boilermakers score 69.7 points, shoot 42.3% from the floor, collect 35.7 boards and score 15.1 points off giveaways. Purdue also ranks 30th out of 348 qualified programs in Division I competition with nearly 16 assists per game, so Katie Nelson and Julie Pospíšilová, who total 81 swipes, will need to move quickly on the perimeter and clog passing lanes on Sunday afternoon.
Across the hardwood, UW accounts for 57.4 points per contest with 39.5% from the field and a much-improved 32.4% split from deep. The Badgers dish out 12.7 assists, manage 11.3 points off turnovers, force 6.8 steals and gobble up 29.5 boards, the fourth-worst clip in the country. As Badger faithful witnessed just fourteen days ago against this opponent, Wisconsin grabbed 35 total rebounds, so if Sara Stapleton, Brooke Schramek and Halle Douglass can match Purdue’s low-post threats, the Badgers could certainly claim their eighth win of the season prior to the Big Ten Tournament.
Although Wisconsin’s offensive attack often appears one-dimensional, each starter boasted a double-digit scoring output on Wednesday evening. Following a 15-point, five-assist performance, junior Pospíšilová notches 13.8 tallies, snatches four boards and distributes three assists in 36.4 minutes per outing. Point guard Nelson, who eclipsed the 1,000-minute mark earlier this week, leads UW with 101 dimes and 45 thefts.
Keep an eye out for Schramek — the sophomore earns 8.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per bout, including 12.4 points and roughly five boards over her last eight games.
Purdue names to monitor
Sophomore Madison Layden, a 33% three-point shooter, punched in just one field goal for four total points in 35 total minutes on the court against UW earlier this season, so anticipate a much stronger display from behind the arc. Jeanae Terry, who leads Purdue in rebounding, corralled 17 (yes, 17) misses off the glass against the Badgers.
Her teammate, Cassidy Hardin, executed three shots from long-range last time these teams met, so Nelson and Pospíšilová should look to apply pressure outside to deter long rebounds and second-chance looks from the Boilermakers on Sunday.
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