Wisconsin Box Score
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MADISON, Wis. -- Northwestern lost its first road test of the Big Ten season on Sunday dropping a 74-45 decision to Wisconsin at the Kohl Center. Freshman Julie Bielawski (Rogers, Ark,/Rogers) was the leading scorer for the 'Cats, recording 11 points. The Wildcats are now 4-8 overall and 0-2 in league play. The Badgers improve to 6-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
"Today was a big game for us," head coach Beth Combs said. We just did not come ready to play, and Wisconsin was ready to go at home."
Bielawski's 11 points came on 3-of-6 shooting, including a trey and a perfect 4-of-4 from the free- throw line. Senior Ifeoma Okonkwo (Spring, Texas/Klein Oak) and freshman Kristin Cartwright (Lake Forest, Ill./Lake Forest) shared top rebounding marks for NU, pulling down five caroms each. Cartwright was a solid 4-of-7 shooting, good for eight points. She also added two steals and one assist.
The Badgers used an early 16-5 run over a five-minute span to build a 21-9 advantage. Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson, Freshman of the Year in the conference last year, hit three treys to fuel that spurt. Wisconsin continued to attack and entered the break with a 30-17 lead. Melissa Miller (Bloomington, Wis./The Breck School) scored six of NU's 17 first-half points.
Northwestern applied full-court pressure in the second half, but UW's Danielle Ward erupted for 15 second-half points to lift the Badgers to their first conference win. UW shot 50 percent in the second stanza.
Northwestern's defensive pressure was consistent throughout the game, forcing 13 Badger turnovers and coming up with 13 steals. As a result, the Wildcats enjoyed 12 fast-break points to UW's four.
The Wildcats take on No. 7 Ohio State at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 5 at Welsh-Ryan Arena.