Wisconsin 92  Nebraska 85 ot

 

Sunday's game between Wisconsin and Nebraska was one that fans enjoyed and basketball purists hated, as the teams played with much more effort than execution. 

 
The championship game of Nebraska's tournament matched two teams picked to finish third in their respective conferences and two teams showing up in the 25-30 slots in the national rankings.  It also featured a Wisconsin team that pretty much curled up and died whenever they left Madison in the past two seasons.
 
The Badgers went to Lincoln looking to show that they have overcome their past road phobias and gain some respect.  They vowed to cut down on the turnovers that had plagued them in the past.
 
Two out of three ain't bad.
 
In a game with some real ugly stats and some real hard play, Wisconsin beat the Huskers 92-85 in overtime.  It marked the first time in Jane Albright's time at Wisconsin that her Badgers have beaten a ranked team on the road.
 
Wisconsin started out scattered as they turned the ball over 10 times in the first six minutes and allowed Nebraska to jump to a 13-4 lead.  But then Badger soph Jessie Stomski stepped up and scored to end the Nebraska run and the Badgers slowly became competitive.  Bucky outscored the Huskers 14-11 to cut their deficit to 24-18.  Tamara Moore's two three pointers sparked a 13-0 run that gave Wisconsin a 33-26 halftime lead.  Although they never put the game away, Wisconsin never trailed again.
 
In the first half, when Wisconsin shot the ball, they shot it well as they made 54% of their attempts.  But their 20 turnovers limited the number of their shots.  In a refreshing change of pace for Badger fans, it was Wisconsin's defense that kept them ahead.  The Badgers have become good at playing post defense and they took away much of Nebraska's inside game.  Wisconsin held the Huskers to 37% shooting for the half.  Nebraska wasn't a slouch in the turnover category either as they gave the ball up 17 times in the half.
 
The second half followed a pattern.  Wisconsin would stretch the lead to 8 or 9 points and Nebraska would come back.  Wisconsin's offense was well-rounded, while the Huskers did most of their damage off the fast break.  Nebraska was never able to go ahead though.
 
Bucky led by 4 with 34 seconds to play, but once again the Huskers came back.  The final tie of the game was at 68 all as the final buzzer sounded. 
 
In overtime, Stomski led another run as Wisconsin jumped out to a 7 point lead.  From then on it became a free throw shooting contest as Nebraska fouled a Badger as soon as Wisconsin gained possession of the ball.  Showing a poise that has rarely been seen outside of Madison, the Badgers hit 15 of 18 free throw attempts in the overtime to grab a big win.
 
Tournament MVP Stomski led Wisconsin with 24 points, 14 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.  Tamara Moore added 18 and her defense helped hold Nicole Kubiak to 4 of 17 shooting.  Kelley Paulus hit for 17, including some very timely baskets and was also named to the all-tournament team.  LaTonya Sims had 14 and 6 rebounds, while Nina Smith, who is experiencing a very predictable amount of foul problems, added 10 points and 6 boards in 24 minutes.
 
Brooke Schwartz had a career high 25 points for Nebraska, while Kubiak added 16.  Charlie Rogers had 14 points and 10 rebounds.
 
Wisconsin shot a nice 50% for the game but committed an ungodly 35 turnovers.  However none of the turnovers occurred in the overtime.  Nebraska shot 47% but had almost as many turnovers with 32.  
 
Pretty it may not have been, but it was a win the Badgers needed badly.  They start out 2-0 before they go to Rutgers, who will likely change that 0 to a 1. 
 
 
SCORE BY PERIODS:                  1st  2nd  OT1  OT2  OT3  OT4   TOTAL        
WISCONSIN                                     33   35   24                                     92        
University of Nebraska                    26   42   17                                     85        



VISITORS: WISCONSIN                                                            
                         
TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS                        
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
01 SMITH, CANDAS           0  0   0  0   0  0   0  0  0   2   0   1  3  0  2   4
14 PAULUS, KELLEY          5 14   2  6   5  6   0  1  1   1  17   1  3  0  3  36
22 HEFTE, LEAH             0  1   0  1   0  0   0  1  1   0   0   0  0  0  0   9
24 PATE, DEE DEE           2  4   0  0   0  1   0  2  2   5   4   5  6  0  5  33
25 SIMS, LaTONYA           5 11   1  1   3  4   3  3  6   3  14   0  7  0  1  29
30 MOORE, TAMARA           3  7   2  5  10 14   1  4  5   4  18   3  6  1  5  28
41 STOMSKI, JESSIE         8 13   1  1   7  8   2 12 14   3  24   5  5  0  2  44
45 BIRD, KRISTA            0  1   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   0   0   0  0  1  0   5
54 KONIECZNY, MISSY        2  2   0  0   1  2   0  1  1   0   5   1  1  0  0  13
55 SMITH, NINA             5  7   0  0   0  1   1  5  6   5  10   0  4  1  0  24
TEAM ........................................   2  0  2                        
TOTALS                    30 60   6 14  26 36   9 30 39  23  92  16 35  3 18 225
                                                                               
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .500   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .429   REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .722      3   
                                                                               
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HOME TEAM: University of Nebraska                                              
                          TOT-FG  3-PT         REBOUNDS                        
No.     N A M E           FG FGA FG FGA FT FTA OF DE TOT PF  TP   A TO BLK S MIN
05 JARACZ, JENNIFER        1  2   0  1   1  2   1  2  3   2   3   0  0  0  0   7
10 KELLY, I'SHA            0  0   0  0   0  1   0  1  1   0   0   0  3  0  1   6
20 WENT, AMANDA            2  5   0  1   0  0   0  2  2   4   4   4  3  0  0  22
21 SCHWARTZ, BROOKE       10 16   2  3   3  3   1  3  4   2  25   4  6  0  5  41
24 ROBERS, SHAHIDRAH       1  2   1  2   0  0   0  1  1   0   3   1  1  0  0   2
25 JONES, STEPHANIE        0  1   0  0   2  4   1  4  5   3   2   0  0  0  1  13
30 SUTTON, PAIGE           0  1   0  0   0  0   0  1  1   0   0   0  0  0  0   4
32 KUBIK, NICOLE           4 17   0  3   8 11   1  0  1   5  16   9 10  0  2  37
33 ROGERS, CHARLIE         7 12   0  0   0  0   2  8 10   5  14   0  0  2  1  30
34 GILMORE, NACISKA        2  3   0  0   4  6   1  0  1   3   8   0  2  0  1  35
55 LEONHARDT, CASEY        5  9   0  0   0  1   1  5  6   4  10   0  7  1  2  28
TEAM ........................................   3  1  4                        
TOTALS                    32 68   3 10  18 28  11 28 39  28  85  18 32  3 13 225
                                                                               
TOTAL FG% 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .471   DEADBALL
3-Pt. FG% 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .300   REBOUNDS
F Throw % 1st Half:  0- 0  .000   2nd Half:  0- 0  .000   Game:  .643      5   
                                                                               
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OFFICIALS:   Charles Gonzales, Katie Grey, Barry Roberts                       
TECHNICAL FOULS:                                                               
WISCONSIN                     -  none                                          
University of Nebraska        -  none                                          
ATTENDANCE: