MADISON, Wis. — The Wisconsin women's basketball team took to the court for the first time in the 2022-23 season with an exhibition game against UW-La Crosse, and its performance did not disappoint. They Badgers dominated throughout the match Sunday, and ended up winning by a final score of 94-41. There were eight players who appeared in their first game for the Badgers, and they ended up totaling 50 of UW's points.
Wisconsin had its highest scoring period in the first quarter with 34 points, and was led by freshman Serah Williams, who tallied eight points and four rebounds in that span. The Badgers made their first 10 field goals, and held the Eagles to just four points, including a 2-for-13 FG.
Avery LaBarbera began the second quarter with a quick layup, but scoring slowed down as the quarter progressed. The Eagles accumulated 18 points while the Badgers notched 14 in this period, but they still went into halftime with a commanding 48-22 lead.
The Badgers looked renewed heading onto the court for the third period, and Maty Wilke had her best performance in this quarter. The redshirt-freshman guard was a perfect 3-for-3 and scored eight of her 14 points in the third quarter. She was followed by Halle Douglass with seven points (3-3 FG, 1-1 3Pt) and LaBarbera with six (3-4 FG).
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Badgers were up 78-30 and had a confident lead. Freshman Ronnie Porter made the first two baskets of her career late in the game, and Julie Pospíšilová finished off her 21-point performance with eight points in the final period. With such strong lead, coach Marisa Moseley was able to play different combinations of players, including freshman Mary Ferrito and redshirt freshman Sacia Vanderpool, who made their collegiate debuts in the final minute of the contest
Wisconsin shot 53.5% (38-71) from the field, including 37.5% (9-24) from 3-point range. The Badgers were also 69.2% (9-13) from the free-throw line.
UW-La Crosse went 27.6% (16-58) from field-goal range, including 22.7% (5-22) from behind the arc. The Eagles were 4-9 (44.4%) from the free-throw line. Kailee Meeker scored 12 points for La-Crosse while Lauryn Milne and Ali Sprangers each chipped in eight apiece.
The Eagles reeled in 41 rebounds while the Badgers had three less, but Wisconsin had 23 assists and 14 steals while La Crosse brought in nine assists and two steals. Douglass was tied for a game-high six rebounds while Pospíšilová finished with a game-high six assists.
Straight from the Court
"One of the things that really stuck out to me was only five turnovers and 23 assists, that was really incredible, getting to the free-throw line 13 times. I'm really proud of [Julie Pospíšilová and Avery LaBarbera] but it was really a collective full team effort."
Senior guard Julie Pospíšilová
"We just knew we needed to go to the front and transition. Everyone knows their own role on the floor so it's nice to know you can rely on everyone and just play with each other."
Graduate senior guard Avery LaBarbera
"Just focusing on ourselves, the only constant in this season is we're always going to have each other, it doesn't matter who the opponent is. Coach said let's focus on us and I think we did a really good job of that today."
Notes to know
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Wisconsin had five players score in double digits, which included Serah Williams, Julie Pospíšilova, Maty Wilke, Avery LaBarbera and Halle Douglass.
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The Badgers finished the game with a 23:5 assist to turnover ratio.
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50 of Wisconsin's 94 points came from players who had not previously played in a game for the Badgers.
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Playing their first time as Badgers were Serah Williams, Maty Wilke, Avery LaBarbera, Ronnie Porter, Sania Copeland, Savannah White, Lily Krahn, Sacia Vanderpool and Mary Ferrito.
Up next
Wisconsin travels to face Milwaukee on Monday, November 7. Tip time is 7:30 p.m from the Klotsche Center, streamed live on ESPN+.
