UW powered by offense in 70-64 win over Huskies
December 07, 2008 | Women's Basketball
Fueled by a career-high 25 points from sophomore guard Alyssa Karel, the Wisconsin women 's basketball team rolled to its eighth-straight win Sunday by defeating Northern Illinois, 70-64, in front of 4,825 fans at the Kohl Center. Wisconsin improves to 8-1 on the season, its best start since beginning the 2006-07 season 10-1, while Northern Illinois drops to 3-5.
COMPLETE POST-GAME COVERAGE:
- id=9807"> --> Final Box Score
- id=9665"> --> Cumulative Stats
- sportid=135&storyid=16007"> --> Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone post-game quotes
- sportid=135&storyid=16006"> --> Northern Illinois head coach Carol Owens post-game quotes
- postid=1701"> --> Courtside Blog
Karel led all players with 25 points and went 11-of-14 from the field. Her 11 made field goals is also a new career high. Karel went 2-of-3 from beyond the 3-point line and is the first 20-point scorer for Wisconsin this season. Her .786 (11-14) field goal percentage ranks No. 6 on the UW single-game record list.
Juniors Rae Lin D'Alie and Mariah Dunham chipped in 11 points each as Wisconsin finished at 61.9 percent from the field, which is a new Kohl Center record and the team 's best shooting percentage all season. The Badgers were hot in the first half, going 17-of-23 for 73.9 percent but cooled off in the second, shooting 47.4 percent.
Four players finished in double figures for Northern Illinois with Marke Freeman scoring a team-high 15 points. Aileen Rossouw and Kylie York chipped in 11 points each while Shari ' Welton added 10 points. The Huskies finished at 40.4 percent after converting on 23-of-57 shot attempts.
Northern Illinois had the 28-25 advantage on the boards and dominated on the offensive glass by grabbing 12 offensive rebounds compared to four for Wisconsin. Rossouw led all players with six rebounds while D'Alie had five for Wisconsin. Northern Illinois used its rebounds to outscore Wisconsin 11-2 on second-chance points.
The Huskies were also hot from beyond the 3-point line, finishing 7-of-9 for 77.8 percent. Wisconsin converted on 4-of-8 3-point attempts. The Huskies also had the edge in free throw percentage by finishing 11-of-15 for 73.3 percent while Wisconsin was limited to 14-of-21 for 66.7 percent.
The Badgers had their second-highest turnover tally of the season with 21 while Northern Illinois finished with 18 turnovers. The Badgers had 12 assists, three each from freshman Ashley Thomas and Karel, while Northern Illinois finished with 11 assists. Freeman had a game-high five assists but also turned the ball over eight times.
After trading buckets early in the game, Wisconsin started to pull away from Northern Illinois midway through the first half, using a 5-0 run to take the 21-14 lead. Sophomore forward Lin Zastrow converted on a three-point play and freshman guard Jade Davis made two from the charity stripe during the run. Northern Illinois pulled within four after a three by Rossouw to put the score at 23-19 but the Badgers then went on a 12-0 run to take the 35-19 lead with 3:26 left in the half. D'Alie scored five of her 11 points during that run.
Wisconsin led by as many as 19 points before half and Northern Illinois managed just five points the rest of the way as Wisconsin went into the locker room with the 41-24 lead. The Badgers shot 73.9 percent from the field in the half but both teams finished with 10 turnovers. The first half tally of 41 points is the most points scored in any half for Wisconsin this year.
The Badgers jumped out to a 20-point lead in the second half but a 7-0 run by Northern Illinois put the Huskies within 13 at 56-43. The momentum stayed on the Badgers' side as they jumped back out to an 18-point lead but Northern Illinois closed the gap to eight points by outscoring Wisconsin 11-1. The Huskies made 6-of-8 free throw attempts, York hit a 3-pointer and Rossouw scored a jumper in the paint during the run.
Karel broke the run with a layup in the lane and converted on the three-point play to put the Badgers back up 11 points. Northern Illinois stayed within nine or 10 points until Welton hit a jumper in the lane to put the Huskies within seven with 1:05 left. Northern Illinois began to foul Wisconsin but the Badgers converted on 3-of-6 free throws down the stretch to maintain the lead. York hit a jumper as time expired to put the final tally at 70-64.
The competition does not get any easier as the Badgers take on in-state rival and undefeated Green Bay at the Kress Center Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
Star of the Game
Alyssa Karel scoring a career-high 25 points on 11-of-14 shooting from the floor including 2-of-3 3-pointers. Karel also added four rebounds, three assists, two blocks and two steals.
Stat of the Game
12-0 run with five minutes left in the first half game UW the definitive lead. The 61.9 percent field goal shooting was a Kohl Center record replacing 60.4 percent vs. Iowa on 12/31/2000.
Notables
- Karel's 11-of-14 field goals is a season high but not a school record. Her .786 field goal percentage ranks No. 6 on UW's single-game record list.
- The 21 turnovers is the second most on the season by the Badgers (23 vs. South Dakota St)
- 41 points was the most scored in a half by UW
