If winning is everything, chalk one up for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team.

The Badgers outclassed Indiana-Purdue of Indianapolis Sunday afternoon at the Kohl Center en route to a 68-55 victory.

But if you were looking for signs that Wisconsin (5-3) learned much from last week's losses to Tennessee and Marquette -- or that the Badgers are ready for their Big Ten Conference opener -- it could be argued that Sunday's effort came up short.

Wisconsin shot just 37.3 percent from the floor and turned the ball over 21 times vs. an IUPUI defense that simply sat back, packed the paint and waited for the Badgers to self-destruct.

"I think with the exception of our shooting percentage that we played a very good basketball game,'' said UW coach Jane Albright. "We worked on the things that I asked them to work on in practice this week. I think they were very focused on my voice and trusting me in what we needed to do.''

The Badgers took Albright's advice and made a concerted effort to pound the ball inside to freshman center Nina Smith and sophomore power forward Jessie Stomski. Smith responded with her first collegiate double-double: 14 points and 10 rebounds. Stomski had her fourth double-double of the year, scoring 13 points and pulling down 11 rebounds.

"I thought our guards did a really good job of looking for us,'' said Stomski.

"I think when your starting two post players have a double-double in 20-some minutes of play, I think that's really a very, very nice effort,'' said Albright.

UW junior forward LaTonya Sims added 10 points and 8 rebounds, and senior shooting guard Kelley Paulus came off the bench to chip in 12 points and 6 rebounds.

The Badgers pounded IUPUI on the boards, winning the rebounding battle, 56-28, as the UW enjoyed a height advantage of several inches at every position but point guard.

Overall, however, the Badgers played a sloppy, uninspired brand of basketball -- one which most Big Ten Conference teams would have converted into a UW loss.

But IUPUI (3-5), only in its second season as an NCAA Division I program, simply didn't have the talent to put a scare into UW.

How bad are the Jaguars? Consider this: IUPUI's last game was an 84-63 setback to Ball State, and the Jaguars lost by 12 points earlier this month to lightly regarded University of Missouri-Kansas City.

But IUPUI didn't embarrass itself Sunday, as it played hard on both ends of the court to stay within striking distance for most of the game.

The Badgers, meanwhile, missed too many easy shots and lost the ball with numerous unforced errors. The UW has at least 19 turnovers in all eight games.

"If I could get them to be perfectionists about taking care of the ball, that would be my Christmas present,'' Albright said. "If I could have anybody ever look like they were upset about turning the ball over, or 3 seconds in the lane, or a bad pass. ... But we don't seem to mind that as much as we mind missing shots.

"So that's what I'm putting on my Christmas list -- a game with less than 20 turnovers.''

Wisconsin didn't take the lead for good until Smith's putback with 8:25 left in the first half gave UW a 15-13 advantage.

Leading, 43-34, midway through the second half, the Badgers took complete control with a 13-4 run. Paulus scored six points during the spurt and Kyle Black made a 3-pointer, as the UW surged to a 56-38 lead with just under eight minutes remaining.

So, are the Badgers really where they need to be heading into the conference season? Wisconsin's next game is Dec. 30 at the Kohl Center vs. defending Big Ten and NCAA champion Purdue.

"Realistically, I think we've got a few more weaknesses than I thought we had earlier in the year,'' Albright said . "I think they've been pointed out to us very clearly within the last week -- and I think that's very good.''