Josephson Leads Badgers Over Hampton
November 28, 2003 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin Head Coach Lisa Stone secured her first win at Wisconsin and the Badgers evened their record at 1-1 with a 49-38 victory over Hampton University in the opening round of the Conesto/Coconut Grove Thanksgiving Classic in Miami this afternoon. Sophomore guard Ashley Josephson led all scorers with a career-high 18 points to pace UW. Hampton drops to 0-3 on the season.
In a hard-fought defensive struggle, the Badgers held the Lady Pirates to a mere 23% shooting from the floor, while UW converted 34% of its field goal attempts. Wisconsin held a slight rebounding advantage (48-42), but 23 Badger turnovers let Hampton stay close.
'It's a win,' said Coach Stone. 'we take the win and move on. It will give us some confidence, but the concerns are turnovers and [Hampton's] 20 offensive rebounds. Understanding that teams are going to be scrappy, we have to get a little stronger and tougher with the ball. '
Wisconsin held Hampton to only six field goals in a chaotic first half that saw Wisconsin take control early and race to a 15-point lead, 27-12, with two minutes left to play. Untimely Badger fouls, however, allowed the Pirates to score the last five points of the half and go into the locker room trialing by ten (27-17).
UW's sloppy play continued at the start of the final frame, as three quick fouls and two turnovers, allowed Hampton to mount a 7-2 run to pull to within 29-24. Wisconsin's post players battled foul trouble throughout the game with Lello Gebisa fouling out in only nine minutes of action and center Emily Ashbaugh playing much of the second half with four fouls.
The game remained close until an 11-6 run, sparked by five points from Josephson, pushed the Badger lead to 45-32 with 4:17 left to play. An ensuing scoring drought kept Hampton's hopes alive, but an Ashbaugh lay-up with a minute left to play sealed the win.
'I thought we showed some character down the stretch hanging in there,' praised Coach Stone. 'Our bench was depleted due to fouls, injuries [forward Kjersten Bakke sat out the game with and injury] and the heat, but we rose up and pulled the win out.'
Josephson's 18 points led all scorers, and she also grabbed six rebounds. Ashbaugh paced the Badgers down low and finished with 10 points and six boards, including five on the offensive end. Jordan Wilson logged a career-high 35 minutes due to UW's foul woes and grabbed a personal best eight rebounds in the game. The Pirates held Stephanie Rich to only seven points, but she made up for it on the defensive end by collecting a game-high nine rebounds.
Guard Brandy Ellis was the only Pirate in double figures with 10 points. Nicole Brathwaite contributed seven points and eight rebounds, while Sharema Dean added seven points and six rebounds.
The Badgers take on Butler University (1-3) in the championship game tomorrow, Saturday, November 29 at 4:00 PM. Butler beat Tennessee-Chattanooga 79-73 in the other semi-final today. UW returns home next week and plays Western Illinois University this coming Monday, December 1 at 7:00 PM in the Kohl Center.
