MADISON — The University of Wisconsin Madison women’s basketball team began its 2024-25 campaign with a bang, defeating Wright State University (WSU) 95-68 on Tuesday, Nov. 5. The Badgers scored the most points in a season opener, three players had career-high nights and Serah Williams notched her 23rd career double-double early in the second half.
“I’m not really big on records and things of that nature, but one thing we talked about last year was having the ability to put up more points,” UW-Madison women’s head coach Marisa Moseley said. “I’m really proud of this group, and I think this was a strong start for us.”
Monroe native and Black Hawk graduate Natalie Leuzinger enters her fifth season with the Badgers. She began her career as a preferred walk-on, earning a scholarship in 2022-23 and cracking the starting lineup in 2023-24.
Last year was arguably Leuzinger’s best. She started in 29 of 32 games and averaged 7.7 ppg with 3 rpg, which was the fourth- and fifth-most on the team, respectively.
Even though she completed her undergraduate degree, Leuzinger had one year of eligibility left due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since she got accepted to graduate school at UW, Leuzinger decided to play a fifth year.
She knows all too well how one’s last basketball game can come at any moment — her prep career ending prior to the state tournament due to COVID-19 — so she’s making the most of the 2024-25 season.
“I’m just trying to enjoy every moment because you never know when it’s going to be taken away, whether injury or the end of the season,” Leuzinger said.
As the first meeting in program history between the two teams — along with Wright State graduating its top three scorers from last season — there were a lot of unknowns for Moseley and her team. So, she started her ‘big’ lineup of Williams, Carter McCray, Tess Myers, Jovana Spasovski and Ronnie Porter.
Initially, the tactic paid off as Williams scored the first six points — all from outside of the paint.
“The first couple times, she (Amaya Staton) had her hand down. I’m like ‘You don’t want to do that,’” Williams said. “She kept having her hand down, so I shot it. I worked on it all offseason, so I have confidence in it.”
Madison’s lead ballooned to 10 points at the end of the first quarter, 19-9, with free throws from Williams and Porter. Raider turnovers aided the Badger offense, as WSU turned the ball over seven times in the first quarter — the same number of times Madison did in the entire game.
“More than anything, I was proud of how we took care of the ball. That has been an Achilles’ heel for us the last few years,” Moseley said, referencing her team’s 18.5 turnovers per game from last season. “We had an intentionality around that.”
Ending the first period on a five-point run and beginning the second with four straight points, Madison took its largest lead of the first half at 23-9. But the big lineup that Moseley started with couldn’t keep pace with WSU’s smaller, quicker lineup for long.
The Raiders slowly closed the gap, beating their defenders and getting to the free-throw line. In the second period alone, WSU was 9-for-15 from the charity stripe. With a nine-point run, capped by a 3-pointer from Lauren Scott, the Raiders made it a one-point game, 31-30.
But Madison went on its own run to end the first half. Williams chipped in six points from various spots on the floor, and Myers and Lily Krahn sank shots from beyond the arc.
By the time Ellie Magestro-Kennedy’s first-half buzzer shot hit the front of the rim and bounced out, Madison had regained an 11-point lead, 43-32.
“I think we just turned the heat up,” Williams said of the run. “Lily came in and hit a three. I had a layup. Everyone did something. We had the confidence in each other and overall as a team to come out strong in the second half.”
Moseley adjusted her lineup in the third quarter, starting Natalie Leuzinger instead of McCray. Krahn also got more minutes in the period.
“They were going by some of our post players, so we went a bit smaller,” Moseley said. “Nat by far is our best defender. When she got in there, she was able to lock up (Claire Henson).”
It didn’t take Williams long to record a double-double — the 23rd of her career. With two rebounds in the first minute of the period, paired with 17 points, Williams had the achievement in hand. Last season, Williams registered 17 consecutive double-doubles, setting a new Big Ten record.
Madison built up a 20-point lead late in the third period, as Williams made an and-one. Myers and Makiya Miller exchanged 3-pointers to end the quarter with Madison leading 73-51. The Badger scored 30 points — the fourth-most points in a quarter.
Graduate student Halle Douglass, entering her second year after an ACL injury, came alive in the fourth frame. She scored eight points and grabbed five rebounds with just under six minutes on the floor.
With a 22-point lead and just three minutes left in the contest, Moseley subbed in her bench. Three different players scored, including freshman Gracie Grzesk from Green Bay. She was an all-state player at Notre Dame, leading the Tritons to three WIAA Division 1 state championships.
Williams led the Badgers with a double-double, scoring 29 points with 12 rebounds. Porter and Krahn had career-high nights, scoring 19 and eight points, respectively. Myers also finished in double figures with 12 points and three 3s. With 11 rebounds, Douglass set a new career best.
Madison (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) hosts Georgetown (1-0, 0-0 Big East) at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 10.
