Wisconsin Badgers
UW-La Crosse
Starting Five: Badgers Face UW-La Crosse in Exhibition
October 27, 2022 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin returns to the court for an in-state matchup
| Venue | Kohl Center, Madison, Wis. |
| Statistics | Wisconsin | UW-La Crosse |
| Stream | B1G+ |
| Radio | Listen Live on WTSO |
| Live Stats | vs. UW-La Crosse |
| Social Media | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram |
| Notes | Wisconsin |
MADISON, Wis. —The Wisconsin women's basketball team returns to action for the first time in the 2022-23 season to face UW-La Crosse in an exhibition game on Sunday, Oct. 30. Tip time is 5 p.m. from the Kohl Center. Watch live on B1G+ or listen on WTSO.
Here are five things to know before tuning in to this in-state contest.
1. COACHES SETTLING IN: The Badgers begin their second season under head coach Marisa Moseley in 2022-23. In her first season at Wisconsin, Moseley led the Badgers to five Big Ten Conference victories, the most the team had experienced since the 2014-15 season. She also coached the Badgers 22-point comeback against Purdue on February 13, 2022, the largest comeback in conference history. Moseley brought back Associate Head Coaches Scott Merritt and Kate Barnosky, along with Assistant Coach Caroline Doty, while also adding a few new faces to the team. Director of Recruiting, Estella Moschkau, is a former badger standout that had previously served as the team's graduate assistant in 2021-22. Katie Nelson, who played for Moseley at Boston University and at Wisconsin, stayed with the Badgers as the team's Graduate Assistant.
2. SEVEN YOUNG GUNS: Wisconsin welcomes seven freshmen to the roster for the 2022-23 season. These include Savannah White, a 6-foot-2 forward from St. Paul; Lily Krahn, a 5-foot-10 guard from Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin; Ronnie Porter, a 5-foot-4 guard from St. Paul; Sania Copeland, a 5-foot-7 guard from Kansas City, Kansas; Tessa Towers, a 6-foot-five center from Batavia, Illinois; Serah Williams, a 6-foot-4 forward from Brooklyn, New York; and Mary Ferrito, a 5-foot-10 guard from Plain City Ohio. Wisconsin is tied with Indiana for the most freshmen on a team in the 2022-23 season.
3. STAR TRANSFER: In addition to the seven newcomers, Wisconsin added an eighth player to the roster in the offseason with Holy Cross transfer Avery LaBarbera. The 5-foot-6 graduate student from Harrison, New York was awarded 2021-22 First Team All-Patriot League Honors and was named the 2021-22 Patriot League Player of the Year. Some other accolades she collected with the Crusaders include 2019-20 and 2020-21 All Patriot League Second Team, 2020-21 Patriot League All-Defensive Team and 2018-19 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. LaBarbera ended her undergraduate career with 1,478 points and 660 rebounds.
4. LOADS OF EXPERIENCE: Of the Badgers' nine returning players from last season, seven of them are upperclassmen. While the team added a lot of young faces to the roster, there are also tons of experienced players that came back. Four of the Badgers five starters remain on the roster, and the player that did not return, Katie Nelson, will be on the sidelines helping to coach. One of the standouts coming back to the Badgers is 6-foot senior Julie Pospíšilová, who averaged 14.1 points and 36.6 minutes per game in her junior campaign. She also earned her first postseason recognition as she was awarded 2021-22 Honorable Mention All-Big Ten. Sophomore guard Brooke Schramek also started last season, averaging a team high 0.8 blocks per game and finishing second in average assists per game with 4.1.
5. SCOUTING THE EAGLES: The Badgers and Eagles will face off in each teams'Â first matchup of the season, and only their second meeting in the last 11 years. UW-La Crosse is consistently a top-five team in the WIAC and is picked to finish fifth in the conference this season. The team has 12 letterwinners returning, including four of their five starters from 2021-22. They are an experienced group that is led by senior forwards Carly Coulthart, Alana Gilles and Kyah Steiner. The three carried the team to a 14-12 overall and 5-8 WIAC record last season, but Wisconsin will look to shut down their seniors and earn its second exhibition victory against UWL.
