 | | |  | Wisconsin 51, Florida 48
O'Connell Center • Gainesville, Fla. • Attendance: 1,679
Box Score | Box Score  |  | |
| | 1st | 2nd | Final | Wisconsin
| 29 | 22 | 51 | Florida
| 31 | 17 | 48 | | Stats at a Glance
| WIS | UF | | FG Percentage | .415 | .294 | | 3-Point FG Percentage | .214 | .273 | | FT Percentage | .800 | .556 | | Offensive Rebounds | 11 | 22 | | Defensive Rebounds | 29 | 21 | | Total Rebounds | 40 | 43 | | Turnovers | 17 | 11 | | Assists | 15 | 7 | | Blocks | 8 | 4 | | |
Dec. 10, 2014
MIAMI, Fla. -- An impressive double-double by fifth-year senior Cassie Rochel keyed the Wisconsin women's basketball team to a 51-48 win at Florida on Wednesday night. The 6-4 post had a season-high 14 points and 14 rebounds as the Badgers improve to 3-5 on the season.
UW wins two straight games for the first time this season and picks up its first road win.
"We're a work in progress, we're not there yet," head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "We've had a lot of adversity come our way but we're not going to make any excuses. We can build off this. It's nice to be on the other side of this, instead of the losing side."
| Fast Facts | | • Cassie Rochel has double-double with 14 points, 14 rebounds | | • Badgers win second straight and first road game | | • Four players score in double figures for Badgers | |
After winning their season opener, the Badgers dropped five straight games and also lost their leading scorer as fifth-year senior Michala Johnson went out with a torn ACL at Miami on Dec. 4. Wisconsin downed Marquette 89-64 last Saturday.
"We needed everybody, every shot, everything," Kelsey added. "We've had a five-game losing streak and it doesn't feel good when you lose.
"Cassie had a big game for us, Dakota (Whyte) played well, Tessa (Cichy) hit some big jumpers. It's all kinds of stuff. We won the game and I'm just happy for the kids."
Rochel was one of four Badgers who scored in double figures. Whyte added 11 points while Nicole Bauman and Cichy each put up 10 points.
Wisconsin shot 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field while Florida hit just 29.4 percent (20-of-68). Both teams struggled from 3-point range as UW was just 3-of-14 (21.4 percent) and the Gators were just 3-of-11 (27.3 percent).
Only 27 fouls were called in the game as the Badgers went to the free throw line just five times, making four for 80 percent while UF was 5-of-9 (55.6 percent). The Gators (5-4) were led by January Miller with 12 points.
Florida outrebounded Wisconsin 43-40, including 22 offensive rebounds. The Gators scored just 10 second-chance points while the Badgers scored 26 points in the paint.
Wisconsin dished off 15 assists, including a game-high seven from Bauman, while turning the ball over 17 times. UW had eight blocks with Rochel stopping four shots.
The Badgers jumped out to a 5-0 lead but the Gators bounced back with an 8-2 run to take an 8-7 lead with 15:21 left in the first period. Bauman's five points keyed a 7-0 run to give UW a 14-8 lead with 11:53 to play.
Wisconsin maintained a six-point lead (18-12) with 9:07 remaining but Florida rallied to tie score at 18 with 6:42 to go. The two teams traded leads until the Gators' Antoinette Bannister hit a jumper with five seconds remaining in the half to put Florida up 31-29 heading into the locker room.
UW got its lead back up to six points (39-33) less than four minutes into the second half as Whyte scored six straight points and Rochel added two layups. Six straight points by Cichy gave the Badgers their largest lead of the game at 49-37 with 7:20 to play.
An 11-0 run by the Gators over the next seven minutes cut Wisconsin's lead to just one (49-48) with 37 seconds left. Whyte missed a shot with nine seconds to play but Rochel got the offensive rebound and putback with five seconds left to end the scoring drought. Florida's last-second 3-point attempt as the buzzer sounded was off the mark.
"It doesn't get any easier for us," said Kelsey. "Everybody has to pull their weight and do their part. Everybody's got to believe that they can step up and give us what we need. This was a good win for us.
The Badgers travel to Green Bay on Saturday, tipping off against the Phoenix at 7 p.m. from the Kress Center.
