Game notes vs. Minnesota

MADISON, Wis. – The Badgers (9-13, 2-7 Big Ten) return home for two games this week. Wisconsin looks for a season split against Minnesota (16-5, 5-3) as the Golden Gophers come to town on Wednesday. Tip time is 7 p.m. from the Kohl Center.

1. AH, SWEET VICTORY: Wisconsin picked up its second Big Ten Conference win of the season on Sunday, defeating Illinois on the road, 70-61. It was the Badgers first conference road win since March 1, 2015. Wisconsin scored a Big Ten season-high 70 points against Illinois and also pulled down a Big Ten season-high 44 rebounds. Senior Cayla McMorris led UW with eight rebounds while sophomores Courtney Fredrickson and Kendra Van Leeuwen both added seven boards.

2. BOW DOWN TO GILREATH THE GREAT: Sophomore Suzanne Gilreath led the Badgers at Illinois, scoring a career-high 27 points. The 5-4 shot hit seven 3-pointers, which ties for second on the UW single-game record list.

3. COUNT DOWN TO 1000: Senior Cayla McMorris is counting down to 1,000 career points. The guard has 986 points in her four seasons and will become the 25th UW player to record 1,000 career points.

4. TAKE ME HIGHER, HIGHER: Wisconsin is averaging 61.7 points per game the last six Big Ten games after averaging just 45.5 points per game (+16.2) the first four conference games of the season. The Badgers are also shooting 41.5 percent from the field the last six contests compared to 32.6 percent (+8.9) the first four games.

5. BEST BENCH EVER: The Badgers' bench outscored Illinois' bench 39-19 on Sunday, marking the third straight game that UW's reserves have outscored their opponent. On the season, Wisconsin is getting 20.8 points off the bench, compared to 15.4 for foes (+5.4). Sophomore Suzanne Gilreath averages 9.9 points per game while Abby Laszewski adds 6.7 points per game.

BONUS - MOVIN' ON UP: The Badgers equaled last season's overall win total with Sunday's victory. UW was 9-22 in 2016-17.