Badgers at UW-Milwaukee Wednesday Before Finals Break
December 13, 2005 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin faces in-state rival UW-Milwaukee Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Klotsche Center in the final game before finals break. The Badgers will have nine days off before meeting Western Illinois at home on Dec. 23, and then break for the holidays.
Badgers (4-5) showed character in the program's fifth double-overtime game at Kansas Sunday, but the 90-87 loss still stings as UW makes if five in a row after a 4-0 start.
UW has not put together a winning performance since the last game in Hawaii. Two of the last five losses were to nationally ranked opponents and three were at home. UW lost a hard-fought 77-72 decision to No. 11 Notre Dame and placed second in the Rainbow Wahini Classic to then No. 17 Depaul, 76-57. UW is 2-3 at home this season.
The Badger injury situation has contributed to the string of losses by disrupting the starting lineup in several games. Injuries to starters Ashley Josephson (missed Marquette game with a hip injury); and Kjersten Bakke (missed Notre Dame and SDSU with a knee injury) have created new lineups. Leading scorer Janese Banks suffered a head injury Dec. 2, but has played in every game since. All three are available this week.
Wisconsin contines on the road this week where it is 2-2. UW-Milwaukee has a similar 4-4 record and is 3-1 at home. The Panthers are coming off a home victory over Northern Michigan Sunday, 77-65. UW-M's leading scorer, Traci Edwards, led four Panthers in double figures with 16 points. She averages 15.5 points on the year. Edwards also leads in rebounding with 8.4 per game. The only other double-figure scorer is Nichole Drummond averaging 10.9 points per game.
The Panthers have had an up and down season alternating wins and losses throughout the year. Two wins have come in overtime over Oakland, 7371, and Southeast Missouri State, 90-87 in two OT's. Among common opponents, UW-M played DePaul right after UW's 76-57 loss in Hawaii, losing to the Blue Demons, 91-79. The Panthers also fell victim at South Dakota State, 70-55, a team the Badgers lost to by 68-65 in Madison.
Former Madison native Sandy Botham is in her 10th season at UWM. She has compiled a 147-114 mark, including a 98-61 mark in Horizon League contests.
The Badgers lead the series with 14 wins and one loss, and have won the last seven meetings. The lone UW-M win was in 1992. The teams last met in Madison on 12/8/04, with Madison winning 75-66. Wisconsin is 3-0 in Milwaukee.
Badger Individual Notes
The 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, Jolene Anderson (Port Wing, Wis.), became the leading scorer for the Badgers after a team season high 26 points at Kansas. She is averaging 16.1 points per game which ranks sixth in the Big Ten. The team 's leading scorer last season with 17.8 points per game, Anderson set the frosh scoring records for points (497) and average (17.8), 3-point goals made and attempted marks hitting 53-165, and free throw percentage with 52-61 for 85.2 percent.
She recorded her fifth career double-double against Marquette Dec. 2 with 11 points and tied her career-high with 14 rebounds, and tied that rebounding mark plus added 26 points for her second double-double of the year at KU Dec. 11.
Sophomore guard Janese Banks (Indianapolis, Ind.) is the second leading scorer on the team in and ranks seventh in the Big Ten in scoring with 16.0 points per game including a career-high 25 points vs. Idaho State Nov. 25. She leads the team in assists (3.9) and steals (2.4). She had her first career double-double Dec. 8 collecting a career-high 12 rebounds and 15 points vs. SDSU.
Last season she shot the most free throws on the team (100-131, 76.3 percent), and was the second leading scorer at 10.6 points per game. She is again leading the team in free throws made and attempted with 39-56 (69.6 percent)
Reserve sophomore 6-4 center Danielle Ward (Milwaukee, Wis.) tallied her first career double-double with 14 points and 14 rebounds against Cleveland State Nov. 20. Her 14 boards was a personal best. She had career-highs of 16 points and six blocked shots against Idaho State Nov. 25. She ranks third on the team in scoring with 9.3 ppg, and ranks fourth in the Big Ten with 1.56 blocks per game.
Senior Annie Nelson (Hudson, Wis.) is a two-year starter and leads the team and ranks sixth in the conference in rebounding with 8.2 per game. She had a career year last season. After playing in just 20 games (91 career minutes) in her first two seasons, she played in all 28 games starting 24. She was Wisconsin's leading rebounder, averaging 6.8 per game. She had her second career double-double against Idaho State Nov. 25 with 10 points and 10 boards.
Senior Ashley Josephson (Onalaska, Wis.) is the fourth leading scorer with 8.0 points per game including a season-high 20 points at KU Dec. 11. She is UW 's career 3-point shooting leader hitting 101-259 for 38.9 percent. She sat out the Marquette game with a hip injury.
