IU can’t keep pace with Badgers

The Wisconsin women’s basketball team used a 20-5 run between the 10:40 and 3:24 marks of the first half to take control of the game early and hand IU its ninth consecutive loss, beating the Hoosiers 65-53 Sunday in Madison, Wis.

“I thought they were fantastic in the first 20-24 minutes of the game,” IU Coach Curt Miller said of the Badgers. “Their movement on offense and ability to share the ball and set screens, it really, really hurt our defense.”

IU got within 10 on a 3-pointer by senior Jasmine McGhee midway through the second half, but it was as close as the Hoosiers (10-14, 1-10 Big Ten) would get the rest of the way.

The Badgers (11-13, 3-8) were lead by junior guard Morgan Paige, who scored a game-high 17 on 4-of-9 three-point shooting. Sophomore Jacki Gulczynski (15 points) and junior Cassie Rochel (12) rounded out the trio of double-figure scorers for Wisconsin.

Down 44-30 at the half, IU fell behind by 18 early in the second half before twice cutting it to 15 over the next six minutes. 

After Paige split a pair of free throws to make it 57-39 with 12:22 remaining, IU rattled off an 8-0 run during the next 3:16.

IU senior Aulani Sinclair got things started by feeding junior Milika Taufa on a slip to the basket. Sinclair then found senior Linda Rubene wide open at the top of the arc, who buried her fourth three-pointer of the season.

McGhee capped the run with 9:06 to go, spotting up from the right wing and nailing the three to cut the Badger lead to 10, 57-47.

In the following possession, Wisconsin’s Rochel showed why she’s one of the Big Ten’s best interior players.

Freshman Nicole Bauman and Paige each missed a shot, and Rochel was there to grab the offensive rebound both times. She then fed a cutting Bauman, who finished the layup and put the Badgers back up 12.

Rochel, the Big Ten’s fifth-leading rebounder with eight boards per game, grabbed a game-high 15. The Badgers won the battle on the glass 38-32 and points in the paint, 30-20.

While Rochel was wreaking havoc down low, the Hoosiers struggled to convert near the basket when they needed it most.

Following the Rochel-to-Bauman basket, freshman Nicole Bell missed a layup high off the glass, but junior Simone Deloach grabbed the offensive rebound with IU trailing 59-47 and 7:40 left.

Deloach was too short on the putback, but redshirt senior Sasha Chaplin kept the possession live by grabbing Deloach’s miss.

She too was short on her put back attempt and the Hoosiers blew a golden opportunity to make a final run at the Badgers.

“Low and behold, I’m not sure our zone defense was fantastic but they scored 13 points in the final 15 minutes of the game, and we could just never make a run to make the game interesting,” Miller said. “We’re so limited offensively that when you get behind the way we did, it’s hard for us to make a run.”

McGhee scored nine of her team-high 14 points in the second half on 4-of-8 shooting in the period. She finished 6-of-15 from the floor and 2-of-5 on threes for the game.

The Hoosiers and Badgers traded baskets during the first 9:20 of the game. IU took its second and final lead of the game when Taufa hit a jumper to make 17-16 IU with 12:53 left in the first half. 

After a McGhee bucket tied it at 19, the Badgers went on what turned out to be the decisive run and put the Hoosiers away before the break.

Taufa, a junior, was the only Hoosier besides McGhee to score in double figures. She chipped in 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting and a team-high seven rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench.

Sinclair came into the game as the team’s leading scorer at nearly 17 points per game, but scored just three points on 1-of-7 shooting. 

“I just thought (Wisconsin) made things as difficult for her as possible,” Miller said. “Aulani looked tired tonight and passed on some shots she’s capable of taking and making.

“When you’re so limited offensively and you can’t get your top player shots and good looks, it makes for a long night.”