Photo by: David Stluka
Badgers pick the Pioneers apart in exhibition game, 107-58
November 08, 2017 | Women's Basketball
Wisconsin opens season with a scoring frenzy
MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's basketball team dominated its home exhibition game Wednesday night, winning 107-58 over UW-Platteville. The Badgers never trailed the Pioneers in their exhibition, controlling the stat sheet.
Wisconsin scored early and often with five players finishing in double digits. The Badgers were led by junior Marsha Howard, who had 23 points and six rebounds in the contest.
Freshman point guard Niya Beverley was equally impressive with 13 points, four assists and two steals in her Kohl Center debut. Wisconsin had only eight turnovers in the entire contest compared to 27 committed by the Pioneers. The Badgers shot an impressive 49.4 percent from the field in the victory, while the Pioneers only shot 35 percent.
Notables:
Head Coach Jonathan Tsipis
Opening Statement:
"It's been since March that we've been on that floor and played a game, and I'm proud of our goals that we have been able to go with the entire postseason into the rest of spring and into the summer and preseason taking better care of the basketball. And when you do that you'll be successful. I think 23 assists versus eight turnovers shows an unselfish part of our team. Our freshman point guard could spread it throughout and can we execute better, absolutely. I think you saw a tightness in this team that we've seen this whole preseason on being able to get the best shot. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a great first step."
On offensive pace:
"We'd like to try to throw it ahead as much as possible. I challenge Niya and Kendra Van Leeuwen to get that first touch on things. Our outlet players need to be able to catch the ball, then maybe get the ball to our point guard if they get ahead of everybody. Our posts being able to run puts us in a position to be able to attack. They did a great job of that tonight."
On what he emphasized to work on in this game:
"Coming out of the closed scrimmage is the consistency and how to score the basketball. We saw improvement on that tonight that we were able to play good defense and lock in. And that's something night in and night out we need to put ourselves in that position as well as understanding that we aren't going to score 107 points every night."
Junior Marsha Howard:
On scoring output:
"Just having confidence in one another. I knew my teammates were going to get me the ball. I knew they would work hard."
On how prepared she feels this season:
"The past two seasons have been rough starting the season with injuries, but rehab and the preseason has really helped me in the start for tonight."
Freshman Niya Beverley:
On defense:
"I think we did a really good job, in preseason and practices as well, on working on help defense. We're hoping to keep it up the rest of the season."
Graduate Student Kendall Shaw:
Areas the team could improve on:
"Definitely crashing the offensive and defensive boards. We talked about making contact—not just using our height and quickness."
On how her consistency showed tonight:
"I definitely think that showed in tonight's game. My teammates and I have been pushing each other in practice to work on that, so it's easier when the games come."
Up Next: Wisconsin takes on Charlotte Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center.
Wisconsin scored early and often with five players finishing in double digits. The Badgers were led by junior Marsha Howard, who had 23 points and six rebounds in the contest.
Freshman point guard Niya Beverley was equally impressive with 13 points, four assists and two steals in her Kohl Center debut. Wisconsin had only eight turnovers in the entire contest compared to 27 committed by the Pioneers. The Badgers shot an impressive 49.4 percent from the field in the victory, while the Pioneers only shot 35 percent.
Notables:
- The Badgers never trailed in their 107-58 victory.
- Wisconsin outrebounded UW-Platteville 47-37.
- All 13 players dressed saw action and scored at least two points. Freshmen Kara Crowley and Lizzie Miller both scored in the three minutes they played. Crowley had two points and three rebounds while Miller had two points and one assist.
- Sophomore Abby Laszewski led the Badgers with eight rebounds, which would be a career best. She also added a career-high 13 points in her first career start.
- Wisconsin tallied only eight turnovers while forcing 27 turnovers by the Pioneers. The Badgers had 16 steals.
- Wisconsin scored 100-plus points for first time since November of 2016.
- Freshman Niya Beverley earned her first start, scoring 13 points on 5-11 shooting from the field. She also added two rebounds, four assists and two steals.
- Junior Marsha Howard scored 23 points, which would have been a new career high. The 5-10 forward also shot 7-7 from the free-throw line, which would also have been a career best.
Straight from the Court:
Head Coach Jonathan TsipisOpening Statement:
"It's been since March that we've been on that floor and played a game, and I'm proud of our goals that we have been able to go with the entire postseason into the rest of spring and into the summer and preseason taking better care of the basketball. And when you do that you'll be successful. I think 23 assists versus eight turnovers shows an unselfish part of our team. Our freshman point guard could spread it throughout and can we execute better, absolutely. I think you saw a tightness in this team that we've seen this whole preseason on being able to get the best shot. We still have a lot of work to do, but it's a great first step."
On offensive pace:
"We'd like to try to throw it ahead as much as possible. I challenge Niya and Kendra Van Leeuwen to get that first touch on things. Our outlet players need to be able to catch the ball, then maybe get the ball to our point guard if they get ahead of everybody. Our posts being able to run puts us in a position to be able to attack. They did a great job of that tonight."
On what he emphasized to work on in this game:
"Coming out of the closed scrimmage is the consistency and how to score the basketball. We saw improvement on that tonight that we were able to play good defense and lock in. And that's something night in and night out we need to put ourselves in that position as well as understanding that we aren't going to score 107 points every night."
Junior Marsha Howard:
On scoring output:
"Just having confidence in one another. I knew my teammates were going to get me the ball. I knew they would work hard."
On how prepared she feels this season:
"The past two seasons have been rough starting the season with injuries, but rehab and the preseason has really helped me in the start for tonight."
Freshman Niya Beverley:
On defense:
"I think we did a really good job, in preseason and practices as well, on working on help defense. We're hoping to keep it up the rest of the season."
Graduate Student Kendall Shaw:
Areas the team could improve on:
"Definitely crashing the offensive and defensive boards. We talked about making contact—not just using our height and quickness."
On how her consistency showed tonight:
"I definitely think that showed in tonight's game. My teammates and I have been pushing each other in practice to work on that, so it's easier when the games come."
Up Next: Wisconsin takes on Charlotte Nov. 12 at 11 a.m. (CT) at the Kohl Center.
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