Texas Hands Wisconsin First Loss of Season
November 24, 2001 | Women's Basketball
Pre-season games are designed to expose weaknesses and strengths, and the 23rd-ranked University of Wisconsin Badgers became aware of both in their 75-70 loss to Texas in the opening round of the Paradise Jam Tournament in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. Wisconsin drops to 1-1 on the season, while the Longhorns improve to 2-0.
The Badgers capitalized on four quick steals in the early-going to build a 21-12 lead at the 9:16 mark of the first half. UW maintained its lead over the next six minutes, as Freshman Ebba Gebisa came off of the bench to score six points and grab five rebounds, pushing the Badger margin to 34-20 with only three minutes left to play in the opening frame.
Texas battled back, however, and took advantage of Wisconsin defensive lapses to score the final 12 points of the stanza and close within two points, 34-32, at half-time.
The Badgers, who shot only 39% from the floor during the game, came out of the locker room cold, and the Longhorns claimed their first lead of the game, 44-43 after five minutes of action. The two teams played evenly for much of the half, battling to three lead changes and four tie scores.
Wisconsin continued to be hampered by poor shooting but managed to stay close, despite making only one of its final 11 field-goal attempts over the last seven minutes of the game.
With 37 second remaining, Kyle Black hit the Badgers' lone field-goal of the closing minutes, a three-point basket that narrowed the Texas lead to a mere two points, 72-70. The Longhorns preserved their victory, however, with three free throws to give them their final margin of 75-70.
Texas compensated for poor ball-handling during the game (25 turnovers) by outworking the Badgers on the boards. The Longhorns grabbed 12 more rebounds than UW (47-35), including 17 on the offensive end that led to 25 second-chance points for UT.
'Our rebounding effort was not as good as it could be, ' analyzed Wisconsin Head Coach Jane Albright. 'The biggest stat of the game, though, was that we fouled too many times [24 personal fouls]. Most of those were in transition or on rebounding. Our half-court defense was excellent. We forced 25 turnovers; that's really good, but in transition, we just didn't get back. '
Point Guard Tamara Moore led the Badgers with 17 points, while forward Jessie Stomski struggled with a sub-par shooting performance to finish with 16 points and seven rebounds. Gebisa notched career highs with 12 points and seven rebounds.
Stacy Stephens collected a double-double for the Longhorns with 17 points and a game-high 13 rebounds. Guard Kenya Larkin was a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line en route to scoring 14 points and dishing out six assists. Heather Schreiber was the final Texas player in double figures with 13 points.
Wisconsin plays in the consolation game of the Paradise Jam Tournament, tomorrow, Sunday, November 25 at 4:30 PM CST against the loser of the Florida-Southern California game.
