Wisconsin women’s basketball: UW drops game to in-state rival Green Bay

MADISON — On Sunday afternoon, the Wisconsin Badgers women's basketball team (2-9 overall, 0-2 Big Ten) hosted in-state rival Green Bay (5-4 overall, 2-2 Horizon) and lost their fifth consecutive game, falling 63-53.

The Badgers got off to a slow start in the first quarter, which seems to be becoming a recurring theme for this squad. Green Bay opened the contest on an 11-0 run that included three buckets from beyond the arc. UW’s first made field goal came on a three pointer from sophomore Brooke Schramek just before the three minute mark in the first quarter.

After trailing 23-11 after the first quarter, the Badgers opened the second quarter on a 8-0 run to bring themselves right back into the game, featuring three pointers from graduate transfer Katie Nelson and freshman Krystyna Ellew, her third of the game.

A 3:42 scoring drought by the Badgers allowed Green Bay to go on a 10-0 run of their own, extending their lead back out to double digits. UW trailed 32-21 at half. Head coach Marisa Moseley must’ve given Ellew the green light to shoot at will in this one. At half, Ellew had attempted 11 shots, nine of which came from three-point distance. Despite playing over 19 first half minutes, UW leading scorer Julie Pospisilova was held scoreless in the first half.

Green Bay did a fantastic job of spreading the ball around the floor and balancing their offensive attack. Nine different players recorded points compared to just four members of the Badgers. Hailey Oskey lead the Phoenix with seven first half points.

The Badgers came out of the half playing a much quicker style of basketball than they had in the first half. Pospisilova got on the board with five quick points. After cutting Green Bay’s lead to as few as six points, the Badgers allowed the Phoenix to go on a 9-0 run, extending their lead to 15 points, tying their largest lead of the game. Krystyna Ellew ended the run with a three pointer, her fourth of the game.

After trailing by 11 after the third, UW used a 7-0 run to cut the Green Bay lead to six with just under five minutes remaining in the fourth. Wisconsin got the stops needed on the defensive end, but were unable to keep the momentum on offense and cut any further into the Green Bay lead.

A traveling violation by Tara Stauffacher followed by a held ball resulting in Green Bay possession on back to back possessions killed all of the Badgers’ momentum. A three pointer by Green Bay guard Bailey Butler as the shot clock was dying down extended the GB lead to nine with just under two minutes left. Dagger.

Outside of Ellew, Wisconsin was unable to get much going on offense. The freshman guard led the Badgers with 21 points, 15 of which came from beyond the arc. After being held scoreless in the first half, Pospisilova finished with 14 points. Schmarek added 11 of her own. Wisconsin’s bench went scoreless.

With Sydney Hilliard under the weather, Ellew was inserted into the starting lineup. Postgame, Moseley commented on her big night, “Sometimes when you have somebody go down, you want to make sure they step up, and I think what people saw that first game of [Ellew’s] career, what she’s capable of as a scorer, but I think she’s starting to see also how she can do it within the confines of our system. Really proud of her effort there for sure.”

Next up for Wisconsin is another non-conference matchup with Illinois State on Thursday night at the Kohl Center. Moseley is hoping to use this game, along with a home contest against Eastern Illinois to build momentum and confidence, as well as allow her players to become more comfortable with their system before heading back into Big Ten play.