MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's basketball team returns to action for its 2021-22 season this Sunday with an exhibition against UW-Oshkosh. Tip time is 2 p.m. from the Kohl Center. Watch live on B1G+ or listen on U100.9 FM.
Here are five things you need to know before tuning into the season opener for the Badgers.
1. CHANGING OF THE GUARD: The Badgers open their first season under head coach
Marisa Moseley in 2020-21. Moseley spent the last three seasons at her alma mater, Boston University, where she was 45-29. She was named the 2019 Patriot League Coach of the Year and aided her 2020-21 team to the conference tournament for the first time in program history. She brings along with her three other coaches, including Associate Head Coach
Scott Merritt, who has coached at Marquette and Illinois, and assistant coaches
Kate Barnosky, who spent the last three years coaching under Moseley at BU, and
Caroline Doty, a three-time national champion at UConn, who played under Moseley and is entering into her first stint as a coach.
2. WELCOME NEWCOMERS: Along with a new coaching staff, Wisconsin also welcomes five new players to the team. The Badgers added three freshman to this year's roster including
Maty Wilke, a 5-foot-10 guard from Beaver Dam;
Sacia Vanderpool, a 6-foot-4 forward from Byron, Minnesota; and
Krystyna Ellew, a 5-foot-10 guard from Chicago. UW also adds two transfers in
Katie Nelson, an All-Patriot League first-team selection at Boston University, and
Lexi Duckett, a transfer from North Carolina. Duckett joined the team last season but didn't see any playing time due to injury.
3. EXPERIENCE RETURNS: As a young team last season in both age and experience, the Badgers return three starters and nine letterwinners in 2020-21. Leading scorer
Sydney Hilliard returns after averaging a team-best 15.5 points-per-game and earning All-Big Ten honorable mention selection. Junior guard
Julie Pospisilova also started last season, averaging nearly nine points and four assists per game last season.
Sara Stapleton, Wisconsin's top forward. is looking to have a breakout season this year after starting a career-high 18 games last season.
4. SISTER, SISTER: Badger sophomore
Brooke Schramek faces her older sister and best friend Kendal in Sunday's exhibition. Kendal is a fifth-year senior for the Titans and has been known to talk some smack with her sister on social media!
Read more here:
Rival basketball siblings are each other's biggest cheerleaders
5. SCOUTING THE TITANS: UW-Oshkosh is one of the top DIII teams in the state and is picked to repeat as WIAC champions. The Titans are also picked 17th in the national D3hoops preseason poll. Head coach Brad Fischer welcomes back all five starters and the top six scorers, including 2021 D3hoops.com First Team All-American and two-time reigning WIAC Player of the Year Leah Porath, from last year's squad that paced the WIAC with 58 points allowed and 13.7 assists per game, a .455 field goal percentage and a +12.7 scoring margin. Other starters returning for the Titans are Nikki Arneson, Abby Kaiser, Kennedy Osterman and Julia Silloway. Silloway received All-WIAC First Team honors a year ago while Arneson and Kaiser earned all-league honorable mention.
