MADISON, Wis. – Riding on a career day for senior Dakota Whyte, the Wisconsin women's basketball team dominated Penn State in a Sunday afternoon battle at the Kohl Center.

Whyte scored a career-high 23 points to lead the Badgers over the Lady Lions 82-62 to improve to 2-2 in the Big Ten Conference and 6-8 overall.

"We're very happy with the win, obviously we wanted to get this game after we dropped the last two against some really formidable opponents," head coach Bobbie Kelsey said. "Penn State is big, they're strong but overall I was happy with our play.

"We just know more and tougher teams are coming in here and we're going to their places so we have to tighten up in some areas but we're happy to win the game, it was a good game."

The Badgers tied a school record by making 12 3-point shots, shooting 66.7 percent (12-of-18) from deep. Whyte set a career best by making five triples while senior Nicole Bauman added four from behind the arc.

UW also shot 49.2 percent (32-of-65) from the field and 60 percent (6-of-10) from the free-throw line. The Lady Lions (6-9, 1-3 Big Ten) shot only 39.7 percent (27-of-68) and 33.3 percent (7-of-21) from field goal and 3-point range, respectively, and 25.0 percent (1-of-4) from the free-throw line.

Whyte recorded three new career-high marks for total points (23), 3-point field goals made (five), and 3-point field goals attempted (seven). The senior guard also tied two career highs with nine field goals and one block. Whyte added seven assists, three rebounds, and two steals on the day.

"Shooting-wise this might be the best game," Kelsey said of Whyte's performance. "She came out a little sluggish, a little slow but Dakota has a way of kind of seeing things and because she has three phases to her game, she can finish at the rim. She can pull up and she can shoot the three.

"That's kind of what we preach to all of them is that you have to be able to do those three things."

Three other Badgers scored in double-digits as Bauman added 14 points, Michala Johnson chipped in 12 points and Cayla McMorris contributed 11.

Johnson led the team in rebounds with eight, while McMorris was right behind with seven boards, including four offensive. Wisconsin was outrebounded 40-38.  

Johnson began the action for the Badgers with a 6-2 run at the start of the first period. Coupled with a 3-pointer from Bauman, the Badgers surged ahead 9-4 just under seven minutes into the game. Avyanna Young and McMorris combined for a pair of layups to give the Badgers a six-point lead (13-7) in the first, but the Lady Lions fought back, bringing the game within 3-points after a quarter-ending 3-pointer (15-12).

Penn State took its only lead of the game at the start of the second quarter, as the Lady Lions sank a 3-pointer to tie the game followed by a quick jumper to pull ahead of the Badgers, 17-15, with 8:56 to play in the half.

The Badgers regained the lead after a layup from Johnson and a jumper from Bauman, but PSU matched Bauman's jumper with one of their own, making it a tie-game, 19-19, with 7:21 to play.

A run of four back-and-forth 3-pointers from both teams put Wisconsin up 28-27 with 4:10 to go before a 12-2 run put the Badgers up 40-29 at the half. UW was 5-of-6 from 3-point range for the second quarter, making five straight to end the period.  

The Badgers continued their hot play in the third quarter, as two 3-pointers from Whyte put Wisconsin up 46-32 less than two minutes into the period. A 7-0 run increased UW's lead to 19 points (55-36) with 4:41 left in the period.

A Penn State 3-pointer ended the run but the Badgers went up 66-41 with a little over a minute to play after scoring 11 straight.  The Lady Lions hit two jumpers late in the period but Bauman 3-pointer put Wisconsin up 69-45 at the end of three.

The Badgers took another 25-point lead in the fourth quarter (74-49), but the Lady Lions fought back with a layup and an 8-2 run in an attempt to close the gap.
Penn State never threatened in the fourth quarter as Wisconsin ended a two-game losing streak.

Wisconsin committed only nine turnovers in today's game to tie the season low and also scored 16 points off the bench as Marsha Howard (8), Roichelle Marble (60) and Rosanna Gambino (2) all scored.

UW also dished off a season-high 22 assists, including nine from Bauman, tying her career high. Whyte added seven dimes.

The Badgers return to the Kohl Center on Wednesday, as they host Iowa at 7 p.m.