MADISON, Wis. -- The Wisconsin women's basketball team (2-6, 0-0 B1G) kicks off Big Ten Conference play when it travels to Northwestern (5-3, 0-0) Sunday afternoon. Tip time is 2 p.m. from Welsh-Ryan Arena in Evanston, Illinois, streamed live on B1G+.
Here are five things you need to know before tuning in.
1. B1G OPENER: Marking the start of the Big Ten season, Wisconsin takes on Northwestern on Sunday before facing No. 12 Michigan at home on Thursday. The Badgers still have three non-conference games remaining all at home. UW takes on Green Bay, Illinois State and Eastern Illinois before jumping fully into conference matchups at the end of December.
2. HANDLING THE BALL: The Badgers currently sit second in the Big Ten, averaging only 13.3 turnover per game. Handling the ball well has been one of the biggest additions to the Badger attack with guard
Katie Nelson posting a fourth-place ranking for highest assist-to=turnover ratio at 3.0. Moving into aggressive Big Ten play, Wisconsin will look to take advantage of every possession by building off of its success handling the ball.
3. IMPROVED SHOOTING: After struggling with its shooting early in the season, Wisconsin has turned up its shooting percentages over the last four games. The Badgers hit a season-high 50% (28-56) at Milwaukee on Nov. 24. Over its last four games, UW is shooting 43.7% (93-213) compared to its season average of 39.7%. Wisconsin shot a season-high 94.4% (17-18) from the free-throw line vs. Virginia Tech on Wednesday. That raised the Badgers' season shooting to 71.8% (79-110). Junior
Sara Stapleton shot a career high 5-5 from the free-throw line against the Hokies while sophomore
Halle Douglass also shot a career best 4-4 from the charity stripe.
4. STAPLE IT DOWN: Junior
Sara Stapleton had a dominate night against the Hokie, putting up 15 points and five rebounds while shooting a career-best 5-5 from the free-throw line. The 6-foot-3 post had an outstanding defensive night, limiting the Hokies' leading scorer Elizabeth Kitley to 13 points and three rebounds, well below her season averages of 20.6 points and 10.3 rebounds per game
5. SCOUTING NORTHWESTERN: The Wildcats currently sit 5-3 on the year and the Badgers will be their first conference matchup of the season as well. They boast wins over Clemson and Chicago-Loyola and with losses to Pittsburgh and Texas A&M. In Big Ten fashion, total scores for the Wildcats haven't been through the roof, but senior guard Veronica Burton is the standout scorer for Northwestern, averaging 19.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds. After Burton, the Wildcats only have one other player averaging double digits. Locking down Burton and taking advantage of open looks on offense will both be key to the Badgers having success Sunday.
