Wisconsin WBB: Badgers Battled on the Road but Fell to K-State

The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team took to the road for the first time this season and while they won’t return to Madison with a win, they will return with some valuable lessons earned against a very good Kansas State team.

Final Score

Wisconsin Badgers (3-1 overall, 0-0 Big Ten): 57
Kansas State Wildcats (4-0 overall, 0-0 Big XII): 75

Four Factors

eFG%: 42.2
Turnover%: 27.1
Off. Rebound%: 15.6
FTA/FGA: 33.3

Key Stats

FG%: 39.2 (20-of-51)
Opp. FG%: 46.2 (30-of-65)
3P%: 16.7 (3-of-18)
Opp. 3P%: 44.0 (11-of-25)
FT%: 82.4 (14-of-17)
Opp. FT%: 40.0 (4-of-10)
Points Per Possession: 1.103
Opponent Points Per Possession: 0.838
Rebounds: 32 (five offensive)
Opponent Rebounds: 37 (10 offensive)
Turnovers: 19
Forced Turnovers: 11

Kansas native @CopelandSania buries a 3⃣ in her home state! pic.twitter.com/bhmpVQ6lqz

— Wisconsin Women’s Basketball (@BadgerWBB) November 19, 2023

Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Basketball Team Leaders

• Serah Williams: 22 points (7-of-15 FG, 1-of-3 3P), nine rebounds (one offensive), three blocks, -15
• Ronnie Porter: 15 points (6-of-14 FG, 0-of-3 3P), four rebounds (one offensive), six assists, three steals, -11
• Brooke Schramek: 11 points (5-of-12 FG, 1-of-4 3P), eight rebounds, two assists, -11
• Sania Copeland: five points (2-of-5 FG, 1-of-4 3P), one rebound, two assists, two steals, -10 (this was the Kansas native’s first career start)

Kansas State Team Leaders

• Ayoka Lee: 20 points (9-of-16 FG), five rebounds (three offensive), one assist, three blocks, one steal, +21
• Jaelyn Glenn: 11 points (4-of-7 FG, 3-of-5 3P), two rebounds, four assists, three steals, +20 

Three Thoughts on Wisconsin Badgers Women’s Basketball loss to K-State

1. Serah Williams did not look out of her depth against Ayoka Lee, one of the best bigs in the country. This was an important test for the sophomore big and, on an individual level, she passed with flying colors. Williams had a game-high 22 points and a game-high nine boards while also protecting the rim on defense. She also showed off her expanding range, attempting a trio of three-pointers and making one.
   
   Perhaps the most impressive part of her game was the fact that she only committed one foul while Lee ended up one foul short of fouling out. According to the “analytics” tab on the official box score, Williams drew an estimated 8.6 fouls against the Wildcats which is pretty darn good if you ask me. She was smart with her contests of shots around the basket and didn’t try to do too much when Lee got the ball in the post. While Williams was harassed into five turnovers, she looked like she belonged on the same tier as Lee, who may be the best post (outside of Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes) she’ll play against all season.So far this season Williams has looked like an All-Big Ten player and has surpassed my expectations as Wisconsin’s top offensive option. Once she becomes more confident passing the ball she’ll be in the conversation for best big in the conference.
2. Coming into the game, Kansas State had one of the best defenses in the country and…noting that happened on Sunday really changed that. The ‘Cats forced 19 turnovers and held the Badgers to under 40% shooting from the floor. UW was particularly off-target from deep, making only three of their 18 attempts from long range.
   
   While those numbers don’t look great for Wisconsin, I actually thought that the Badgers got a lot of good looks…the shots just weren’t falling. Those kinds of games happen and it was just terrible luck that it happened to the whole team at once. Wisconsin actually scored the most PPP (points per possession), had the highest PPSA (points per shot attempt), and had the best FG% and eFG% of any of K-State’s opponents this year. Keep in mind the Wildcats played Iowa in the game before Wisconsin.
   
   There are definitely areas for improvement, but the Badgers looked competent on offense, on the road, against a stout defense. While moral victories don’t count on your postseason resume, these incremental improvements are important for a young team to show throughout the season.
3. K-State has one of the best assist:turnover ratios in the nation, thanks in large part to how well they moved the ball against the Badgers on Sunday. The ‘Cats had an insane 83.3% assist rate (25 assists on 30 made shots) while only turning the ball over 11 times. To be fair to UW’s defense, that is tied for the most turnovers KSU has committed all year.
   
   The difficult thing about Kansas State is that they don’t just have one playmaker, they have multiple. Taryn Sides (five assists against UW), Gabby Gregory (eight assists), and Serena Sundell (two assists) all average 3.8 assists per game or more and Jaelyn Green, who only averages a measly 2.0 assists per game, added four dimes for K-State on Sunday.
   
   I think Wisconsin got tired out a bit chasing Kansas State around and that contributed to KSU’s big third quarter (outscored UW 25-9) which salted the game away. There were a couple of times where the Badgers played solid defense for 80% of the shot clock but the ‘Cats made one more pass and nailed an open look. They have the look of a team that will be in the top-25 for the rest of the year to be quite honest.
4. BONUS THOUGHT: I know the Badgers don’t have a ton of battle-tested depth, especially in the post, but watching the minutes where Wisconsin tried to guard Lee with anyone who wasn’t Williams was…tough. Brooke Schramek tried her best but she was no match for Lee down low. It was an automatic bucket any time K-State dumped it in there because Lee established such deep position on Schramek that she simply had to turn around and basically drop the ball in the hoop.
   
   The problem with acquiring “battle-tested depth” is that…you actually have to play green players to get it. Wisconsin has 6-foot-5 Tessa Towers on the bench and after the first stretch of play where Lee dominated Schramek, what would’ve been the harm in seeing what Towers could do? At the very least Towers has five fouls to give and she could’ve made Lee earn those points at the free throw line.

Final Thought

This was a promising showing for a young team in their first road test of the season and, in some cases, of their careers. They came out a little slow, which was to be expected, but settled into the game nicely in the second quarter and entered halftime only down 10. In fact, the Badgers actually won the second quarter, 16-15. They also won the fourth quarter but many of those points were scored after the ‘Cats took their foot off the gas pedal.

Overall I don’t think you can leave that game as a Wisconsin fan and be anything but pleased. That doesn’t mean, of course, that some of the same problems that plagued this team last year still didn’t show up. Turnovers weren’t a HUGE problem but still weren’t good enough to compete against a team as talented as K-State. The Wildcats got too many easy baskets (see highlight below) and, quite frankly, they didn’t need the help! 

Too EZ#KStateWBB x @JamiaHarris2 pic.twitter.com/1NtAfex5HL

— K-State Women’s Basketball (@KStateWBB) November 19, 2023

It is worth noting that Ronnie Porter played the most minutes on the team and had zero turnovers in 35:27 of run. She had six assists and three steals to boot. Porter is turning into quite the diamond in the rough for Marisa Moseley.

Wisconsin did some nice things on the periphery of the box score too. Their free throw shooting was great and they were almost even on points in the paint. This was a good measuring stick for the Badgers as K-State is a team on the level which UW aspires to be. A pair of games down in Florida after Thanksgiving will also give the Wisconsin Badgers a good test and could catapult them towards a better season than any of us thought.

Next Game: Fort Myers Tip-Off starts on Friday, Nov. 24; vs. Arkansas; 1:00 p.m. CT; unclear on how/if this will be televised; Suncoast Credit Union Arena; Fort Myers, Fla.