Though it may have been a game the University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team will want to forget — committing 18 turnovers and 21 personal fouls against the UIC Flames — it’ll be remembered in the record books. Junior Serah Williams reached 1,000 career points and became tied for the third-fastest Badger to do so. Williams finished with a team-high 20 points with 14 rebounds, two blocks and three steals.
Sophomore Carter McCray and graduate student Natalie Leuzinger were the only other Badgers to score in double figures, each tallying 10 points. Senior Krystyna Ellew led the Flames in points with 18 on 6-for-6 shooting.
UIC’s game plan was clear from tipoff — pressure the ball and be physical with the Badgers on both ends. Wisconsin answered the Flames’ physicality, creating a defensive showdown.
Struggling with UIC’s perimeter defense, Wisconsin looked to score with Williams and McCray inside. The pair accounted for 10 of the Badgers’ 12 first-quarter points, highlighted by a drop step lay-in by Williams for her 999th and 1,000th collegiate points.
Though Wisconsin led 12-9 after the first, it was a period full of missed opportunities. UIC shot 1-for-9 from the field and scored just four points in the final eight minutes. The Badgers offense grew stagnant as junior Ronnie Porter hit the sidelines due to foul trouble, mustering only seven points during the eight-minute stretch.
The Badgers went plus-six in the seven minutes Porter was off the floor. But, they turned the ball over four times and struggled to create open looks.
Graduate student Tess Myers expanded the lead to eight points with 4:28 in the quarter — the Badgers first 3-pointer of the game — but UIC was quick to respond. Ellew buried an and-one mid-range jumper and senior Sandra Frau-Garcia got out in transition for an easy layup to make it a one possession game.
Then, Williams took over. The forward asserted her dominance in the post, backing down her opponent and coming away with a basket on two of the next three possessions to help the Badgers take a 25-16 lead into the break.
Wisconsin turned the ball over eight times in the half and shot just 1-for-5 from the 3-point line with no free throws attempted. But, they limited UIC to 6-for-28 shooting from the field and forced nine turnovers.
The Flames finally found their offensive footing in the third quarter, opening the period on an 8-2 run and cutting the deficit to three points. Four straight points from sophomore D’yanis Jimenez shut down UIC’s momentum, but the third remained a back-and-forth battle. A turnaround jumper by Ellew trimmed the Badger lead to seven entering the final quarter of play.
A second-chance basket and a steal and score put the Badgers on their back foot to start the fourth. While they maintained the lead, Wisconsin led by merely three points with 6:30 to play.
It was at that point the Badgers decided to strike. Wisconsin took advantage of the Flames’ aggression on the perimeter, calling set pieces that resulted in a pair of backdoor screens and easy layups.
The burst helped stave off the Flames, who got seven straight points from Ellew.
Ellew stayed red-hot, drilling a pull-up jumper to bring the difference to four with a minute to play. Looking to push the advantage further in Wisconsin’s direction, Porter got around her defender and had a clear look at a runner. But, she lost the ball going up and left the floater short, giving UIC a chance to make it a one-possession game.
Williams eliminated the Flames’ opportunity, getting her hands into a passing lane and poking the ball free for a breakaway layup with 25 seconds to play and forcing UIC to call a timeout. Coming out of the pause, UIC turned to graduate student Jaida McCloud, who split two Badgers defenders for an easy two.
The Badgers barely avoided a five-second penalty on the ensuing inbounds pass but the ball was tied up immediately, awarding UIC with an additional possession. The Flames caught Jimenez in a mismatch down low, but Jimenez held her ground and forced a miss.
A scrum broke out during the rebound — which fell into the hands of Williams — resulting in offsetting technical fouls on Williams and Kristian Young. Trailing by four, UIC intentionally fouled Leuzinger, who iced the contest with two makes at the charity stripe.
The final score read 61-57 in favor of the Badgers, and the team advanced to 4-1 on the season. Wisconsin will be back in action at the Kohl Center at 1 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 against Omaha.