Indiana Women's Basketball Hits the Road to Face the Wisconsin Badgers and Will Attempt to Match Best Conference Start

The No. 6-ranked Hoosiers opened up the Big Ten season with a 3-0 record and are looking to match their 2019-20 season 4-0 conference start with a win over Wisconsin. The Badgers are coming off a 20-day COVID-19 pause while the Hoosiers are fresh off a win over the former best Big Ten team in the country, Maryland.

USA Today

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Coach Teri Moren's group has won 10 straight games on the road, which leads all Power 5 schools, and hope to make that 11 as they head to Madison, Wis. to take on the Badgers Wednesday for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff.

The Badgers (3-9) are coming off a 20-day break due to a COVID-19 pause. Wisconsin last played Illinois State beating the Redbirds 70-60 on Dec. 16 

The team is led by sophomore guard Sydney Hillard who's averaging 14.5 points and 5 rebounds per game. Close behind is junior guard Julia Pospisilova who adds 14.4 points per contest to an offense averaging 60.6 points per game compared to Indiana's 72.6

Indiana has won nine of its last 10 games versus Wisconsin including a pair of wins from last season. The Hoosiers will also look to match its best conference start. In the 2019-20 season, Indiana opened Big Ten play with a 4-0 conference record.

"We have tough kids that are gritty," Moren said. "They're smart. They always understand the game plan, especially tendencies, things we're trying to take away. Game planning with this group is really fun because you can do a lot of different things because of their basketball IQ."

Junior forward Mackenize Holmes seconds that. She said the coaching staff prepares them for plays the other team might run and reads the Hoosiers will have to make.

That's one of many reasons why Indiana was successful in defeating then ranked-No. 6 Maryland 70-63 in overtime on Sunday. This was the first Hoosier victory over the Terrapins in program history.

"We're built for overtime games," Holmes said. "We're built for overtime minutes because we get ourselves in that kind of shape. We probably could have gone in double overtime if we needed to. It's just how we prepare ourselves in practice and preseason for moments like these."

The Hoosiers were shorthanded last game with some players out with undisclosed sicknesses and one athlete on concussion protocol.

"We're always going to stay together whether we have six people or 12 people," Holmes said. "All we have is each other at the end of the day."

Graduate student guard Ali Patberg led the charge with 18 points followed by senior forward Aleksa Gulbe with 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Gulbe was named to the Big Ten Player of the Week Honor Roll after her double-double performance, her second double-double of the season.

"From the tip, we had a different energy to us," Patberg said. "We had a different belief to us, and this is just one step. It's one game. We have the whole Big Ten season left. We have to keep doing what we've been doing, because it's working. It's paying off."

How to watch Indiana at Wisconsin

• Who: Indiana Hoosiers (11-2) vs. Wisconsin Badgers (3-9)
• When: 7:30 p.m. ET, Wednesday, Jan. 5
• Where: Kohl Center, Madison, Wis.
• TV: BTN+
• Radio: WHCC 105.1 FM

Related stories on Indiana women's basketball

• INDIANA VS. MARYLAND PHOTO GALLERY: The Hoosiers beat the Maryland Terrapins for the first time in program history on Sunday. The 70-63 win brought Indiana to the No. 6 spot in the Associated Press Poll and to the top of the Big Ten conference. CLICK HERE.
• HOOSIERS BEAT MARYLAND IN OVERTIME: Indiana did something they've never done before — beat Maryland. The Hoosiers finished off No. 6-ranked Maryland 70-63 in a thrilling top 10 matchup that was won in overtime. CLICK HERE.
• HOOSIERS ADVANCE TO NO. 6 IN AP POLL: After their defeat over the former top team in the Big Ten, Maryland, the Hoosiers move up to No. 6 in the AP Poll and are now the highest ranked team in the conference. CLICK HERE.