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Wisconsin Women’s Basketball Dominates Illinois State, Advances to Great 8

The Badgers are moving on in the WNIT.

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Wisconsin Women's Basketball WNIT
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From the jump, the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team put the pedal to the metal and didn’t let up until they were up by 30 points. UW bludgeoned Illinois State on Thursday night at the Kohl Center and will get to continue their postseason run!

Here is the full WNIT Super 16 recap:

Final Score

Wisconsin Badgers (15-16 overall, 6-12 Big Ten): 86
Illinois State Redbirds (22-12 overall, 13-7 Missouri Valley): 61

Four Factors

eFG%: 58.9
Turnover%: 18.6
Off. Rebound%: 24.2
FTA/FGA: 55.1

Key Stats

FG%: 51.6 (32-of-62)
Opp. FG%: 36.7 (22-of-60)
3P%: 47.4 (9-of-19)
Opp. 3P%: 16.7 (3-of-18)
FT%: 86.7 (13-of-15)
Opp. FT%: 77.8 (14-of-18)
Points Per Possession: 1.229
Opponent Points Per Possession: 0.884
Rebounds: 38 (10 offensive)
Opponent Rebounds: 32 (11 offensive)
Turnovers: 13
Forced Turnovers: 14



Team Leaders

  • Ronnie Porter: 13 points (5-of-12 FG, 2-of-4 3P), eight rebounds (three offensive), six assists, one steal, +28
  • Serah Williams: 18 points (8-of-12 FG, 0-of-1 3P), four rebounds (one offensive), three assists, two steals, +20
  • Sania Copeland: 18 points (7-of-8 FG, 3-of-4 3P), three rebounds, two assists, +23
  • Halle Douglass: seven points (2-of-5 FG, 1-of-2 3P), seven rebounds (one offensive), five assists, four steals, +21

Illinois State Team Leaders

  • Deanna Wilson: 20 points (7-of-19 FG), nine rebounds (five offensive), one block, two steals, -26
  • Shannon Dowell: 17 points (6-of-14 FG, 0-of-2 3P), three rebounds (two offensive), two assists, one steal, -24

Three-ish Thoughts

  1. Sania Copeland can’t stop making buzzer-beating threes in this tournament. After her shot at the end of the third quarter against Southern Indiana sparked the Wisconsin women’s basketball team’s comeback win, she ended the first quarter against Illinois State with a DEEP three as time expired to put an exclamation point on an excellent opening period for UW.

    I don’t know what the record is for “consecutive games with a buzzer-beating three-pointer,” but Copeland has to be near the top of the list with two.

    Copeland also made a bunch of shots on Thursday night that weren’t with the clock winding down and it added up to probably her best offensive game in a Wisconsin uniform. She made seven of eight field goals, three of four threes, and made her only free throw attempt. When you combine that with her usual stout defense, she is one of the best players on the court.

    She, along with multiple other Badgers, took a large weight off of Serah Williams’ shoulders and made this game a laugher while giving Williams a break from being UW’s offensive focal point.

  2. True freshman D’Yanis Jimenez played just about a perfect game in her role. She was playing more under control and letting the game come to her instead of trying to force things. There were multiple possessions where she made the extra pass to keep the offense flowing and it was wonderful to see. Hell, even her missed shots were good takes. Her process was impeccable on Thursday night and her defense was solid too.

    Jimenez has some of the highest potential on the team, especially on the offensive end, and she should reach it as she continues to mature and the game slows down a bit for her. Performances like this one should become the norm next year and she’ll add a dynamic backcourt scoring option, which they haven’t had for some time, for UW’s offense

  3. Halle Douglass had the Swiss Army Knife-style game I always hoped she would develop. Her ACL injury last year definitely delayed her progress, but Thursday night was her ideal game. Seven points, seven rebounds, five assists, four steals, and only one turnover in 25 minutes? That is ::does chef’s kiss motion::

    Just look at this play!

    She hustles to support on defense, intercepts the pass, and throws it ahead to hit a streaking Copeland in stride for a layup. She did all of that in one continuous motion too which is absurdly athletic.

  4. Brooke Schramek has been struggling a bit shooting the ball recently but she has been playing good post defense in the WNIT. Illinois State has some talented forwards and Schramek was able to block a couple of shots and force them into bad shots on multiple possessions. I love when players don’t let poor shooting affect other areas of their game.
  5. UW mixed in some zone to positive effect on Thursday night. Illinois State came into the game shooting 34.9% from deep (44th nationally) but did not bring their shooting shoes to the Kohl Center, going 3-of-18 on the game, and the Badgers were able to switch defenses effectively to keep the Redbirds off balance. Wisconsin also kept ISU from getting to the free throw line too often, a place where the Redbirds usually dominate.

Final Thought

This game was undoubtedly the most complete performance Wisconsin women’s basketball has had all season. The offense was a well-oiled, efficient scoring machine and the defense improved as the game went on. The Badgers had five different players in double-figures and two more with seven points. They had 22 assists on 32 made baskets and outscored Illinois State in bench points, fastbreak points, and points in the paint.

Most importantly…the Badgers had fewer turnovers than the Redbirds. For a team that struggles with turnovers, this was a most welcome sight. UW looked cool and collected all night and couldn’t have picked a better time to play like this.

With the win, the Badgers have tied their most wins since 2018-2019 (when they also won 15 games) and are one win away from collecting their most victories since 2010-2011, the last time they finished above .500. While this season has had its ups and downs (to be expected with such a young roster), UW is definitely ending it at their highest point with crazy amounts of confidence and momentum heading into the offseason.

I’m sure the team is focused on their next game, but as a fan it’s hard not to look ahead to a potential Fab 4 meeting with Big Ten rival Purdue. The Boilermakers have had the Badgers’ number twice this year and I’d imagine Marisa Moseley’s squad would like nothing more than a third crack at Purdue.

Whatever happens, I think it’s imperative that the fans (and players/coaches/etc.) enjoy the rest of this postseason run because it has been super fun already and with another game coming up…why can’t the fun continue?

Next Game: Wisconsin women’s basketball will play the winner of Purdue Fort Wayne and Saint Louis in the Great 8 at a time and place TBD on a date “early next week,” per the WNIT’s website. It will be streaming…somewhere. I strive for accuracy in my writing, folks.

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Drew Hamm is a seasoned sports journalist with an extensive background in covering the Wisconsin Badgers. He has previously held positions as the site manager at Bucky's 5th Quarter and founder of Badgers Ball Knower. Currently, he contributes as a staff writer for BadgerNotes.com.

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