Box Score
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Wisconsin women's basketball team defeated Illinois on the road Sunday, Jan. 7 inside the State Farm Center. The Badgers were playing without D'Yanis Jimenez and Brooke Schramek, both of which suffered injuries in the Badgers' last game against Nebraska on Thursday, but Wisconsin was persistent and unwavering in their determination to win, and delivered a huge conference road victory.
Wisconsin played a short bench of just seven total players, and each played a key role in securing the victory. Serah Williams notched a career-high in rebounds (15) and tied a career-high in blocks (5) while Porter secured a career-high in assists (8), and free throws (6) and tied in steals (5). Both players notched double-doubles and scored 27 and 14 points respectively.
Wisconsin did not win the initial tip, but
Ronnie Porter, the Big Ten leader in steals, began the contest by taking the ball away from the Illini and finishing with an easy bucket for the Badgers' first points of the game. UW had all the momentum early on, scoring four buckets in the first three minutes of the game, with Porter,
Serah Williams and
Halle Douglass all dropping shots to take an early six-point lead.
Tessa Grady entered the game and secured an immediate three-pointer, her sixth made three in 12 attempts this season. The scoring was back-and-forth early with Wisconsin up one point, 13-12, at the end of quarter one.Â
The second quarter was another close battle between the two teams, as neither the Badgers nor the Illini were able to go on any long runs or secure any large leads. Williams was the dominant force for Wisconsin during quarter two, dropping six of the team's 11 points and contributing four rebounds. Grady added another confident shot from behind the arc for her second three-pointer of the game as she embraced her increased playing time in Champaign. The Badgers never trailed by more than one point in the half, and took the lead heading into the locker room, up 26-25.Â
Williams came back to the court with the same dynamic offense she produced in the first half, notching the first six points of the half for the Badgers. Sania Copeland followed up with a made-three and put Wisconsin up six. Both teams cooled down a bit, and while Porter finished the quarter with back-to-back layups, the Badgers trailed, 42-41 with 10 minutes left to play.Â
Halle Douglass put up a huge three to get the quarter started, and with that, the final 10 minutes were underway. Copeland followed up Douglass and drained her second three of the game, and the Badgers took their largest lead of the night at nine. The Badgers were showing their tenacity on both ends of the court, and followed up their offense with elite defense on the other end, with Serah Williams claiming her fifth block of the game, tying her career-high. Wisconsin grabbed a 10-point lead, but Illinois came back with a vengeance soon after, dropping three-straight threes. Nevertheless, the Badgers were unshakable, delivered five points at the charity stripe to secure a 67-61 victory.
Wisconsin shot 36.2 (21-58) from the field range, and 21.4% (6-28) from 3-point range. The Badgers shot 76.0% (19-25)Â from the free-throw line. The team outrebounded Illinois 47-35, and logged a season-high 16 offensive rebounds.Â
Illinois went 37% (26-70) from field-goal range, including 28.0% (5-18) from behind the arc. The Illini were 67.0% (4-6) from the free-throw line. The team was led in scoring by Makira Cook who delivered 18 points.Â
Notes to know
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Serah Williams dropped her fourth double-double of the season, recording 27 points and a career-high 15 rebounds and five blocks.Â
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Ronnie Porter also notched a double-double, her third of the season, with 14 points and 12 rebounds. The sophomore added a career-high eight assists and tied her career-high five steals.Â
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Wisconsin recorded a season-high 16 offensive rebounds, and outrebounded Illinois 47-35.
Up next
Wisconsin will resume conference play Wednesday, Jan. 10 against Northwestern inside the Kohl Center at 6:30 p.m. The game can be streamed on B1G+ or listened to on 1070 WTSO-AM.Â
