This Week in Badger Women's Basketball
December 08, 2014 | Women's Basketball
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UP NEXT:
- Wisconsin (2-5) hits the road twice this week, traveling to Florida (5-3) on Wednesday and to Green Bay (6-2) on Saturday. The Badgers and Gators tip off at 6 p.m. CT, live on the SEC Network while game time in Green Bay is 7 p.m.
- The Badgers scored a season-high 89 points and shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field, marking its second-straight game better than 50 percent in a win over Marquette. UW hit 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from 3-point range, setting a season high for 3-point percentage and makes.
- Junior Dakota Whyte tied her career high with 18 points against Marquette on Thursday. Freshman Cayla McMorris notched a new career high with 17 points against the Golden Eagles.
- Four Badgers scored in double figures against Marquette including Whyte and McMorris, marking the seventh straight game that two-or-more players scored in double figures. Senior Jacki Gulczynski (17) and junior Nicole Bauman (16) both added 10-plus points. All nine Badgers who were eligible to play scored at least one point.
- Wisconsin dished off a season-high 22 assists vs. Marquette. After two straight games with 20-plus turnovers, UW turned the ball over just nine times against the Golden Eagles, one game after a season-high 28 at Miami on Thursday.
- The Badgers had a season-high 13 blocks vs. Marquette, which ties for fourth on the UW single-game record list. Senior Cassie Rochel had a season-high five blocks. Senior Jacki Gulczynski added three blocks while sophomore Malayna Johnson had a career-best three stuffs.
- Freshman Cayla McMorris ranks second in the Big Ten with her .538 (7-of-13) 3-point field goal percentage.
- UW shot a season-high 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from the field at Miami on Thursday and 53.2 percent (33-of-62) against Marquette on Saturday. The Badgers have upped their season field goal percentage up to 44.6 percent.
HITTING FROM THE FIELD The Badgers have shot better than 50 percent their last two games. That followed two straight games where they shot less than 35 percent from the field, UW scored a season-high 89 points and shot 53.2 percent (33-of-62) from the field in a win over Marquette on Saturday. UW hit 64.3 percent (9-of-14) from 3-point range, setting a season high for 3-point percentage and makes. Wisconsin shot 54.3 percent (19-of-35) at Miami on Dec. 4, including 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from 3-point range against the Hurricanes. In their last two games, the Badgers are shooting 53.6 percent from the field, including 56.5 percent from behind the arc. On the year, UW is hitting 44.6 percent from the field, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten, and 37.9 percent of its long balls, which ranks third in the conference.
BALANCED SCORING Junior Dakota Whyte tied her career high with 18 points against Marquette on Saturday. The guard was 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from the field and shot 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from the line. Freshman Cayla McMorris notched a new career high with 17 points against the Golden Eagles. The 6-0 guard hit 53.8 percent (7-of-13) from the field, including 1-of-1 from 3-point range, and 2-of-2 from the line. Four Badgers scored in double figures against Marquette including Whyte and McMorris, marking the seventh straight game that two-or-more players scored in double figures. Senior Jacki Gulczynski (17) and junior Nicole Bauman (16) both added 10-plus points. All nine Badgers who were eligible to play scored at least one point. SCORERS IN DOUBLE DIGITS UW had at least two players score in double figures in its first seven games. On the season, junior Nicole Bauman share the team lead with 13.4 points per game. Senior Jacki Gulczynski adds 10.1 points per game while junior Dakota Whyte chips in 9.3 points per game. Freshman Cayla McMorris ranks fifth with 8.7 points per game. BADGER BLOCK! The Badgers had a season-high 13 blocks vs. Marquette, which ties for fourth on the UW single-game record list. Senior Cassie Rochel had a season-high five blocks. Senior Jacki Gulczynski added three blocks while sophomore Malayna Johnson had a career-best three stuffs. Rochel picked up right where she left off. After redshirting last season due to a back injury, the 6-4 post had four blocks against Illinois State. She dominated with a season-high five blocks against Marquette. She ranks sixth in the Big Ten with 1.8 blocks per game while the Badgers average 5.3 blocks per game for fourth in the conference. Rochel ranks fourth with 125 career blocks at UW and is five blocks away from tying for third place. She also ranks third with 1.42 blocks per game over her career. Gulczynski adds seven blocks this year and averages 1.0 per game. INJURIES ADDING UP The Badgers are struggling with injuries this season as one more player joined the injured ranks this week. Fifth-year senior Michala Johnson will miss the rest of the season for the Wisconsin women's basketball team with a torn ACL. The 6-3 forward injured her left knee nine minutes into the game at Miami on Dec. 4. Junior Nicole Bauman missed the Vanderbilt and Drake games with a sprained ankle. Junior Shannon Malone has not played this season due to a knee injury while redshirt freshman Michaela Crall is recovering from a torn ACL. Freshman Roichelle Marble is also recuperating from a torn Achilles tendon in her heel. DISHING IT OUT Wisconsin dished off a season-high 22 assists vs. Marquette. Junior Dakota Whyte had a new career high with seven dimes against the Golden Eagles. Junior Nicole Bauman added six assists against Marquette. The Badgers are averaging 15.0 assists per game this season after dishing off 12.2 assists per game in 2013-14. Bauman has a team-best 4.2 assists per game as she notched a career-high nine assists against Illinois State. Whyte adds 4.0 assists per game. GIVING UP THE BALL After two straight games with 20-plus turnovers, UW turned the ball over just nine times against Marquette on Saturday. The Badgers had a season-high 28 giveaways at Miami on Dec. 4 and 23 turnovers against East Carolina on Nov. 28. Wisconsin is averaging 17.6 turnovers per game, which ranks 11th in the Big Ten. Opponents are averaging just 12.1 turnovers per game, ranking the Badgers 14th in the Big Ten with a minus 5.4 turnover margin. The Badgers manage just 5.0 steals per game while opponents average 10.6 steals per contest. Opponents have taken advantage of UW turnovers, averaging 18 points per game off Badger giveaways. BADGERS IN THE BIG TEN Freshman Cayla McMorris ranks second in the Big Ten with her .538 (7-of-13) 3-point field goal percentage. Senior Jacki Gulczynski is 12th in field goal percentage at .519 while tying for 15th with 1.6 3 pointers per game. Junior Dakota Whyte ranks 10th with 4.0 assists per game. Wisconsin ranks third in the conference in 3-point percentage at .379 while ranking fifth in 3-point field goal defense at .284. The Badgers also rank fourth in the Big Ten with 5.3 blocks per game. BACK ON THE BOARDS After pulling down 43 rebounds against Illinois State in their season opener on Nov. 16, the Badgers were averaging just 30.4 rebounds per game in the next five games. UW improved to 33.9 rebounds per game after pulling down 42 against Marquette. Senior Cassie Rochel had nine boards vs. Marquette while fellow senior Jacki Gulczynski pulled down eight. Gulczynski averages 4.7 rebounds per game while Dakota Whyte is next with 4.4 boards per game. Rochel adds 4.2 rebounds per game. Wisconsin had a season-low 24 rebounds against Drake on Nov. 23 while pulling down 28 against Vanderbilt on Nov. 20. UW improved at the Junkanoo Jam, recording 34 and 36 boards, respectively, against South Carolina and East Carolina but had just 30 rebounds at Miami on Dec. 4. Opponents are averaging 37.7 boards per game. BAUMAN'S BACK After missing two games with an ankle injury, junior Nicole Bauman has returned to the Badger starting lineup. The 5-10 guard scored a career-high 18 points at Miami on Dec. 4. She was 6-of-13 (.462) from the field, tying her career best for field goals made. Bauman also was a perfect 4-of-4 from the free throw line, tying her career high for made free throws. She added four assists and three steals while playing a career high 40 minutes. In the Badgers season opener against Illinois State, Bauman dished off a career-high nine assists. On the season, Bauman leads the team with 13.4 points per game. She has scored in double figures in four of the five games this season. She has a team-best 4.2 assists per game while adding 1.6 steals per game. Bauman shares the team lead with 11 made treys this season while shooting 40.7 percent from behind the arc. CAYLA MCBUCKETS After a quick start then cooling off, freshman Cayla McMorris scored a career-high 17 points against Marquette on Saturday. The 6-0 guard earned her first start at Drake on Nov. 23, where she put up a then-career high 16 points. McMorris also scored 12 points against Illinois State and 11 points against Vanderbilt. Over the next three games, she scored just five points total but put up a career-high 17 points against Marquette on Saturday. On the season, McMorris is averaging 8.7 points per game while shooting 46.2 percent. McMorris is one of the Badgers' top 3-point shooter, hitting 7-of-13 (.538) from deep, which ranks second in the Big Ten. GULCZYNSKI HAS GAME Senior Jacki Gulczynski shot the lights out last week, hitting 76.5 percent of her shots for the week. The 6-2 forward shot 85.7 percent (6-of-7) at Miami on Dec. 4, scoring a season-high 18 points. She was a perfect 2-of-2 from 3-point range and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. Gulczynski also shot 70 percent against Marquette on Saturday, hitting 7-of-10 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. She also added a season-high eight rebounds and three blocks against the Golden Eagles. On the week, Gulczynski averaged 17.5 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. On the season, Gulczynski ranks third on the team with 10.1 points and second with 4.7 rebounds per game. SECOND HALF STRUGGLES Wisconsin is struggling in the second half this season, allowing opponents to outscore it 36.1-31.9. The Badgers play well in the first half but are still getting outscored 31.6-30.4. UW led twice against No. 1 South Carolina on Nov. 27 and tied with the top-ranked Gamecocks four times in the first but were eventually outscored 36-26 in the second half after only shooting 26.9 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from 3-point range. Against Vanderbilt on Nov. 20, the Badgers led by 17 points with 11:45 to play in the first half and led 41-34 at the half but dropped a 67-58 decision. Wisconsin was outscored 33-17 and committed 11 of its 18 turnovers in the second half. Wisconsin outscored Marquette 52-30 in the second half on Saturday. | ||||||||||||||||||
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