By: Dennis Punzel (Madison.com) -

INDIANAPOLIS — The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team will attempt to go where no UW team has gone when it faces top-seeded Ohio State tonight in the semifinals of the Big Ten Tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse.

The Badgers are in the semifinals for the third time in the 16-year history of the tournament. They’ve never advanced any further.

Wisconsin lost to Penn State 76-62 in the 2002 semifinals and last year they fell to Purdue 70-56.

The Badgers’ track record against the Buckeyes isn’t any better. Ohio State leads the all-time series 43-14 and has won the last 16 meetings. OSU is 3-0 in tournament play against UW, but the teams haven’t met since 2005 when the Buckeyes won 70-46 in the quarterfinals.

But the Badgers are encouraged by their two games against the Buckeyes this year. They dominated the first half at Columbus before fading in the last 10 minutes to lose 70-55. They lost at home 83-78, but again led much of the first half before allowing the Buckeyes to go on a 9-0 run to end the half. They rallied late to get within two points in the final seconds, but the Buckeyes were able to put the game away at the free throw line.

Three-time Big Ten Player of the Year Jantel Lavender scored 23 points in each game this season and averaged 11 rebounds against UW. Expect the Badgers to focus their defense on containing her, with a greater emphasis on denying her the ball in the post.

Junior guard Alyssa Karel is the Badgers’ leading scorer against Ohio State this season, averaging 15.5 points.

The Badgers are averaging 71 points in their last five games and coach Lisa Stone sees that a sign of growing comfort with the new motion offense introduced this season.

“What’s happening right now is we’re getting high percentage shots,” she said after watching the Badgers shoot 50.8 percent in their 73-51 quarterfinal victory over Purdue Friday night, outscoring the Boilermakers 34-20 in the paint. “We’re getting action toward the basket, whether it’s off penetration or post touches. And we’re taking pretty good care of the ball.”

Tipoff is at approximately 6:30 p.m, following the other semifinal between Iowa and Michigan State. The winners meet Sunday at 3:30 p.m.

No related posts.