MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's basketball team ended its non-conference season in style, defeating Evansville, 96-60, Friday night at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin (9-3) began the game with a 6-0 run and never looked back. The Badgers lead 10-2 less than three minutes into the game before Evansville (2-8) went on a 5-0 run to cut UW's lead to 10-7 with 5:56 on the clock. But that was as close as the Purple Aces would get as the Badgers closed out the first quarter with a 23-11 advantage.
Wisconsin shot a season-high 52.2 percent (26-69) from the field and held the Purple Aces 33.9 percent (21-62). The Badgers made a season-high nine 3-pointers, including four from junior
Suzanne Gilreath.
Tonight's win was a complete team effort with 13 Badgers seeing action, all playing four or more minutes. Senior
Marsha Howard led the charge with 21 points.
Imani Lewis (16), Gilreath (14) and
Kelly Karlis (12) also scored in the double-digits for the Badgers.
The guard duo of
Kendra Van Leeuwen and
Niya Beverley helped UW earn a 23-14 advantage in assists. Van Leeuwen led all players with 11 assists while Beverley added a career-high seven. The distribution by this dynamic duo helped Wisconsin earn 48 points in the paint. UW also turned the ball over only 11 times, its third straight game with 12-or-fewer giveaways.
Wisconsin also earned an impressive 51-31 advantage in rebounds, including 16 offensive rebounds to help secure 21 second-chance points. Howard paced the Badgers with 12 boards for her fifth double-double of the season.
UW out blocked Evansville 8-1 while Lewis recorded a career-high three steals to round out a balanced defensive game.
Notes to know
- The Badgers improve to 9-3 on the year, equaling or bettering their total wins from the last four seasons.
- Wisconsin scored a season-high 96 points, shooting a season-high 52.2 percent (36-69) from the field. UW also scored a season-high nine 3-pointers.
- All 13 UW players saw action with 11 Badgers scoring at least one point.
- Senior Marsha Howard earned her fifth double-double of the year with a season-high 21 points while adding 12 rebounds.
- Junior Kendra Van Leeuwen dished off a game-high 11 assists, her third game this season in double figure helpers. Wisconsin had a season-high 23 assists.
Straight from the court
"I thought we did a really nice job of coming out and attacking. We put ourselves in great positions to score the basketball and we got it done defensively.
"I think we prepare and are detail-oriented no matter who we are playing. We understand that we will play certain teams in the Big Ten twice, but everyone will scout us. Our preparation starts as soon our team starts winter break. We see break as a time to mentally and physically recover ourselves. And for the time being, our Big Ten game against Minnesota is the only thing we are concerned about right now."
"I always wanted us to keep improving. Our tournament in Nashville really helped us see that no single game will be the same and that there is just no substitute for getting out there and being on the basketball floor. So we're going to continue building as a team and providing opportunities for each other to succeed."
-Head coach Jonathan Tsipis
Up next
The Badgers begin Big Ten Conference play on the road at No. 13 Minnesota on Friday. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m. with the game airing live on the Big Ten Network.
