| | 1st | 2nd | OT | Final | Northwestern
| 23 | 47 | 16 | 86 | Wisconsin
| 31 | 39 | 13 | 83 | | | | | Statistical Leaders | | • Nicole Bauman: 22 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 9-19 FG | | • Jacki Gulczynski: 19 Pts, 4 Reb, 4 Ast, 5-13 FG | | • Cassie Rochel: 12 Pts, 13 Reb, 3 Ast, 1 Blk, 1 Stl, 4-8 FG | | Stats at a Glance
| NU | WIS | | FG Percentage | .463 | .433 | | 3-Point FG Percentage | .353 | .414 | | FT Percentage | .692 | .722 | | Offensive Rebounds | 9 | 19 | | Defensive Rebounds | 19 | 29 | | Total Rebounds | 28 | 48 | | Turnovers | 10 | 23 | | Assists | 19 | 20 | | Steals | 18 | 6 | | Blocks | 4 | 2 | | |
Feb. 22, 2015
MADISON, Wis. - The Wisconsin women's basketball team closed out its season at the Kohl Center with a heartbreaking thriller, falling to Northwestern 86-83 in overtime on Sunday afternoon.
On Senior Day, the Badgers got valuable performances from seniors Jacki Gulczynski, Cassie Rochel and AnnMarie Brown in their final game at the Kohl Center. Gulczynski tallied 19 points, including going 5-for-10 from beyond the arc, while Rochel recorded her fifth double-double of the season with 12 points and 13 rebounds, and Brown added eight points. Junior Nicole Bauman led the way for the Badgers with 22 points.
"We had a nice crowd, and it's nice to see them keep supporting us even though we can't pull out these games" head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "I think they appreciate the fact that these kids keep playing and they don't hang their head because it's easy to get down when you're losing but we owe it to ourselves and our seniors to play hard and keep fighting."
The Badgers finished the game shooting 43.3 percent (29-of-67) from the field and Northwestern made 46.7 percent (31-of-67). UW made 12-of-29 from 3-point range, tying its school and Kohl Center record, while the Wildcats netted 6-of-17 (35.3 percent) from beyond the arc, including five in the second half.
Wisconsin led the entire second half, with Northwestern tying up the game, 70-70, with just .01 seconds remaining in regulation to send the contest into overtime.
Both teams battled evenly from the start, tying the game at 11 with 12:44 to play in the first half. Northwestern used a 6-0 run to go up 17-11 with 11:30 to go, but a jumper from junior
Tessa Cichy propelled a 6-0 UW run to make it a 17-17 ballgame with 9:43 to play in the first.
After a layup from Rochel tied the game at 21-21 at the 7:05 mark, Wisconsin stormed on a 10-2 run. Back-to-back 3-pointers from Bauman and junior
Dakota Whyte gave UW a 27-21 lead with 5:20 remaining, then two Rochel made two layups at the 4:19 and 2:38 marks to put the Badgers up 31-23 at the half. The Wildcats didn't score a field goal in the final 8:29 minutes of play in the first period
Wisconsin upped its lead to 13 (45-32) with 14:44 to go behind two threes from Gulczynski and a Whyte three with 11:33 to play gave UW its largest lead off the game at 53-38.
The Badgers led 55-40 with 9:50 on the clock before Northwestern started its comeback. A 23-10 Wildcat run cut UW's lead to just two (65-63) with 3:03 remaining. Free throws from Gulczynski and Cichy put Wisconsin up six, 69-63, with 2:35 to go.
NU pulled within one, 69-68, with 56 seconds remaining before Whyte had a steal and drove to the basket where she was fouled by the Wildcats' Nia Coffey. Whyte missed the first but made the second free throw putting Wisconsin up 70-68 with 21 seconds left.
But despite two lay-in misses for Northwestern, NU was able to secure a jump ball and with just :01 on the clock, NU's Maggie Lyon sunk a jumper to tie it up 70-70 and send the game into OT.
"It's hard to hold a lead against a really good team," Kelsey said. "They're going to make some baskets and some of those threes really hurt us. Again, it's just that last second, losing sight of somebody and it's just a multitude of things that went against us."
In overtime, Northwestern jumped out to an 80-72 lead with 59 seconds remaining, but the Badgers weren't going down without a fight. A 5-0 run, including a 3-pointer from Brown with 38 seconds to go, pulled Wisconsin within three (80-77). After two made free throws from the Wildcats, Gulczynski nailed a three to pull UW within two, 84-82, with 26 seconds to go.
Two more free throws from NU were followed by an old-fashioned three-point play from Brown with 13 seconds remaining made it 84-83. Christen Inman made only one free throw with 12 seconds left, giving Brown the opportunity to tie the game with a layup that didn't fall with just four seconds to go. One last free throw for Northwestern sealed the 86-83 victory.
"I feel so bad for AnnMarie (Brown) because she can do so much and to miss that shot, which she makes all the time and she does not miss a lot of layups around the basket," Kelsey said. "Maybe she was just so wide open that she couldn't believe it, I don't know.
"It wasn't just that shot, because if Dakota (Whyte) hit the free throw, they would have had to take a three instead of a two. If we got a rebound down there, or when Dakota slips on the play we run and Cassie's (Rochel) wide open but she can't get it to her, so you know it just wasn't for us to win it."
Five Wildcats scored in double figures, led by Coffey with 21 points. Maggie Lyon chipped in 15 points, while Ashley Deary (12), Lauren Douglas (12) and Inman (11) rounded out NU's double-digit scoring.
Turnovers made a difference as Wisconsin committed 23 while forcing just 10 NU turnovers. Northwestern tallied 18 steals to UW's six, scoring 25 points off Badger giveaways.
The Badgers outrebounded Northwestern 48-28, marking a season low for an opponent this season while the 20-board advantage was a season-high for UW. Wisconsin also dished off 20 assists, including five from Cichy.
UW went to the line 18 times, making 13 for 72.2 percent, while the Wildcats went to the line 26 times, making 18 for 69.2 percent.
Wisconsin returns to action on Thursday, when the Badgers travel to Iowa City, Iowa, to take on the No. 13 Hawkeyes at 7 p.m.
