The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team suffered a loss in the 2024 season after visiting State of South Dakota.
The Jackrabbits controlled the game against the Badgers throughout the game and never looked back, resulting in a large team victory of 79-57. However, South Dakota State is not your typical program, with two straight NCAA Tournament appearances and a No. 25 overall ranking in the coaches’ poll. The recent win over Georgetown was considered a “big step” for the Wisconsin Badgers program, so a win over the Jackrabbits would be a large step forward.
Although the result may say otherwise, the Wisconsin women’s team was able to maintain a close fight for a long time. The Jackrabbits led 38-30 early in the third quarter and led 62-51 a minute into the fourth quarter. Wisconsin was able to keep the game relatively away from the offense for extended periods of time, but could never find a way to stop the Jackrabbits.
DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT, GET OUT OF IT!!! To the badgers! Go to the next one!
— Ty Mastin (@tymastin_1) November 14, 2024
After the match, many fans took to social media to encourage the team to “come to terms” with a tough defeat while there is a lot to learn. Wisconsin can’t let a loss hinder its continued progress as a tight conference schedule forces the Badgers to win every non-conference game they can.
What does the Wisconsin Badgers need to do to get back into shape?
While the Wisconsin Badgers women’s team looked solid at times against the Jackrabbits, this team never looked ready to make a competitive jump.
After a huge win over Georgetown, which was arguably a huge step forward for the program, many believed the Badgers could compete with the Jackrabbits. Wisconsin was able to maintain a relatively good score until the fourth quarter when the team could no longer maintain the score.
What really went wrong for the team was a combination of missed shots and players falling out of solid scoring opportunities. Sometimes a team can be too generous, and the Wisconsin Badgers did this several times in a game against Georgetown where a player made an open shot but was knocked unconscious to avoid overtime. It worked last game, but against the Jackrabbits, who were prepared for this approach, it didn’t go to plan.
The Wisconsin Badgers have two true scorers on their team who can score for their team if given the chance. Both forward Serah Williams and defender Ronnie Porter are those players, but neither was able to really open up the attack against the Jackrabbits.
Porter hit several impressive three-pointers in games against Georgetown and Wright State, but spent most of the game defending diligently. On the other end, Williams often faced two defenders in the penalty area, but he scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Badgers. Williams probably should have focused more, especially on repeated pick-and-pops where the forward often fouls.
On the defensive side of the basketball, it really came down to the Wisconsin Badgers closing out against high-level scorers. Georgetown scored some deep points, making seven three-pointers and shooting 35% from deep, but was unable to capitalize on opportunities against Williams. However, the Jackrabbits shot 42.9% from three and 51.7% from the field against the Wisconsin Badgers defense.
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