Wisconsin awaits confident IU squad

With one week left in the season, the IU women’s basketball team has two more opportunities to prepare for the Big Ten Tournament and the Hoosiers said they’re ready.

The team travels to Madison, Wis., Wednesday to take on the Wisconsin Badgers (14-12, 9-5).

The first meeting between the two ended in a 75-49 home loss for the Hoosiers (9-17, 3-11), their largest margin of defeat this season.

In that game, Wisconsin made eight 3-point field goals in the first half, causing the Hoosiers to trail for the entire second half.

The Badgers were able to find holes in IU’s zone defense last time.

With a full week with no games, the Hoosiers were able to work on their defense and prepare mentally and physically for the final push, senior guard Whitney Lindsay said.

“What we are trying to do is stay mentally tough,” Lindsay said. “Not focus so much on the mistake, but just react.”

IU will need to respond against the Badgers, if Wisconsin is able to shoot more than 47 percent from behind the arc again.

IU coach Felisha Legette-Jack said the Hoosiers are prepared to switch up their defenses to combat what Wisconsin brings at them.

“Sometimes coaches get locked in their own thought processes,” Legette-Jack said when referring to the slow change in defensive sets earlier in the season. “We didn’t come out of it fast enough. When we realized we needed to change up a little bit the lead was significant.”

These last two games are important to the Hoosiers going into the Big Ten Tournament. IU has four seniors getting ready to play their last few games in the cream and crimson.

Lindsay said the Hoosiers believe they can compete against the top Big Ten teams.

“We definitely know we can play with anyone in the Big Ten,” she said. “It’s all just a mindset.”