Wisconsin women's basketball looks strong in exhibition rout of UW-La Crosse
MADISON - Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Marisa Moseley hopes to have a team that plays with greater tempo this season.
Based on what the Badgers showed Sunday, it appears they’re on the right track.
Wisconsin scored a 94-41 victory over UW-La Crosse in an exhibition game played in front of a crowd of 2,712 at the Kohl Center. Senior guard Julie Pospisilova led the Badgers with 21 points on 9-for-14 shooting with six assists. Three other players ‒ redshirt freshman Maty Wilke, graduate transfer Avery LaBarbera and junior Halle Douglass ‒ finished with 14 points as UW shot 53.5% (38-71) overall and 37.5% (9 for 24) from three-point range.
Here is a look back at the team’s final tune-up before its season opener at UW-Milwaukee next Monday.
New faces, including five freshmen, fill the rotation
Wisconsin returns 80% of its scoring from last season, but the exhibition showed this will be a much different team. Of the nine players who played at least 10 minutes, six were newcomers. Five were freshmen.
Serah Williams, a 6-foot-4 forward, started, as did former Beaver Dam High School star Maty Wilke. Among the veterans who didn't play was senior guard Sydney Hilliard, who is recovering from an injury.
Maty Wilke's long-awaited debut
It has been almost two years since Wilke tore her right anterior cruciate ligament, an injury that cost her most of her senior season at Beaver Dam High School as well as a redshirt season at UW. Sunday, she reached 14 points on 5-for-7 shooting that included 3 for 5 from three-point range.
She also tied for the team high with three steals and showed no reservation when it came to getting on the floor and mixing it up in pursuit of loose balls.
“There is a physical part when you’re coming back from being injured, but there is the mental component and she has fought through that and has gotten herself back to not just playing shape but really a confident place where she steps on the floor and she feels really good about what she’s going to contribute,” Moseley said.
More:Deeper roster could lead to more success for Wisconsin women's hoops
Tune-up win over UW-La Crosse shows promise
You won’t confuse La Crosse for a Big Ten team, but considering the Badgers often fell behind early in league play last season, it was promising to see the team hit its first 11 shots.
During those 6 minutes 16 seconds UW showed nice balance. Five players scored those 26 points. Wilke (2), LaBarbera and Pospisilova hit threes during that run.
“I think getting going right away from the jump was huge,” Moseley said. “If you miss your first couple of shots I think everyone gets a little tighter. That is something we really want to focus on this year.”
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Badgers look strong in women's basketball exhibition
