'We made winning play after winning play': Avery LaBarbera's three lifts Wisconsin to rare win over Minnesota

MADISON – Finally, results.

Part of the building process are morale victories and the Wisconsin women’s basketball team has had plenty of them this season. Slow starts hurt them against Nebraska and Purdue. A frigid second quarter cost them against Iowa. Illinois just slowly pulled away as the game wore on.

In each of those Big Ten games, however, there were significant stretches when the Badgers were able to keep pace before falling, moments when it appeared the team was trending upward.

Sunday, UW found itself in a tough spot on multiple occasions, but time and time again rose to the occasion and scored an 81-77 victory over Minnesota in front of 3,445 at the Kohl Center in matchup of two of the younger teams in the Big Ten.

“I couldn’t be more proud of them,” Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley said. “We talk about how one of our pillars is winning mindset and we made winning play after winning play today and we sacrificed for each other. It was just huge, a great team win. Every single person contributed whether they were in the game or not.”

Senior guard Avery LaBarbera’s step-back three-pointer from the top of the key gave the Badgers a three-point lead with 1 minute 51 seconds left and her free throw with 2 seconds to go gave the team its final margin of victory.

In between those points, Wisconsin (5-11, 1-4 Big Ten) made three defensive stops. Freshman forward Serah Williams ended two of those with a block and a steal. Junior guard Natalie Leuzinger then helped close the door for good with her first block of the season. The 5-foot-8 guard got a piece of 6-0 Mara Braun’s three from the top of the key with 12 seconds to go.

LaBarbera finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and a team-high four steals. Senior guard Julie Pospisilova also posted 20 points while dishing out seven assists and grabbing seven rebounds. Junior guard Brooke Schramek added 14 points and a team-high 18 rebounds.

“We keep saying we’re right there, we’re right there, but I think today was the day that we clicked and it’s going to give us some momentum going into next week,” LaBarbera said.

Wisconsin will have a chance to build on the momentum of the victory at Michigan State on Wednesday and then at sixth-ranked Indiana on Sunday.

But first they’ll have a little time to savor the moment that punctuated a day that started with the news of Sydney Hilliard’s departure from the team for personal reasons. The senior was the team’s first player off the bench and provided some much-needed experience to a roster that includes six true freshmen.

After the opening tip, UW overcame another slow start – it trailed by eight less than 3 minutes into the game – and a third-period dry spell that completely erased a 14-point lead.

The fourth quarter wasn’t peaches and cream, either. The Badgers shot 30% (6 for 20) in the quarter, including 2 for 10 from three-point range, but compensated for that by forcing six turnovers and clamping down on the Gophers (31.3 shooting).

Wisconsin found a way with a handful of nifty/clutch plays down the stretch. Down, 72-71, Pospisilova missed a three, but Scramek grabbed the rebound and dished to a cutting Pospisilova for a layup that gave the Badgers a 73-72 advantage.

Scramek splashed a jumper with 2:55 to go that tied the contest, 75-75, and Pospisilova drove for an uncontested layup to tie the game, 77-77, with 2:26 to play.

That set the stage for LaBarbera’s three. She entered play shooting 30% from three-point range and with the help of a solid screen from Williams pulled up for her step back with confidence and hit nothing but net on the shot of the game.

“Honestly, I wasn’t planning on doing that, but Coach called a high ball screen and that is usually my forte and where I like to score the ball the most,” LaBarbera said. “I saw that (my defender) chased under the screen a little bit and then Serah opened up and I was just wide open. I saw that she was falling a little bit, so that is why I did the step back.”

Wisconsin’s defense did the rest, allowing the program to celebrate a rare win over Minnesota. The Gophers had won the last five meetings and 18 of the last 19.

“You could see out there we were staying together and honestly I think emotionally we were together out there, too,” LaBarbera said. “When shots weren’t falling, people were picking each other up. It was just one person off on their own. We were tight in our huddles … I think we’re just coming together as a group.”

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Avery LaBarbera's three lifts Wisconsin to rare win over Minnesota