WBB: Wisconsin upsets No. 12 Michigan on Sunday in biggest win of Marisa Moseley's tenure
The streaking Badgers have now won three in a row, and four of five, as they head north to Minneapolis for the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday.
Final Score
Wisconsin Badgers 78
No. 12 Michigan Wolverines 70
Four Factors
eFG%: 57.5
Turnover%: 17.6
Off. Rebound%: 11.1
FTA/FGA: 35.8
Key Stats
FG%: 49.1 (26-of-53)
Opp. FG%: 40.0 (26-of-65)
3P%: 52.9 (9-of-17)
Opp. 3P%: 32.0 (8-of-25)
FT%: 89.5 (17-of-19)
Opp. FT%: 71.4 (10-of-14)
Points Per Possession: 1.147
Opponent Points Per Possession: 0.959
Rebounds: 33 (three offensive)
Opponent Rebounds: 36 (12 offensive)
Turnovers: 12
Forced Turnovers: 14
Team Leaders
Serah Williams: 14 points (5-of-11 FG), five rebounds (one offensive), one assist, two blocks, +10
Avery LaBarbera: 12 points (3-of-8 FG, 1-of-2 3P), eight rebounds, five assists, two steals, +11
Maty Wilke: 15 points (4-of-9 FG, 3-of-6 3P), four rebounds, three assists, two steals, +3
Julie Pospisilova: 25 points (10-of-16 FG, 3-of-3 3P), six rebounds (one offensive), five assists, two blocks, +6
Brooke Schramek: nine points (3-of-6 FG, 1-of-3 3P), five rebounds (one offensive), four assists, three blocks, three steals, +2
Michigan Team Leaders
Maddie Nolan: 21 points (7-of-14 FG, 5-of-11 3P), three rebounds, five assists, -8
Emily Kiser: 17 points (7-of-19 FG, 0-of-2 3P), 12 rebounds (four offensive), four assists, one block, -8
Three Thoughts
Julie Pospisilova has been on an absolute heater recently. She has scored in double figures in eight straight games, scored 20 or more points in four of her last six, and saved her best performance of the season for her final game at the Kohl Center.
Pospisilova dropped 25 points (her second highest total of the season) on an incredibly efficient 10-of-16 shooting from the floor. She added six rebounds, five assists, and two blocks while only turning the ball over twice. She also made all three of her long-range attempts and was a genuine force to be reckoned with all game.
It is always bittersweet to watch seniors play their final home game, but it certainly makes it easier for everyone when the senior turns in a standout performance that leads to a huge upset win over a ranked rival.I wrote a post a month ago that Pospisilova is miscast as a primary scoring option on this team, and I still believe that is true, but she has tapped into every ounce of her talent and skill over the past two weeks and is doing an excellent job as the team’s top scorer.
Brooke Schramek filled up the box score on Sunday afternoon. She still turns the ball over too much for my liking, collecting four of UW’s miscues, but she made up for it PLENTY with the rest of her game.
Schramek isn’t always scoring the most points, but she scores enough where she has to be accounted for and if she isn’t she’ll make you pay. She isn’t always at the center of scrums for rebounds, but she gets important ones. You may not notice her making an extra pass, but it ends up as an assist.On Sunday, however, her most important contributions came on defense. Michigan had a pretty sizable height advantage on Wisconsin and the Badgers couldn’t expect Serah Williams to handle the post defense all by herself. Schramek stepped up with six stocks (blocks+steals) and made life difficult for the Wolverines in the paint.
She really slid into Halle Douglass’ role this season after Douglass went down with her injury and I’m excited to have them both in the lineup next year.Turnovers, but in a good way this time! The Badgers only had two games (wins over Bradley and St. Thomas) with fewer turnovers than the dozen they had against Michigan on Sunday.
UW had five turnovers in the first quarter and then only seven the rest of the game (and zero in the second quarter)! It’s amazing to see that the team plays better when they don’t turn the ball over. The Badgers even scored 18 points off Wolverine turnovers, while Michigan only had 10 off of Wisconsin.BONUS THOUGHT: The Badgers, who had four players log over 35 minutes in the game, actually seemed to get BETTER as the game went on. Here is the point differential by quarter: even, +1, +2, +5. Impressive stuff.
Final Thought
What an awesome game that was!
In a game that No. 12 Michigan needed to win to try and get the double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, the Badgers came out and went punch for punch with the Wolverines. All five of the starters made big plays throughout the game and Sania Copeland contributed a huge three-pointer off the bench in fourth quarter to push UW’s lead to double digits.
Over the final 5:30 minutes of the game, the Badgers didn’t score a field goal but played tough defense and made a dozen free throws in the last two minutes of the game to salt things away. It was a composed, clutch performance from all involved.
While Michigan was shorthanded on Sunday, missing their two leading scorers Leigha Brown and Laila Phelia, they still came into the game with the better lineup and were expected to win. Instead, Wisconsin shot better from the floor, from three, and from the free throw line while also turning the ball over fewer times.
The Badgers (11-19 overall, 6-12 Big Ten) have now won three in a row and four of their last five and are heading to Minneapolis as one of the hottest teams in the conference. They will NOT be playing on the opening day of the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since the conference expanded it and have the chance to match their most wins since 2019-2020 with a win over Purdue on Thursday.
Their six conference wins are their most since 2018-19 and the last time they won more than six Big Ten games was in the 2010-11 season. With the victory over Michigan, Marisa Moseley now has a “program defining” win to hang her hat on. She has proof of concept. Things are not perfect, but they are clearly trending upwards. Get on the bandwagon now, friends, we’re going to the top half of the conference!
Next Game: Big Ten Tournament; Thursday, Mar. 2; vs. 7-seed Purdue; 5:30 p.m. CT; BTN; Target Center; Minneapolis, Minn.