The 2024-25 season for the University of Wisconsin-Madison women’s basketball team marked yet another consecutive losing season under coach Marisa Moseley, finishing the regular season 13-15. This fourth season under Moseley adds to a fifteen-year drought since the Badgers have had a record above .500.
The team fared poorly in Big Ten play, with a 4-13 conference record. This was underscored by an eight-game consecutive losing streak against Big Ten programs, spanning from the end of December to the end of January.
Season Results
Despite the end-of-year result, Wisconsin started the 2024-25 campaign hot with a 7-2 record in November. The first two games of the year were tune-up games against lower-caliber competition, with a 72-41 scrimmage routing of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and a decisive 95-68 season-opening win versus Wright State University.
Wisconsin’s first major win of the young season came in their third game when they hosted Georgetown University. A second-half surge led junior guard Ronnie Porter to a career-high 26 points and a double-double from junior Serah Williams helped push the Badgers past the Hoyas 79-61.
A few weeks later, the team showcased its potential in the 2024 Cancun Challenge, where it defeated both Providence and Omaha. Center Carter McCray, a sophomore transfer from Northern Kentucky, showed promise in this stretch after dropping 19 points versus Providence and VCU in back-to-back weeks.
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The Badgers continued their momentum into December with a nail-biting 66-64 victory over Rutgers in the team’s Big Ten opener. Senior guard Tess Myers and Porter came up with some late-game heroics to steal the Badgers’ first Big Ten win of the year.
Myers put the Badgers up by two with a cold-blooded 3-pointer with a minute left. Rutgers then tied the game with under 30 seconds remaining. Porter drove to the basket and got fouled with under one second on the clock, sinking two clutch free throws to secure the win.
From there, the Badgers stacked up hard-fought games, beating Butler and the University at Albany before losing nine out of their next 10 games, all against Big Ten foes.
In this stretch of losses, the defeat at the hands of Minnesota stung bitterly. The Golden Gophers came out striking with a 23-4 lead in the first quarter, however, the Badgers rallied behind an inspired second-half comeback.
Williams and Porter stepped up once again to try and claw the Badgers back in the game with 16 and 13 points, respectively. Wisconsin outscored Minnesota 20-10 in the final quarter, but it was not enough to overcome the hole they were in, and Minnesota came out on top 59-50.
The squad continued to struggle until they played an inspired brand of basketball to break their losing streak against the Michigan Wolverines. The Badgers got hot from behind the arc, shooting 48% from the 3-point line.
Junior guard Lily Krahn and Myers put up an onslaught of 3-pointers on the Wolverines. Wisconsin drained nine 3-pointers by halftime, heading into the break with a 34-30 lead.
The game continued to be a back-and-forth affair, but the Badgers were able to put the game away comfortably, with an 18-7 run to seal the deal for Wisconsin after paint-scoring from Williams and McCray.
The defeat of the Wolverines was followed by a four-game losing streak to more Big Ten schools. The Badgers suffered losses at home to No. 7 USC and Illinois and were bested by Purdue and No. 22 Michigan State on the road.
Wisconsin was able to tally a victory visiting Penn State in a close contest of 75-68. Graduate student Halle Douglass had her best game of the season, scoring 17 points, including a season-high four 3-pointers.
Once again, Williams proved dominant with 23 points, marking her 24th game this season in double figures and her 13th double-double of the season. Porter looked poised again as the team’s main ball handler with 18 points and a career-high 12 assists.
The end of the season was underlined by a senior night win versus Northwestern. Grad students Myers, Natalie Leuzinger and Douglass were honored as the Badgers beat the Wildcats 73-68.
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End-of-season reflection
Time and time again, one of the key bright spots on this Badger squad was power forward Williams. The junior averaged a double-double on the season, leading the team with 19.1 points per game and 10 rebounds per game on 49.1% shooting from the field.
Williams impressed against ranked competition, highlighted by a monster 20-point and 17-rebound performance in a loss to No. 9 Ohio State. She also put on a show in her highest-scoring game of the year, which took place in a double overtime win versus Butler, where Williams went off for 36 points and 14 rebounds.
In addition, Porter continued to make her case as one of the most underrated players in the Big Ten with a strong junior campaign of 8.7 points per game and 5.2 assists per game.
McCray also became a great partner in crime with Williams in the frontcourt, finishing the year with 10.7 points per game and 7.3 rebounds on 56.9% shooting.
The Badgers still have an opportunity to make some noise in postseason play, as they qualified for the Big Ten tournament as the 14-seed and will play against Iowa in the first round on March 5 in Indianapolis, Indiana.
One of the biggest tasks for the Badgers this off-season is replacing the void left by Myers and Leuzinger. Myers was the most reliable perimeter scorer on the team with a lethal catch-and-shoot 3-pointer and Leuzinger was a sure-handed guard who could distribute the ball well.
While the loss of two key contributors presents a hurdle for the program, the core of Williams, McCray and Porter can be a foundation for a more promising team in the 2025-26 season.
But, teams such as USC, UCLA and Ohio State are not going anywhere in an increasingly deep Big Ten. This leaves added pressure on Moseley’s coaching to elevate the team’s performance and achieve greater success in conference play.
Ultimately, the Badgers’ success next season will depend on their ability and the continued development of the younger core of the roster and perhaps some talented transfer portal players. With this, the Badgers have a chance to be a competitive team and secure a higher seed in the Big Ten tournament next season.