BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sophomore
Sydney Hilliard recorded her sixth 20-point game of the season but it wasn't enough as the Wisconsin women's basketball team fell on the road at the No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers Sunday afternoon, 74–49.
Wisconsin (3-6, 0-6 B1G) played well defensively especially in the first half, limiting the Hoosiers (7-3, 5-1) to just 35 points at the break.
After trailing by as many as nine points in the first quarter (14-5), the Badgers rallied in the second quarter, knotting the score at 20-20 off a
Sydney Hilliard second-chance layup. UW was within six points (30-24) with less than a minute to play in the half before the Hoosiers went on a 5-0 run, including a last-second shot by Keyanna Warthen, to lead 35-24 at the break.
Indiana continued its momentum into the second half, opening the third quarter on a 7-2 run, to take a 42-26 lead with 7:07 on the clock and putting the game out of reach for Wisconsin.
Hillard finished with team highs of 23 points, shooting 8-14 from the field and 7-9 from the free-throw line, and eight rebounds. Junior
Imani Lewis was the only other Badger in double figures, scoring 10 points, all in the second half.
Wisconsin shot 39.1% (18-46) from the field and struggled to shoot from outside, going 0-for-8 from 3-point range. Indiana hit 45% (27-60) from the field, including 52.9% (9-17) from deep. The Badgers made more free throws than the Hoosiers, shooting 13-16 (81.4%) while IU hit just 57.9% (11-19).
Indiana edged the Badgers in rebounds, 32-30, but Wisconsin turned the ball over 18 times while dishing off a season-low four assists. Indiana had 10 turnovers and eight defensive steals.
Straight from the court
"When you look at the stats, obviously turnovers kill you
when you're playing such a good defensive team and I thought we were doing a good job with our man-to-man (defense) and we limited them to 30 points before (the run) in the first half. You have to give (Indiana) credit. We've got to be able to not allow what happens on the offensive end dictate what happens on the defensive end.
"I thought our kids ... went hard today. We did a better job on the glass. We limited them to one offensive rebound in the second half but you have to be able to put the ball in the basket. I don't think we played with the same fear that we played with in the second quarter against Northwestern. There are a lot of things is that we can do better and I look forward to getting our group back in the gym to practice again."
On Indiana going on a 5-0 run at the end of second quarter
"I thought that was a huge momentum play for them. It was 30-24, we don't get a stop and we over-help. The shot clock was off so we're trying to get the last shot possible and be able to go in.
On going 0-8 from 3-point range:
"When you missed a couple, you start turning shots down and that's when you can get in a position where you turn the ball over because you're trying to do more than the defense is giving you. You have to be a threat. I thought some in the first half were good looks but I think we're better than an 0-for-8 team from 3-point range and you have to be able to hit that to open up things inside."
- Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis
Notes to know
- Badgers went 0-8 from 3-point range, the first time since Nov. 15, 2017 that UW failed to scored a 3-point basket.
- Wisconsin tied a season low by scoring 49 points. UW also made a season-low 18 field goals, including none from 3-point range. The Badgers also dished off a season-low four assists.
- Sophomore Sydney Hilliard scored a game-high 23 points, her sixth game this season with 20-plus points. The 5-foot-11 guard shot 8-14 from the field and 7-9 from the free-throw line while adding a game-high eight rebounds.
- Sophomore Sara Stapleton tied her career best with two steals while freshman Kate Thompson recorded her first career steal.
Up next
Wisconsin faces No. 15 Michigan for the second time in two weeks when the Wolverines come to the Kohl Center on Thursday. Tip time is 7 p.m. live on the Big Ten Network.
