Badgers Host Two Games This Weekend
November 30, 2006 | Women's Basketball
The Badgers host Southern Mississippi Friday at 7 p.m. and the University of Kansas Sunday at 1:30 p.m. in a welcome return to the Kohl Center. The games will be broadcast Friday on WIBA AM 1310 and on WTSO Radio AM 1070 on Sunday. The games will also be live video streamed FREE on the Web at uwbadgers.com.
UW (6-1) found its first bump in the road in a record-setting season with a 52-50 loss at UC-Riverside Tuesday in Riverside, Calif. But it is already the best season opening and longest win streak (6) under Coach Lisa Stone, and it came after a championship title in the Rebel Shootout Thanksgiving Tournament.
UW beat K-State 56-53, then took out the host school UNLV 67-51 on Saturday.
' Lisa Stone has two firsts, a second and a fourth place finish in Thanksgiving Tournaments. Jolene Anderson, Janese Banks and Danielle Ward were named all-tournament team with Anderson the MPV.
' This season the Badgers have led or tied at the half, the bench has outscored, and UW has outrebounded all seven of its opponents.
' With its then-6-0 record, UW received 20 votes in the Nov. 27 AP Poll. The last time Wisconsin was ranked in either poll was Feb. 18, 2002 (17-8 record by USA Today).
LAST TIME OUT
With several Badgers ailing with flu-like symptoms, the normal runnin' and gunnin ' UW team failed to show up losing in a turnover-plagued physical game at UC-Riverside 52-50. UW had a six point lead with three-minutes to go, but didn't score another bucket. A UW foul with seven seconds left gave UCR the go-ahead free throws to win the game. Jolene Anderson's 35 game double-figure scoring streak ended as Wisconsin's leading scorer was limited to just five points.
BADGER COACH LISA STONE
Head coach Lisa Stone is in her fourth season at Wisconsin with a 39-52 (.428) school record, and achieved career victory No. 400 with the win over Idaho State Nov. 25. In her 22nd season of coaching, Stone is 414-170 overall (.709 winning percentage). She ranked 22nd in all-time career win percentage among active Division I coaches at the beginning of the 2006-07 season. Stone, who inherited a 7-21 team, was 10-17 (4-12 Big Ten) in her first season at Wisconsin, and 12-16 (5-11 Big Ten) in 2004-05. Her 2005-06 team was 11-18 and ninth in the Big Ten with a 5-11 record.
INDIVIDUAL UPDATES
' Guard Jolene Anderson (Port Wing, Wis.), double-figure scoring streak ended at 35 ater collecting just five points in the loss at UC-Riverside. Anderson did have the longest in the Big Ten which dated back to the last game of 2005 until Nov. 28, 2006. The streak ends 10 games shy of the school record of 45 held by LaTonya Sims. Anderson has scored in double figures in 60 of her 64 career games. Wisconsin lost all four 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.
Anderson was named the MVP of the Rebel Shootout in Las Vegas recording her first double-double of the year and 12th of her carer with 13 points and 12 rebounds in the championship game with UNLV. She was also all-tournament and MPV of last year's 2005 Rainbow Wahini Classic in Hawaii.
She is UW's leading scorer for the third-straight season with 15.3 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 1,107), and has had 12 double-doubles 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 54 of her 64 career games. Wisconsin is 4-6 in games which Anderson did not make a 3-pointer. Her nine-game streak stopped vs. K-State Nov. 24, 2006.
' Guard Janese Banks (Indianapolis) is the second leading scorer for UW with 13,9 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 31-41 for 75.6 percent. Banks was named to the Rebel Shootout all-tournament team, her second such honor.
' Center Caitlin Gibson (Jefferson, Wis.) has scored in double figures in four-of-seven games including a career-high 15 points vs. Western Michigan. She has nearly doubled her scoring average of a year ago (5.1 ppg) averaging 9.1 points per game.
' Junior 6-4 center Danielle Ward (Milwaukee, Wis.) is leading the team in blocks (1.57), and fouls (4.1). She had her most playing minutes with 29 against K-State. 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. She had 11 boards vs. K-State and added a season high 16 points vs. UNLV. Ward was named to the Rebel Shootout all-tournament team, her first such honor.
' 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 was a perfect 5-of-5 from the floor and had a career-high 12 points against UW-Milwaukee. She leads UW in assists with 3.57 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 was not available for the UW-Milwaukee game. A good post player with a nice outside touch, she is averaging 2.2 points and 2.7 rebounds.
' Freshman Mariah Dunham (Watertown, Wis.) has stepped up her play with the injury to Heins. Dunham has twice hit for double-figures in two games, and had her career-high with 12 points vs. K-State hitting a critical 6-of-8 free throws. The post player can be an outside threat with the 3-pointer, and crashes the boards. She is averaging 6.6 points and 4.3 rebounds.
TEAM NOTES
' The high-flying Badgers scored 91 points in their first game against Air Force and are averaging 71.0 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 has outrebounded every team and is averaging 39.0 rebounds per game (ranks second in offensive boards with 15.29 per game).
' Led by Jolene's Anderson's career-tying five 3-pointers in two games, UW is averaging 4.29 3-pointers per contest and hitting at a 36.6 percent clip. The 10-of-14 3-pointers at Air Force ranked second most in school history (record is 11 in three other games).
' The last time a Wisconsin team started 6-0 was 1997-98 (team went 9-0). The last time a team started 6-1 was 2001-02 (team went 16-1)
' 6-0 in the best start under Stone and the longest win streak of the Stone era.
' Wisconsin is 6-1 when tied or leading at the half.
' Wisconsin is 6-1 when outrebounding its opponent
' Wisconsin is 6-1 when outscoring its opponents bench
' Wisconsin has made fewer turnovers than its opponent in five-of-seven games this season.
' The K-State victory ranks sixth in Stone's comeback wins (9 point deficit).
' The Las Vegas tournament games were the first day-time games played this year by UW.
' 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 OPPONENTS:
Scouting Report: Southern Mississippi
Like the Badgers, Southern Miss came up short in its last outing, a 64-63 setback at Louisiana-Monroe. The loss put the Golden Eagles at 3-4 on the year, heading into the contest at Wisconsin.
Against Louisiana-Monroe, Kendra Reed led Southern Miss with 17 points, Emer Foley tallied 16 and Amber Eugene added 12 points. Foley and Eugene pulled down nine rebounds apiece.
Through seven games, Emer Foley is averaging 19.7 points per game for the Golden Eagles and is tops in rebounding with 8.3 boards per game. Amber Eugene and Kendra Reed are averaging 15.8 and 15.6 points per game, respectively, while Kristin Chaney has 28 helpers on the year.
Head Coach Joye Lee-McNelis
Joye Lee-McNelis, who played her college ball at Southern Miss, is in her third season at the helm of the Golden Eagles. During her collegiate career, Lee-McNelis was one of the school's all-time basketball greats and the fifth Lady Eagle to score more than 1,000 points in a career.
Lee-McNelis returned to her alma mater after 13 seasons as head coach at the University of Memphis, where she compiled a 229-156 record. She was only the second coach in Lady Tiger history and took over a program that had won just 21 games over a three-year span. Prior to her stint a Memphis, Lee-McNelis spent five seasons as an assistant coach at Southern Miss (1986-91).
The Series
This is the first meeting between Wisconsin and Southern Miss.
Scouting Report: University of Kansas
Kansas is 4-1 overall with a 75-63 win over Western Illinois. The team's only loss thus far was a 63-49 setback to another Big Ten school, Iowa. That game was played in Kansas City as part of the WBCA/Metro Sports Classic to kickoff the season.
Through five games, KU sophomore forward Marija Zinic is the only double-figure scorer as she leads the Jayhawks with 10.8 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game. Freshmen Kelly Kohn and Sade Morris are chipping in 8.8 and 8.0 points, respectively.
Like the Badgers, half of the squad consists of freshmen as Henrickson pulled in her second top-25 recruiting class.
Head Coach Bonnie Henrickson
Bonnie Henrickson is in her third year at the helm of the Kansas program. Last year, Henrickson guided Kansas to a 17-13 record and its first postseason berth since 2000 with an appearance in the WNIT. It was the first winning season at KU in six years an dincluded an 11-0 non-conference mark.
Prior to her arrival at Kansas, Henrickson was the head coach at Virginia Tech from 1997 until 2004. Just before heading up the Hokie program, she was an assistant at Iowa from 1995-97.
The 2005 Game
Last season, the Badgers and Jayhawks battled it out through two overtimes with Kansas prevailing on its home court, 90-87. Wisconsin then-sophomore Jolene Anderson tallied a double-double with 26 points and 14 rebounds. It also was Anderson's shot from near the UW coaching box around a defender that sent the game into its second overtime. The now departed Ashley Josephson had her best game of her senior year with 20 points.
A pair of seniors led Kansas in the win. Crystal Kemp had 28 points and Erica Hallman just missed becoming the first Jayhawk to record a triple-double, recorded 24 points, 10 assists, and nine rebounds.
The Series
This is the third meeting between Wisconsin and Kansas with the series tied at 1-1. UW met then 23rd-ranked KU in 1995 in the first round of the NCAA tournament and beat the Jayhawks on a last second shot, 73-72.
