Wisconsin Falls to Illinois
December 30, 2007 | Women's Basketball
The Badgers lost their second straight Big Ten road game at Illinois Sunday, 64-54, in Champaign to move to 7-5 on the season. The Illini are 10-5 and evened their record at 1-1.
Illinois' disruptive defensive style caused problems for the Badgers in the first half as they converted on just 13 percent of their field goals early on with 2-of-15 shooting and allowed the Illini to race to a 27-13 lead with 5:34 left in the half.
A 6-0 UW run brought the Badgers within 29-21 with 3:23 left. Illinois led 33-21 before two fast break baskets by Danielle Ward allowed UW to close with 33-25 at the break. Rae Lin D'Alie led UW with eight points and finished with 10 points for the game. For the half, the Badgers mustered just 9-of-35 from the field for 25.7 percent and collected five steals. The fast-paced Illini hit 11-of-23 for 47 percent. UW owned the edge in rebounding 22 to 15.
Wisconsin was stymied between six and 11 points early in the second half. The Badger defense made things more difficult for the Illini collecting 10 steals for the game and tipping passes. UW's offensive woes continued however shooting just 32 percent for the game (20-62).
The closest UW came, however, was 45-39 with 12:51 left. Illinois then went on a 15-5 run taking advantage of UW's missed baskets to take its greatest lead, 60-44, with 3:14 left.
The Badgers made a last ditch effort to pull within 64-54 with 1:07 left but time ran out on UW. Janese Banks led four Badgers in double-figures with 15 points. Jolene Anderson and Danielle Ward each had 10 points and Ward led in rebounding with nine. UW barely outrebounded the Illini 36-35. The Badgers had a season-high 85.7 percent on 12-14 at the free throw line.
UW faces Michigan State at home Wednesday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
Badger coach Lisa Stone said after the game, "I told the team after the game that they had better energy. They really stuck together. We learned a lot about each other after the Purdue game. The fact is we shot poorly at both venues. And we can fix that. But the addition (this year) of two more conference games makes it (the conference race) 18 games. This is just two conference games. We have 16 left. This season is a marathon not a sprint. I'm proud of the kids. I like this team and we'll be okay."
