With each Wisconsin turnover and each uncontested layup by the visitors, the grumbling at the UW Field House became a little more audible Monday night.

By the time the final horn had sounded, most in the crowd of 3,104 would likely agree: In its final exhibition, the UW women's basketball team was outclassed by the Brazilian club team Parana Basquete, 90-70.

Not that UW coach Jane Albright, or her players, would have wanted it any other way.

"I really think it's just what we needed,'' Albright said of the loss vs. first-class competition. "We'll have some good film to look at (today), and hopefully we can get a little bit better for when it really does matter.''

It really starts to matter Friday night in Lincoln, Neb., when the Badgers meet Southern Illinois in an opening-round game of the Nebraska Classic.

"As an exhibition game, I guess my personal opinion is that I'd rather play this kind of team and lose than play a team and kill them by 20 or 30,'' said UW sophomore forward Jessie Stomski, who led the Badgers with 21 points and 9 rebounds. "I think this shows the weaknesses we have to work on.''

Wisconsin also got 13 points from senior shooting guard Kelley Paulus, 11 points from junior forward LaTonya Sims and 10 points and six rebounds from freshman center Nina Smith.

This game wasn't about UW highlights, however. It was about a talented, veteran Brazilian team showing Wisconsin what it needs to get better at.

First, the Badgers turned the ball over 25 times. Last year, Wisconsin was last in the Big Ten Conference in turnovers per game.

"Obviously the glaring error we had tonight was turnovers,'' said Albright.

Second, the Badgers struggled to hit from the outside, making just 1 of 10 from beyond the 3-point line. The UW was last in the Big Ten in 3-pointers per game, and 3-point accuracy, last season.

The Brazilians also exposed the UW's defensive weaknesses as Parana Basquete hit 50.7 percent of its shots for the game. The visitors repeatedly beat the Badgers down the court for easy baskets.

"Giving up 90 (points) was our problem,'' Albright said of her team's defense. "We made too many of the same mistakes over and over.''

Finally, Wisconsin's starting frontcourt of Smith, Stomski and Sims hit 18 of 35 field goals, finishing with 42 points. But Parana Basquete's pressure defense kept the UW from getting as many touches down low as it would have liked.

"I think it's just me posting up more physical,'' Smith said of what she needs to do to get off more than 11 shots.

Parana Basquete heads home today with an 8-0 record vs. U.S. college teams, including a 91-66 win at Iowa and an 81-58 victory at UW-Green Bay.

"I thought we played much better basketball tonight than we did the other night,'' Albright said in reference to the Badgers' 76-66 exhibition win over Athletes in Action. "And I know all of you all think that I am always too positive and that I only say nice things, but we played a great basketball team.''

Parana Basquete was led by 32-year-old center Victoria Bullet, who starts for the WNBA's Charlotte Sting during the regular season. Bullet scored 25 points, pulled down 7 rebounds and had 6 blocks, while forward Vedrana Grgin added 25 points and 10 rebounds.

Overall, the Brazilians were bigger and more experienced than the Badgers. The average age of Parana Basquete's top four players was 28.

UW took an early 20-11 lead as the offense was hitting on all cylinders. Smith accounted for four early points and wasn't intimidated by Bullet, while Paulus (5 points), Tamara Moore (4 points), Sims (4 points) and Stomski (3 points) all contributed to the early lead.

But Wisconsin turned the ball over on six of its next eight possessions as Parana Basquete used a 15-0 run for a 26-20 lead with 7 minutes, 47 seconds left in the first half.

The Brazilians pushed their advantage to 42-32 at intermission and 57-42 6 minutes into the second half.

"We know that we're going to have at least four or five more teams who are going to be that good,'' Sims said of the Brazilians. "And, hopefully, we can learn from our mistakes and carry it into those games that we play.''