The improvement of Julie Pospisilova, the impact of Avery LaBarbera lead takeaways from Wisconsin women's basketball on Big Ten media day

MINNEAPOLIS – Marisa Moseley’s message Wednesday was to expect more of what the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team showed during the final third of last season.

After struggling for much of the season, UW went 3-4 in its final seven regular-season games to close out a 5-13 campaign that was the program's most successful Big Ten season in seven years. The highlight of that stretch was a 22-point comeback win over Purdue that was the largest in conference history.

“As far as what I see coming forward for our team and the season, I think you'll see the same thing you saw as we finished out the year: selfless play, a lot of tenacity,” Moseley said. “We want to be the most prepared team, we want to execute, and we want to make sure that we're excited for other people's success just as much as our own.”

Moseley, along with senior guards Julie Pospisilova and Avery LaBarbera and junior guard Halle Douglass, represented the program on second and final day of Big Ten basketball media days at the Target Center.

Here is what we learned.

Moseley hopes to give the players some freedom on the court

In addition to winning its most Big Ten games since 2015, Wisconsin finished 8-21 overall. One lesson Moseley took from the Year 1 experience as coach was to empower her players more.

“I have to make sure I get really good players who understand what it is we're trying to do, but then I've got to let go of the reins a little bit and allow them to be who they are, play through some of their mistakes," she said. "Ultimately they're going to gain confidence from knowing that I believe in them and we can take those steps together."

Graduate transfer Avery LaBarbera already has made impact

The former Holy Cross standout who was the Patriot League player of the year last season will serve as one of the team's captains. This marks the second straight year Moseley added a veteran guard to the team's dynamic.

"She's a floor general. She's a great leader. She understands time and score and pace of play," Moseley said. "She can get people organized and they have really rallied around her. You can't get that with young players."

Julie Pospisilova ready to step up her game

When your best player is also your most improved it usually bodes well for your team. That could be the case for UW, which was lead by Pospisilova, a 6-foot guard who topped the team in scoring (14.1 points per game), while ranking second in rebounding (4.2) and assists (1.7).

Douglass called her the team's improved player.

"Her strength and being able to use her body," Douglass said. "She is a bigger guard so she is good at using her body to get into the lane. She's a really good finisher around the rim. She can really shoot the ball."

Watch out for Serah Williams

Part of the reason for optimism is a freshman class that includes four-star recruits Lily Krahn and Savannah White. Last week, Moseley added Serah Williams as another freshman to watch. The native of Brooklyn, New York, caught LaBarbera's attention, too.

“She’s 6-4, she’s lanky, she’s super athletic and for me being a short, little point guard I’m going to need someone to throw the ball into inside,” LaBarbera said. "Her wingspan is incredible. The way she can catch the ball and finish has been honestly really impressive to watch."

Intangibles as much as talent will fuel UW’s improvement

Moseley highlighted the need for not only more talent in order for the program to grow but also the need to foster the traits that allow players to make the most of their potential.

“For them to buy into that this is bigger than basketball, we're talking about leadership stuff, we're talking about making sure we're giving back to the community,” she said. “All of those things build into your culture and a championship mindset. It's not just about X's and O's, but it's all the things we're building that they understand who we are, how we're going to do things at Wisconsin.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Five takeaways for Wisconsin women's basketball on Big Ten media day