Badgers upset No. 24 Michigan State, 79-62

by | Feb 15, 2019 | Headlines, RRSN News | 0 comments

Badgers upset No. 24 Michigan State, 79-62

UW takes down first ranked team since 2013

 

MADISON, Wis. – After jumping out to an 8-0, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team was nearly unstoppable, taking down their first ranked team since 2013. The Badgers upended No. 24 Michigan State, 79-62, in the Kohl Center on Thursday night.

 

Wisconsin (12-13, 3-10 BIG) set the tone of the game early, leading 8-0 less than four minutes in. The Badgers used three 3-pointers to outscore Michigan State (17-7, 7-6 BIG), 22-8, in the first quarter.

 

By the second quarter, the Badgers grabbed a 22-point lead (35-13) at the 5:59 mark, forcing MSU into a full-court press. Senior Marsha Howard answered with 15 points in the second quarter alone to stretch the lead to 46-27 at the half. UW also outrebounded MSU 22-16 in the first half.

 

MSU got into foul trouble in the first half as the Spartans picked up 11 fouls compared to four for UW. Two MSU players had three fouls at the break.

 

State would get no closer than 17 points the rest of the night as Wisconsin led by as many as 27 (70-43) with 8:09 left in the game.

 

UW shot 42.2 percent (25-59) from the field, including 35.7 percent (5-14) beyond the arc and a season-high 77.4 percent (24-31) from behind the line. MSU would only shoot 30.3 percent (20-66) from the field, including 23.8 percent (5-21) from 3-point range. The Spartans also shot 77.3 percent (17-22) from the charity stripe.

 

Howard led the Badgers with a game-high 28 points, including shooting a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line while senior Kelly Karlis recorded her second career double-double with 13 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Karlis also tied a career-high with five blocks on the night.

 

Sophomore Niya Beverley added 12 points while junior Kendra Van Leeuwen led all players with eight assists.

 

UW forced 16 turnovers, scoring 20 points off MSU giveaways as the Badgers tallied 10 steals. Wisconsin also took down one more board than MSU, 42-41.

 

UW tallied a season-high 11 blocks as freshman Imani Lewis added a career-high four stops.

 

Shay Colley led the Spartans with 24 points and nine rebounds.

 

 

Straight from the court

 

“We started the game with seven stops, and even though Michigan State came back and had a couple of drives, we were able to finish the quarter on a 12-2 run. We were getting to the free-throw line and we were taking advantage of getting to the free throw line.

 

“We played a very talented Michigan State team, but the way Marsha (Howard) was scoring all over the place, hitting the three, scoring against the zone, just a really unselfish game from our team.

 

“I thought the best thing our team did today was respond when something didn’t go our way. We had great second-half effort, and I’m really proud that we could finish that off. That’s a credit not only to these three, but to the work that’s being done in practice day in and day out.”

–       Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis

 

“We have the same message every game, we are big enough. We just have to play to our strengths, continue to hit shots and continue to battle.”

–       Senior Marsha Howard

 

“We just have to know that we have to keep working hard. Just keep doing what we’ve been doing in practice and, like Coach (Tsipis) said, our emphasis was on boxing out, and we just have to keep doing that and we will be good.

 

“It feels great (to beat a ranked opponent), but we aren’t done yet. We still have five more games and then the Big Ten tournament, so we just have to keep fighting and playing hard.”

–       Sophomore Niya Beverley

 

Up next

The Badgers head to Columbus, Ohio, on Sunday for the first of two match-ups against Ohio State this season. Game time is 1 p.m. CT from the Schottenstein Center.

 

Related Stories

Big Ten Weekly Men’s Basketball Central – Feb. 7-9

Big Ten. Big News. Entering this weekend’s action, Purdue sits atop the Big Ten standings at 10-2, owning a slim lead over both Michigan and Michigan State at 9-2. Wisconsin and UCLA enter the weekend at 8-4, while Maryland have won seven conference games. Nine teams...

Valpo U WBB falls to MVC-Leading Belmont

Beacons Fall to MVC-Leading Belmont   The Valpo women’s basketball team was unable to keep pace with MVC leader Belmont Friday evening in the Beacons’ return home to the ARC, as the visiting Bruins pulled away in the second half to a 69-41 victory.   How It...

Wisconsin men’s hockey blanked by Penn State

Wisconsin men's hockey blanked by Penn State Badgers’ 25 shots on goal not enough to crack PSU   MADISON, Wis. – A Penn State goal early in the first period proved to be the game-winner as the Wisconsin men's hockey team fell to the Penn State Nittany Lions, 2-0,...

No.7 Boilers MBB slap USC, 90-72

[7] Purdue 90, USC 72 (Postgame Notes) Purdue won its fourth straight game and moved to 19-5 overall and 11-2 in the Big Ten Conference with a 90-72 victory over USC on Friday night. Purdue is 11-2 in Big Ten play through 13 games for the third straight season. The...

IHSAA Girls Sectional Semi-Final Scores

IHSAA Girls Sectional Semi-Final Scores CLASS 4A Crown Point Lake Central 47 Munster 25 Hammond Central 67 Hammond Morton 51 Chesterton Chesterton 58 Merrillville 54 Valparaiso 62 Portage 22 LaPorte South Bend Riley 52 LaPorte 44 South Bend Washington 61 Michigan City...

NFF Hall of Famer Howard Twilley Passes Away

Howard Twilley, the 1992 College Football Hall of Fame inductee who starred at wide receiver for Tulsa from 1963-65, passed away Feb. 5. He was 81. "Howard Twilley was one of the greatest receivers in college football history with an uncanny ability to get open and...

Big Ten Weekly Women’s Basketball Central – Feb. 7-10

A top-10 battle is slated for Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on FOX when No. 8 Ohio State and No. 7 USC meet in Los Angeles. RV/NR Michigan and No. 20 Michigan State will face off for the second time this season on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FS1. The remaining games will be...

IU WBB Rolls Past Rutgers, 81-60

IU Rolls Past Rutgers, 81-60   BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  –  Indiana hit a season-high 15 3-pointers as it led wire-to-wire in an 81-60 win over Rutgers on Thursday night inside Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall.   KEY MOMENTS A pair of treys from graduate guards Sydney Parrish and...

Valpo Football Welcomes First Signing Class of Andy Waddle Era

Valpo Football Welcomes First Signing Class of Andy Waddle Era The Valparaiso University football program has announced the signing of 31 student-athletes, who will continue their academic and athletic endeavors at Valpo, the first recruiting class of the Andy Waddle...