WBB: Wisconsin earns massive road win over Penn State on Sunday
The Badgers played a solid game on both ends of the court and secured their third conference win of the season.
BBK Style Guide: I do not think writers/fans should call women’s teams of schools the “Lady Mascots,” but I will call Penn State the Lady Lions because that’s a nickname they’ve chosen themselves and have used for decades.
The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team went on the road Sunday afternoon and will return to Madison with a hard-earned Big Ten win. UW held off Penn State, 75-68, in what was a crucial game for both teams and their Big Ten Tournament chances.
Wisconsin now sits alone atop the Bottom 5 with a 3-12 Big Ten record. They have a home date with fellow basement dweller Northwestern in one week and a win there would almost assuredly clinch the Badgers a BTT slot.
Here is my full breakdown and analysis of Wisconsin’s third Big Ten win of the season:
Final Score
Wisconsin Badgers (12-14 overall, 3-12 Big Ten): 75
Penn State Nittany Lions (10-16 overall, 1-14 Big Ten): 68
Four Factors
eFG%: 49.2
Turnover%: 14.5
Off. Rebound%: 29.4
FTA/FGA: 30.6
Key Stats
FG%: 45.2 (28-of-62)
Opp. FG%: 47.3 (26-of-55)
3P%: 26.3 (5-of-19)
Opp. 3P%: 33.3 (5-of-15)
FT%: 73.7 (14-of-19)
Opp. FT%: 68.8 (11-of-16)
Points Per Possession: 1.087
Opponent Points Per Possession: 0.971
Rebounds: 30 (10 offensive)
Opponent Rebounds: 35 (11 offensive)
Turnovers: 10
Forced Turnovers: 20
Team Leaders
Halle Douglass: 17 points (5-of-9 FG, 4-of-7 3P), three rebounds (one offensive), three assists, one steal, +10
Serah Williams: 23 points (9-of-18 FG), 10 rebounds (two offensive), two assists, two blocks, three steals, +4
Carter McCray: 15 points (6-of-9 FG), seven rebounds (three offensive), two assists, one steal, +9
Ronnie Porter: 18 points (7-of-14 FG, 1-of-4 3P), three rebounds (one offensive), 12 assists, five steals, +8
Penn State Team Leaders
Gracie Merkle: 28 points (13-of-17 FG), 12 rebounds (five offensive), one assist, one block, -5
Tamera Johnson: eight points (3-of-4 FG), four rebounds (two offensive), two assists, two steals, -12
Gabby Elliott: 12 points (4-of-12 FG, 1-of-2 3P), five rebounds (one offensive), four assists, -6 (fouled out)
Three-ish Thoughts
Ronnie Porter taught a point guard masterclass on Sunday afternoon. She directed Wisconsin’s offense like she was Martin Scorsese, she took control and scored when she needed to, and she played pestering defense for all 35 minutes she was on the court.
Porter hasn’t had a “bad season” per se, but her field goal percentage, 3P%, FT%, and points per game are all down from last year. Her rebounding numbers are down too, but that’s because Wisconsin has two capable, rebound-vacuuming bigs this year and don’t need Porter to crash the glass as much.
However, Porter’s assist numbers are up and her turnovers are down. Her A:TO ratio of 2.53 is 38th best in the whole country and her assist rate of 31.6% is 66th best. Her steal numbers are just about the same, which is to say 93rd percentile, as last year and she is also fouling a bit less.
Because I was curious, I looked up how many other players this year registered a game with 18 points, 12 assists, and five steals and the answer…was two. Porter was the only one of the three to do it against a Power Conference team too. What an absolutely wonderful game by her.Carter McCray missed a layup with 4:27 to go in the first quarter. That ended up being the ONLY layup Wisconsin missed all game! It’s an Almost President’s Day Miracle! McCray was 5-of-6 at the rim, Serah Williams was 4-of-4, Porter was 3-of-3, and Halle Douglass and Tess Myers (!) were both 1-of-1.
Was this the reason they won? Well, probably not the only reason, but Penn State went 18-of-30 at the rim and I’m sure the would’ve liked to have a percentage closer to Wisconsin’s than the one they ended up with.Serah Williams imposed her will on both ends of the court early and I think it set the tone for the positive first quarter Wisconsin ended up having. She scored 13 points in the first 10 minutes, grabbed two boards, swatted one shot, and deterred a couple of others.
Facing off against Gracie Merkle, at 6-foot-6 one of the few opponents taller than Williams, was certainly a challenge. She is nearly impossible to stop in the paint, as 26 of her 28 points were scored at the rim and she also ripped down a dozen rebounds too. Williams started the game by taking what the defense (Merkle for the most part) gave her, which just so happened to be jumpers.
Williams made some early shots outside the paint and then the Lady Lions had to change up their defense a bit because Merkle isn’t quick enough to guard anyone outside of about, oh, two feet from the basket. The Badgers used her plodding pace to their advantage a couple of times by getting easy looks early in the shot clock while Merkle trailed behind the play. UW ended up outscoring Penn State 13-2 in fast break points.
Halle Douglass hit a three near the beginning of the second quarter because the rest of the PSU defense collapsed on a streaking to the basket Williams, who had left Merkle in the dust, which left Douglass wide open on the wing. It was some really nice, heads up hoops from UW. You’ll be SHOCKED to find out that it was Porter who got the assist on the play.Speaking of Halle Douglass! She made a number of winning plays in this game and was a major reason why the Badgers earned the victory. She played all 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, scored nine crucial points, pulled down two boards, and dished out two assists.
Douglass is a veteran who stuck around Madison during a coaching change, decided to come back for one last year, and deserved to have a game like this to help the Badgers notch an all-important win.I can’t find a highlight of it, but my notes from the game say “what a take by McCray with 90 seconds left.” McCray, much like Douglass, had a number of plays that were integral to UW’s victory. I will assume that her “take” with “90 seconds left” was one of them, but another that I did find video for came in the first quarter.
D’Yanis Jimenez found herself trapped along the baseline and McCray slid over to become available for a pass. McCray then took two dribbles towards the rim and Gracie Merkle, drew Douglass’ defender in to help, and then kicked it out to Douglass for a wide open three. That is Good Basketball, friends.
McCray, once again, acquitted herself quite nicely against a much taller opponent and made a great interior combo with Williams.QUICK THOUGHTS: Wisconsin (10) had half as many turnovers as Penn State (20) and I think that’s just swell; McCray, Williams, Douglass, and Porter accounted for 73 of Wisconsin’s 75 points (shoutout to Tess Myers for her layup!); the Lady Lions were without starter Alli Campbell in this one (8.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 4.2 apg, 1.3 spg) and that proved tough for them to overcome; rough shooting day from deep (besides Douglass) by Wisconsin as Lily Krahn and Tess Myers were a combined 0-of-7; the Badgers won the first quarter and didn’t start slow for once!
Final Thought
That was a fun game! The Badgers played inspired basketball for four quarters and were able to punch back every time that the Lady Lions tried to make a run. With the win, UW is now in the driver’s seat for a Big Ten Tournament berth too. Here are the up-to-the-minute Bottom 5 standings:
Wisconsin (3-12)
Rutgers (2-12)
Purdue (2-12)
Northwestern (1-11)
Penn State (1-14)
The Scarlet Knights and Wildcats play tonight (Monday) and even if Rutgers wins the Badgers will still remain in first place due to their win over the Knights from earlier in the year. UW has a week off before playing Northwestern (who have two games before heading to Madison) and will get to rest up and game plan for NU and only NU.
It is Wisconsin’s Senior Day on Sunday and it would be pretty swell to send off grad students Halle Douglass, Natalie Leuzinger, and Tess Myers with a Big Ten Tournament-clinching victory.
Next Game: Sunday, Feb. 23; vs. Northwestern Wildcats; 2:00 p.m. CT; B1G+; Kohl Center