UW Opens Conference Play With Win
December 28, 2006 | Women's Basketball
The Wisconsin women's basketball team (12-2, 1-0 Big Ten), opened conference play with a 93-72 win over Northwestern at the Kohl Center Thursday night in front of 6,249 fans.
Junior Janese Banks led all scorers with 24 points as the Badgers improved to 9-0 at the Kohl Center this season. Junior Jolene Anderson added 20 points and nine rebounds. The 20-point games for Banks and Anderson marks the fourth time this season that both have reached the 20-point mark. With the 20 points, Anderson extended her double figure scoring streak to seven games and 67 of 71 for her career.
Freshman Rae Lin D'Alie scored a career high as she tallied 17 in her first Big Ten game as a Badger. Fellow classmate, Mariah Dunham added 13 points and six rebounds in 20 minutes. D'Alie also notched careers highs in assists (9) and steals (7).
The freshmen combo led the Badgers quick start on their way to a 51-32 advantage at the half. The 51 points set a new all-time record for points at halftime, as well as a new season high for points in a half. The Badgers are 12-0 this year when leading at the break.
Wisconsin's 12th win surpasses the number of total wins from last season (11), as well as giving head coach Lisa Stone her first win in a Big Ten opener. The team 's 12-2 start under Stone is the best since their 16-1 start in the 2001-02 season.
In addition to the four double-digit scorers, five other Badgers added points in the team's second straight win. Danielle Ward added eight, Teah Gant tallied five, while Caitlin Gibson, Brittany Heins and Sarah Ingison added two a piece.
Northwestern's A.J. Glasauer led the Wildcats with 15 points as they fall to 6-7, 0-1 Big Ten.
The Badgers next face Michigan State on Sun. Dec. 31 in East Lansing, Mich. Game time is set for 1 p.m.
BADGER COACH LISA STONE:
'It feels good to start the game off as we did against a team that I have a lot of respect for. Beth [Combs] knows what she's doing, and that team shot 60 percent against us early in the first half, they couldn't miss. They ran their sets very well, they're well-coached, and they're going to be a team to reckon with in the Big Ten. At the eight minute media [timeout] I challenged our basketball team defensively, and I thought we went on a defensive flurry, and the score went from single digits to double digits, and that might have done it, because the second half they played us pretty even.'
'I can't say enough about our players. A lot of scoring- I thought Rae Lin D'Alie did a heck of a job in her Big Ten opener as a point guard. It just was a great night for us.'
'Rae Lin D'Alie spoke up at half-time, and she said to remember when we were at Green Bay and were down 23, and how we courageously came back, and how Northwestern could do the same thing. She's the one that spoke up at half-time, and I give her a lot of credit.'
'Our defense forced some turnovers and got us out into transition. We wanted to try and keep them under 60 points, and we gave up 72, but a lot of credit goes to Northwestern, they have some nice players.'
NORTHWESTERN COACH BETH COMBS:
Opening statement:
'There's nothing like starting the conference and getting a good old-fashioned butt-whipping, which is definitely what we did tonight. Wisconsin is a heckuva team and they have a ton of weapons. We competed for about 26 minutes and unfortunately it's a 40-minute ballgame. I didn't think I'd like having a bye this Sunday, but I think I'm looking forward to that.
How did her team's performance compare to its non-conference play'
Unfortunately, fairly consistantly. We've been doing some good things. It 's a 0-0 ballgame heading into the conference, but we're making the same mistakes. We're playing ball for about 26 to 40 minutes and then we're just allowing runs to get out of hand. We just don't have a go-to player that can regroup and get this team together. We're still trying to find that and to build on some things. I like the fact that we didn't quit and didn't turn a 30-point rout into a 40-point rout. Our help rotation isn't there -- too many second chance points and then we become our own worst enemy offensively.
On the pace of Wisconsin's game:
'They did everything we talked about on the scouting report. They execute well, they've got a lot of weapons. They push the ball when they can. We had a lot of unforced turnovers ' not to take it away from their defense, but we made some silly mistakes and some silly passes. But you're always going to capitalize in transition and our misses became their makes. Twenty-eight points off turnovers is the ball game.
Post-Game Notes
' Tonight's attendance was 6,249 (season high).
' Tonight was the 52nd meeting of Wisconsin and Northwestern (NU leads 28-24).
' Wisconsin is an undefeated 9-0 in the Kohl Center this season. The last time the Badgers were 9-0 at home was the 2001-02 season. That team also won its first nine games at home.
' Wisconsin's 12-2 start under head coach Lisa Stone is the best since 16-1 that same season.
' 93 points marks a new season high for the Badgers
' Tonight's win marked Stone's first in a Big Ten opener.
' The Badgers earned their 12th win of the season over the Wildcats, surpassing last year's win total.
' With a 39-31 advantage on the glass against Northwestern, Wisconsin has out-rebounded all 14 opponents this year.
' Wisconsin led Northwestern 51-32 at halftime. The 51 points set a new all-time and season record for points at halftime, as well as a new season high for points in a half. The Badgers are 12-0 this year when leading at the break.
' UW set a season high in field goals attempted (74).
' Junior Janese Banks (24) reached 20 points or more for the eighth time in her career and the fifth time this season. Jolene Anderson (20) has accomplished that feat for the 29th time of her career and the sixth time for the year.
' There have been four games where the Badgers have had two 20-point scorers and all three of them were by the duo of Banks and Anderson. The others were at Air Force, and home against Harvard and UW-Green Bay.
' Junior Jolene Anderson extended her double figure scoring streak to seven games and 67 of 71 for her career.
' Freshman Rae Lin D'Alie notched a career high in points (17) and field goals made and attempted (7-10).
' Janese Banks recorded a season high in assists with 5.
' Northwestern shot 29-58 form the field, setting a new opponent season record.
