Badgers Upset No. 19 Washington, 87-67
November 18, 2001 | Women's Basketball
The Wisconsin women's basketball team built a 10-point halftime lead, withstood a Washington rally midway through the second half and built a larger lead to upset the No. 19 Huskies, 87-67, Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center.
'I thought our players did a good job of having a lot of poise and a lot of concentration,' Albright said. 'We just played really consistent.'
The senior triumvirate of Jessie Stomski (Oakdale, Minn.), Tamara Moore (Minneapolis) and Kyle Black (Indianapolis) led the Badgers in scoring and court presence. Virtually unstoppable down low, Stomski recorded her 25th career double-double, tallying 13 rebounds, including seven offensive boards and 22 points. Moore's takes to the basket, tenacious defense and two coast-to-coast drives put 18 points on the board for the Badgers, while Black added 21 points.
Opening the game with a 6-0 run, Wisconsin (1-0) never trailed in its season opener. The Badgers also came out strong on the defensive end, holding the Huskies scoreless for the first two and a half minutes of the game.
The Badgers continued to put the pressure on Washington and built a 14-point lead at 25-11, 11 minutes into the game. Later, the Huskies cut into the Badger lead making the score 27-20, but Black hit one of her two three pointers to put the Badgers up by ten. Moore was off to the races twice in the closing minutes of the first half, tallying four points on the fast break. Loree Payne kept the West Coast UW in the ball game with three first half treys, but the Huskies still trailed 43-33 at the half-way point.
Four minutes into second half, the Badgers led 54-42 when the Huskies started their comeback. Washington held Wisconsin scoreless during a three-and-a-half minute 9-0 run. A quick inbound pass from Moore to Stomski ended the Wisconsin scoring drought to put the score at 56-51, but the Huskies pulled within one at 56-55 after a timeout.
'We didn't panic and we just stuck to what we wanted to do,' Albright said. '[Washington's] a great team, and to win by one would've been great for me. They're awesome.'
The Huskies would get no closer as Moore hit a jumper to stir the crowd after a thirty-second timeout. On the ensuing possession, frosh Stephanie Rich (Crawfordsville, Iowa) stepped in front of a Huskie pass and drove down the court to make it 60-55.
With the crowd noise at its peak, the Badgers regained a double-figure lead over the Huskies. Wisconsin kept feeding the ball inside to Stomski, frosh Ebba Gebisa (West Lafayette, Ind.) and even Black to hit several old fashioned three-point plays down the stretch.
'I think this was a great team win for us,' Albright said. 'I felt like everybody we had contributed in a lot of different ways and I thought we really stuck to our game plan.'
Washington native Emily Ashbaugh (Woodinville, Wash.) played only 13 minutes due to foul trouble, but still added four points, six rebounds and two blocks.
The Badgers play this weekend at the Virgin Islands Paradise Jam Tournament. Wisconsin tips off against Texas on Sat. 24 at 11 a.m.
