MADISON – The dogs days of the season have been rough for the Wisconsin women’s basketball team.
“I tell you what, we play a really, really tough league,” Wisconsin coach Robin Pingeton said. “I believe there’s 10 teams in this league that are top 25 in (NCAA NET rankings). It’s just a dog fight night in and night out.”
The Badgers are in the midst of that during the final weeks of the regular season and the results haven’t been pretty. Sunday Feb. 15 they fell to Minnesota, 83-60, at the Kohl Center for their sixth straight loss. Each of those losses, except the three-point loss to Indiana on Feb. 4, has come to teams that as of Sunday were ranked among the top 35 of the NET rankings.
Minnesota (20-6, 11-4 Big Ten) entered play ranked No. 10 and flexed the well-round nature of its team in extending its winning streak to eight games.
The Badgers (13-13, 5-10) turned the ball over 21 times after averaging about 11 over the past three games. On the other end of the floor, they had few answers during the final three quarters for a team that boasts five players averaging at least 9.8 points per game. Minnesota shot 54.2%, which included 64% (16 for 25) in the second half.
Here are three takeaways from the loss.
Wisconsin shows fight with fast start
The Badgers were worn down and flat in a 32-point loss at Illinois Saturday. Sunday they came out with energy and led by as many as 10 points on two occasions during the first quarter.
Senior forward Gift Uchenna, who had 14 points on 6-for-8 shooting and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds, was one of the tone setters. She was 4-for-5 shooting during those 10 minutes and scored seven points.
The Badgers also received six points from junior Kyrah Daniels, who sank both of her 3-point attempts.
And on the other end the floor they held the Gophers to 5-of-15 shooting, the only quarter of the game when they shot worse than 60%.
“Defensively, I was really proud of the way we came out of the gates,” Pingeton said. “I would say there was a handful of possessions that we didn’t make the second and third efforts on, and you have to do that against a team like this.
“You’ve got to stay in the fight and it’s about the resiliency in those possessions. There’s some that we left out there for sure, but overall I’m really proud of our girls. Not satisfied, but proud of them.”
Turnovers come back to bite Badgers
One area UW has made great strides in its ability to protect the ball. In its last three games its highest turnover total was 11. Six times in 16 Big Ten games the Badgers achieved their goal of no more than 12 turnovers.
Wisconsin had 21 and give Minnesota credit for forcing most of them. The Gophers converted those plays into 26 points, the highest total UW has allowed to a Big Ten opponent.
Minnesota scored nine points off turnovers in the second quarter a run capped by a 3-pointer by Kettle Moraine grad Grace Grocholski with 4 seconds left to give her team a 40-31 lead.
The Badgers gave up 11 points off turnovers in the third quarter. UW had more turnovers (12) than baskets (11) during the middle quarters.
“I think they do a really good job of being in help,” Daniels said. “Driving lanes seem way smaller than they are and they’re doing a good job of closing out hard to shooters as well. I think we just needed to play off of two better and see their help a little bit more.”
Foul trouble hampers effort
Given the fouls Wisconsin piled up in the first half, it’s no wonder that it trailed by nine at the break.
Uchenna’s fast start was derailed by two first quarter fouls. She didn’t play in the second quarter.
Freshman center Dorja Zaja, who hit her first two shots, drew three first half fouls and didn’t play for the final 7 minutes 42 seconds of the first half.
UW’s leading scorer, graduate guard Destiny Howell also had three first half fouls. Her last two were offensive fouls on consecutive possessions for illegal screens. She sat for the final 7:11 of the half and never got on track. She finished with five points on 1-for-8 shooting that include 0 for 4 on 3s.
“We just kind of got out of sync,” Pingeton said. “That’s a big part of our rotation. It made it really challenging.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin starts strong, but turnovers, foul trouble prove costly vs. Minnesota
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
