MADISON — No jokes here. The Wisconsin women’s basketball magical postseason run came to an end with a 65-60 loss to Saint Louis in the Great 8 of the WNIT on Monday, April 1. The Badgers had to play much of the game without starters Serah Williams and Sania Copeland, who both left the game with injuries.
“That’s not how we wanted to end the season,” UW-Madison head coach Marisa Moseley said of losing two starters during the game, including Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (media) Williams in the first minute. “ . . . But we continued to battle and fight. We showed a lot of grit and toughness.”
Coming into the game, the Badgers recorded back-to-back wins against Southern Indiana and Illinois State University. The first was a 19-point comeback in the second round, and the second was a lights-out offensive performance where Wisconsin shot 51.6% from the field and 47.4% from 3-point range.
The team was making the most of its opportunity to play postseason basketball after an early second-round exit in the Big Ten Tournament.
“After the Big Ten Tournament, we weren’t sure if that was going to be the last time this group was going to play together,” senior Brooke Schramek said. “When we found out we had the opportunity to play again, we were going to take every opportunity we could. The practices were more intense and fun.”
But Wisconsin’s momentum suddenly died as First-Team All-Big Ten player Williams went down 54 seconds into the game after missing a layup. Saint Louis took advantage of the 5-on-4 and made a 3-pointer on the other end to open the scoring.
With the stoppage of play, Williams was assisted to the locker room. She came back to the bench with ice on her knee and her warm-up shirt on. After halftime, Williams returned with crutches.
“It’s scary to see a teammate go down, especially one like Serah, who we play off of a lot,” Schramek said.
Williams tallied 20 double-doubles this season, including 17 straight from Jan. 7 to March 25 in the second round against Southern Indiana. The feat broke the Big Ten double-double record, previously set by Iowa Hawkeye and Wisconsin-native Megan Gustafson in 2017-18.
With arguably their best player on the bench, it took Wisconsin some time to find its footing. The Billikens extended their lead to 8-0, as the Badgers went 0-for-3 from the field and turned the ball over twice in that frame.
Halle Douglass, who subbed in for Williams, put Wisconsin on the board nearly four minutes into the game with an assist from Schramek.
Black Hawk graduate Natalie Leuzinger then sparked a small comeback for the Badgers, as the senior scored on an easy layup. Leuzinger’s defender double teamed Douglass on the perimeter, leaving Leuzinger alone on the block for two. After a missed 3-point attempt from Brooklyn Gray, Leuzinger grabbed the defensive rebound and handed off to Copeland, who pushed the ball up the court to Schramek for a fast-break bucket, making it a 10-6 game.
The Badgers got within one possession of the Billikens with a 3-pointer from Copeland and floater from Ronnie Porter, but Saint Louis scored on the last possession to make it a 17-13 game after the first quarter.
Although Wisconsin shot 40% from the field, it was just 1-for-5 from 3-point range. In comparison, Saint Louis made three 3s. The Billikens also took advantage of Williams’ absence below the basket, scoring eight second-chance points.
To begin the second quarter, Leuzinger converted a 3-point play. She received a screen from Douglass and, instead of opting for the pick-and-roll, took it to the hoop for two and drew a foul on Peyton Kennedy in the process. Leuzinger made her and-one, putting the Badgers within one point of the Billikens.
Wisconsin matched Saint Louis for the next four minutes. Douglass knocked down a 3-point shot rom well beyond the arc, beating the shot clock. The score sent the Badger bench and crowd into a frenzy, but the momentum was short lived.
The Badgers then went cold for four and a half minutes, as the Billiken lead reached double figures. In the span, Wisconsin was 0-for-4 from the field — including missing three layups — turned the ball over twice and allowed five second-chance points.
“At one point, I think we were 5 of 15 on layups. We were getting open looks and not converting,” Moseley said of her team’s 2-for-13 (15.4%) shooting percentage from the field in the second quarter. “Just as things can be contagious on offense when you are making shots, they can also be contagious when you are missing.”
During that time, the Badgers suffered their second player loss. Copeland attempted to block Julia Martinez on her way to the basket but took an elbow to the face. She did not return to the game, finishing the night with five points and two rebounds in 16 minutes played.
Although Wisconsin made three free throws to end the first half at a 30-22 deficit, the team entered the locker room down its two most productive players from the previous WNIT game. Against Illinois State University, both Williams and Copeland scored 18 points to lead the team.
Saint Louis and Wisconsin traded buckets through much of the third quarter before the Badgers went on an 8-2 run in the final two minutes. D’Yanis Jimenez drew the Billikens’ sixth team foul and made both of her free-throw attempts, and Douglass scored on an offensive putback a minute later. In the final minute, Porter made a layup, and Jimenez made a buzzer-beating floater over two defenders.
Down by just six, 48-42, Wisconsin carried that momentum into the fourth quarter.
“I told them we were going to have to focus, be united and a little nasty — an acronym for fun,” Moseley said.
After an opening 2-pointer from Kyla McMakin, Leuzinger drew a foul and went 1-for-2 at the line. But 20 seconds later, she stole the ball from McMakin. The play resulted in a 3-pointer for Tessa Grady, putting the Badgers within four at 50-46.
Each time Wisconsin got within a possession, they bailed Saint Louis out with shooting fouls. But this time, it was Douglass that provided the spark that eventually pushed the Badgers ahead. She grabbed an offensive rebound and dished it to Jimenez under the hoop before falling out of bounds. Jimenez’s bucket made it a 1-point game. Porter then knotted the game for the first time with a trip to the free-throw line.
The next six points of the game came from the charity stripe before Grady knocked down another shot from beyond the arc that gave Wisconsin its first lead of the night with 1:19 left on the clock.
Perhaps celebrating from the bucket, the Badgers gave up an easy layup on the other end, as defenders failed to communicate on a switch. Nonetheless, Porter gave Wisconsin the lead once again with a pair of free throws with just under a minute left to play.
On the other end of the floor, Kennedy faked a 3-point shot and drove to the basket for a Billiken edge. Her bucket proved to be the game winner, as Wisconsin committed three fouls in the final 46 seconds to gain possession. Saint Louis went 4-for-6 to seal the victory.
Saint Louis went on to defeat Vermont 57-54 in the Fab 4 on Wednesday, April 3 and will play Minnesota on Saturday, April 6 in the WNIT championship.
“I hate that it ended this way for this group because I really believed that they deserved to experience winning a championship together. It’s hard to do that,” Moseley said. “This was a big step for the program. The seniors left this place better than they found it.”
Porter ended the night with a team-high 17 points, followed by Jimenez with 12. Leuzinger scored nine points with three rebounds. Douglass, who missed a majority of last season with an ACL injury and started in just five games this year, recorded seven rebounds, four assists and three steals — all-team bests. Despite missing two starters, the Badger bench stepped up, outscoring the Billiken bench 26-13.
Wisconsin made its first postseason appearance since 2011, when the Badgers last played in the WNIT. The team ended this season with an overall 15-17 record, improving each year under coach Moseley, who entered the program after a five-win season in 2021.
