Badgers Host UW-Milwaukee Monday
November 19, 2006 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin (3-0) opened the season with three-straight wins for the second-straight year and hopes to match last season's 4-0 opening when it meets UW-Milwaukee (0-3) Monday at 7 p.m. in the Kohl Center in a game televised live by FSN North. Tickets are available for $7 adults, and $3 students and seniors.
UW flies to Las Vegas for a tournament over Thanksgiving, and plays UC-Riverside Nov. 28 before returning for a long four-game home series starting Dec. 1 with Southern Mississippi.
The Badgers lead the conference in offense and are putting up big numbers with Friday 's 75-45 win over Central Connecticut State. Tuesday UW had an 80-77 win over a very good Western Michigan team. Wisconsin opened its fourth season under Coach Lisa Stone with a 91-58 victory over Air Force in Colorado Springs, Colo, Nov. 10. It was Stone 's third season opening win in four years.
LAST TIME OUT
Wisconsin jumped out to a 25-5 lead with 10:16 left to play in the first half and coasted to 74-45 win in its first meeting with Central Connecticut State. Five players scored in double figures led by sophomore Caitlin Gibson with 12 points while rookie Mariah Dunham posted career-bests in points (10), rebounds (eight) and assists (five).
The runnin'-and-gunnin' Badgers are a fun team to watch as they let their depth and quickness provide instant offense. Against SCSU Wisconsin scored 32 points off turnovers and 17 fast break points. Versus WMU, UW scored 16 points in transition, had 15 steals. UW is also getting scoring contributions at every position.
UW Individual Notes
Guard Jolene Anderson (Port Wing, Wis.), extended her double-figure scoring streak which began last season to 32, the longest in the Big Ten, with 11 points vs. Central Connecticut State. She had a season-high 26 points vs/ Western Michigan. She has scored in double figures in 57 of her 60 career games. Wisconsin lost all three games in which she was held below 10 points. Her career-low was two points against Iowa State on Dec. 5, 2004, the sixth game of her career. The last time she had single digits in a game was the last game of the 2005 Big Ten Tournament against Ohio State. The UW record is 45 straight games by LaTonya Sims (1997-2000).
Anderson is UW's leading scorer for the third-straight season with 20.0 points per game. Last year she averaged 17.3 points per game which ranked fourth in the Big Ten in overall stats. She scored her 1,000th point to end her sophomore season, (career points now 1,049), and has had seven double-doubles (11 in her career).
Anderson finished her freshman season as the fourth best conference scorer while leading UW with 17.8 points per game. She set the UW 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.
Anderson has made at least one 3-pointer in 52 of her 60 career games. Wisconsin is 3-5 in games which Anderson did not make a 3-pointer. The Illinois game on Feb. 9, 2006, was the last game in which she did not score a 3-point bucket (8-game streak).
Guard Janese Banks (Indianapolis) is the second leading scorer for UW with 16.3 points per game. She showed her versatility with a great stats line at Air Force and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors with a career-high 28 points on 9-of-13 shooting including three-of-four 3-pointers. She also added seven rebounds and four assists.
Banks was the second-leading scorer in 2005-06 with 12.8 points per game. She led the Badgers in assists with 4.42 per game while playing point guard. She has led UW in most free throws the past two years and does again converting 13-17 for 76.5 percent.
Center Caitlin Gibson (Jefferson, Wis.) has scored in double figures in three-straight games including a career-high 15 points vs. Western Michigan. She has more than doubled her scoring average of a year ago (5.1 ppg) averaging 13.0 points per game.
Junior 6-4 center Danielle Ward (Milwaukee, Wis.) leading the team in steals (3.0) blocks (1.7), and fouls (4.3). She had her most playing minutes with 21 against SCSU scoring a season-high 10 points. A starter in the last eight games of 2006, she ranked third on the team in scoring (10.2) and was second in rebounding with 5.7 per game.
Rae Lin D'Alie (Waterford, Wis.) is the first TRUE starting point guard at Wisconsin since Dee Dee Pate graduated in 2000. The 5-3 freshman (pronounced duh lee ah) ties Purdue's starting point guard, FahKara Malone, as the smallest starting point guard in the nation. She had a career-high eight points against WMU and leads UW in assists with 4.7 per game.
Freshman 6-2 forward Brittany Heins (Postville, Iowa) is normally the first person off the bench for UW but suffered a right ankle injury in the Central Connecticut State game 11/17 and is doubtful for the UW-Milwaukee game.
UW TEAM Notes
The high-flying Badgers scored 91 points in their first game against Air Force and are averaging a Big Ten leading 82.0 points per game. The 91 points was the most points scored since a 104-91 win over Santa Clara in 2004. The Badgers ranked seventh in the Big Ten in scoring offense in 2005-06 with 66.3 points per game.
Last season UW was the top rebounding team in the Big Ten with 40.0 rebounds per game. UW was also the conference leader in offensive boards with 16.34 per game. This season UW is averaging 38.3 rebounds per game (16.3 offensive boards).
Led by Jolene's Anderson's career-tying five 3-pointers in two games, UW is averaging 6.6 3-pointers per contest and hitting at a 51.3 percent clip. The 10-of-14 3-pointers at Air Force ranked second most in school history (record is 11 in three other games).
Wisconsin was picked to finish sixth in the Big Ten by the coaches and by the media in the Big Ten Pre-season Polls. UW junior Jolene Anderson was a pre-season pick for first-team All-Big Ten by both polls.
NEXT OPPONENT: UW-Milwaukee
Scouting Report
UW-Milwaukee started off the 2006-07 season 0-3 with an 85-59 loss at South Florida in the season opener, and a 78-71 setback at Miami (Fla.) three days later, and another close 75-72 loss at Drake Friday. Sophomore Traci Edwards scored a career-high 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds against Drake, but it was not enough. The Panthers meet Central Connecticut State (Sunday) prior to meeting UW-Madison.
Against South Florida, Milwaukee center Traci Edwards paced the Panthers with a team-best 20 points and Aubrey Hampton added 13 scores. In the game with the Hurricanes, Meredith Onson led UWM with 17 points while Edwards scored 26.
Last year, the Panthers finished with a school-record 22-9 mark and were Horizon League regular season and tournament champions. The squad also made its second NCAA tournament trip in school history.
Head Coach Sandy Botham
Sandy Botham enters her 11th at the helm of the UWM women's basketball program. In her decade at Milwaukee, Botham has an overall mark of 165-119. Under Botham, a Notre Dame graduate and Madison West High School graduate, the Panthers have claimed their first regular season and tournament conference titles, while also earning the school's first-ever NCAA Tournament berths in women's basketball.
The 2005 Game
Wisconsin then-sophomores Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks each posted double-doubles to lead the Badgers past UW-Milwaukee 72-57 last season in Milwaukee. The game, at the time, snapped UW's four-game losing streak. Anderson finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds while Banks had 11 points and a career-high 11 assists.
The Panthers, who shot just 32 percent from the field, were led by the graduated Nichole Drummond (15 points) and Edwards (14 points).
The Series
Wisconsin leads the series with 15 wins an d one loss, 77-78 in 1992, The Badgers are 11-1 at home.
