On Sunday, it was Purdue’s Erika Valek. Thursday night, it was Wisconsin’s Ebba Gebisa.
For the second-straight game, the Wildcats (6-14, 1-8 Big Ten) have seen a potential victory slip from their grasp due to surprising stand-out performances.
The Badgers’ usual leading scorer, Lello Gebisa, took a backseat to her little sister, Ebba, who helped Wisconsin (5-14, 3-5) cruise to a 66-49 victory over Northwestern.
Ebba Gebisa posted a game-high 20 points and seven rebounds, finishing 8 of 11 from the field.
“We knew that when (the Badgers) compete, they out-rebound,” NU coach June Olkowski said.
Wisconsin,which still ranks below NU in the overall standings, out-rebounded the Cats 35-27. Olkowski said the Badgers’ second-chance points played a major role in her team’s loss.
“In defense, you’re only as good as your rebounding,” Olkowski said. “And those were certainly huge check-outs.”
With 10 minutes left in the game, the Cats capitalized on a 10-4 run to come within seven points at 50-43.
But that’s as close as NU would get.
To the Cats’ credit, Wisconsin coach Jane Albright said NU played well in front of the 562-person crowd.
“I thought (NU) had the momentum throughout the second half,” Albright said.
But the Cats needed to do more than just control the tempo to cut into the Badgers’ 34-18 halftime lead. Missed layups and sloppy ball handling in the final minutes of the game sealed the Badgers’ victory.
Guard Samantha McComb led NU in scoring with 14 points. But as a team, the Cats connected on only 34.7 percent of their shots, compared to 46 percent for the Badgers.
The Cats best inside threat, 6-foot-4 center Sarah Kwasinski, faced stiff competition from the Badgers’ starting lineup. In Kwasinski’s way stood 6-foot-7 center Lello Gebisa, the tallest player ever to play for the Dairy State. The starting forwards, 6-foot-3 Ebba Gebisa and 6-foot-5 Emily Ashbaugh round out the triple towers.
But Kwasinski, who was held to 11 points and only three rebounds, found a silver lining in the loss.
“I like playing against true posts,” Kwasinski said. “
In her return to the starting line-up, NU guard Melissa Culver sank three treys to finish with nine points.
“When I pass it out to (Culver), I know she’s going to hit that open shot,” Kwasinski said.
For a team struggling on offense, Culver’s presence beyond the 3-point line was a welcome addition.
“(Culver) was playing well, and we need offense,” Olkowski said. “She was getting open shots, and we need someone to knock them down.”
Once again, NU finished the game with more turnovers than its opponent. The Badgers stole the ball 11 times from the Cats, who ended up with 18 give-aways.
The Badgers did an excellent job guarding the key. Wisconsin notched 28 points in the paint — half of its total — and held NU to a mere 12.
The Cats have a bigger test coming this weekend as they head north to face No. 10 Minnesota on Sunday. With the Big Ten’s second-leading scorer Lindsay Whalen at the helm of the Golden Gophers, NU will need to find its own offensive rhythm.
“Once we get our confidence up and start hitting open shots,” Kwasinski said, “that’s when it’ll click.”
NU 49
wisc 66
