BY KELLI GRASHEL
UW Athletic Communications

MADISON, Wis. — All year long, head coach Paula Wilkins told the team to trust the process. Even when the team was struggling early on, battling in overtimes and coming up with so many ties, or suffering some tough losses to top-ranked teams. The message stayed the same throughout. And guess what? The process worked.

The Badgers finished strong with an incredibly successful season that took them all the way to the second round of the NCAA tournament.

"I always knew this team had the potential," Wilkins said. "We knew starting at the beginning there was going to be a learning curve for this group and their willingness to trust in the process was going to be the biggest reason why we would be successful."

The group found their stride in an unconventional way. A tough loss to Indiana forced UW to reevaluate themselves, and in doing so the Badgers found their stride.

"I think that's where some significant leadership came out from the team," Wilkins said. "I thought we refocused ourselves to defend more as a group and that came specifically from a lot of the seniors. I also think that even the defending from the forwards, Emily and Sydney, they raised their game also and I think being able to defend was important for us. We were able to win the ball in different areas and create some opportunities for ourselves."

From that moment on, it was a new team. Wisconsin went 4-0-4 in their next eight games, including a huge upset win over eighth-ranked Minnesota. And then all the hard work paid off — the Badgers were given a golden opportunity with an NCAA bid. It was the fifth NCAA appearance in Wilkins' reign at the helm of the program and the first since 2014.

"Basically only one team gets to have their season end in a very positive manner. But I think what they did in the last eight games, where every game their effort was where it needed to be collectively as a group, will be something I always remember."

UW hosted in-state rival Marquette and upended the Golden Eagles 1-0 at the McClimon Complex to dance their way into the program's 10th NCAA second-round appearance. But the Badgers didn't have an easy feat ahead, they were put up against top-seeded and ninth-ranked Florida on the Gators' home turf.

With all the odds against them, no one thought the Badgers could do what they were able to do in such tough circumstances.

National reporters have dubbed it as one of the best games of the NCAA tournament so far and they were right.

It was an all-out battle in Gainesville as the Badgers took the Gators into double overtime, but eventually fell 3-2. It was UW's 11th overtime game of the season and just their first loss in overtime.

"It was probably one of the top four or five games I have been a part of as a coach," Wilkins added. "Obviously we didn't come out on the winning end, but the emotion and the fight that they had at the end is something that I think they can walk away from and say that they built up through the entire season. We always say that confidence comes from preparation and those games build into that game. We didn't get the result we wanted but I think they found out something about themselves as a group in that last game."

Many sports teams at the end of a season will often look back at the what-ifs and some regrets. But this Badger team shouldn't be one of those teams. They should be able to hang their hat on the fact that they gave it their all, they never gave in even in the tough times and you guessed it, trusted in the process.