Albright and Co. tune up for season with exhibition

"It was an exhibition game, and I coached like it was an exhibition game," Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright said.

Exhibition or not, the women's basketball team faced tougher competition from AIA than they should have. AIA kept the game close in the first half before a surge at the end of the half by the Badgers made the score 39-26.

To open the second half, Wisconsin looked to be dominating competition as the Badgers increased their lead to 56-34.

It wasn't until the Badgers made several substitutions that AIA had a chance to chip away at the lead.

"I didn't coach with a lot of intent in mind other than we've got 16 kids that come out and work hard every day," Albright said.

Unfortunately, AIA's comeback became too threatening for Albright to get all 16 players into the game. With two minutes remaining in the contest, AIA trailed by only five points.

At this critical point in the game, Wisconsin's veterans stepped up and took control. Senior Dee Dee Pate made a key steal down the stretch, and junior LaTonya Sims and sophomore Tamara Moore made clutch free throws in the final minute to secure the victory.

"Down the stretch we made some key free throws and showed our competitive nature," Albright said.

Even though the Badgers struggled slightly in their first game, they weren't very concerned about it.

"I really feel like our highs were very high, and our lows were really not as low as a close game may make them seem," Albright said.

Senior Kelley Paulus was also optimistic about her team's performance.

"I think we did fairly well for our first game. [The team has] been playing against each other for a long time now, and I think it was nice and refreshing to be able to beat up on someone else," Paulus said.

Three players that did beat up AIA were sophomore Jessie Stomski, Sims and Moore. Moore had a game-high 20 points, and Sims added 15 for the Badgers. Stomski fought hard on the boards all night, pulling down 14 rebounds and scoring 10 points.

"[Stomski] took [rebounding] in as her own personal project, and did a really good job there," Albright said.

Another bright spot for the Badgers was the debut performance of freshman Nina Smith. In her first game for Wisconsin, Smith overcame her nervousness and scored 13 points for the Badgers.

"I was fine once I got on the court," Smith said, "I was just a little nervous sitting on the bench."

Albright was also pleased with the performance of Smith.

"She was exceptional offensively. The moves she made were textbook," Albright said.

Smith and the Badgers will have a chance to improve their skills again next Monday, when they take on Parana of Brazil in their second exhibition game.