MADISON – Stacking days.
That is the mindset Robin Pingeton is pushing with the Wisconsin women’s basketball team. With a new head coach and eight new players, the Badgers have a chance to reshape their identity this season.
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But with that fresh start comes the daily challenge of making the most of it.
“We talk about that a lot,” Pingeton said. “Let’s grow, let’s learn. What do we do well? Where do we need to make improvements? Tomorrow’s a new day and a new opportunity for us.”
The latest step in that process took place Monday, Oct. 27, when the Badgers played in their lone exhibition game of the preseason.
It was an explosive affair.
Five players scored in double figures to help the Badgers defeat UW-River Falls, 104-40. Wisconsin, which opens the regular season Nov. 5 at home against Oakland, shot 52.6% overall and 45.5% (15 for 33) from 3-point range.
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Destiny Howell, a 6-foot guard who transferred from Howard, finished with 22 points for the Badgers.
Kyrah Daniels, a 6-0 junior guard who transferred from Missouri State, posted 16 points, six rebounds and five steals. Senior guard Ronnie Porter came through with 14 points on 5-for-6 shooting and made two assists and three steals.
“(We) played a lot of people tonight on a lot of different rotations,” Pingeton said. “I think that’s what these early games are going to be about. I really challenged our team not to get caught up in lineups and minutes and rotations. When they’re out there, just play as hard as they can for as long as they can.”
Here are some takeaways from the exhibition.
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Wisconsin gets the ball up the court quickly
The Badgers talked about playing fast during the preseason. This was the first time we could see what they meant by that.
Wisconsin finished with 81 possessions, took 76 shots and got to the free throw line 17 times. The team pushed the tempo in all situations. Here are a few examples:
* Badgers graduate guard Shay Bollin grabbed a rebound at the 5:08 mark of the first quarter and passed it to junior guard Breauna Ware. Ware moved the ball past midcourt, gave it to Bollin at the top of the key and Bollin hit Daniels on the wing for a 3-pointer. Total time: 9 seconds.
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* River Falls’ Sydney Schmit scored a layup with 4:02 left in the third quarter. During the next 18 seconds UW got up two shots, a 3-point miss by Ware and a 3 by Porter.
* River Falls’ Zoey Buchan sank three straight free throws at the 6:49 mark of the third quarter. Six seconds later senior guard Lily Krahn missed a 3 in the corner. UW took just one dribble and made three passes to set up the play.
The Badgers won’t be able to push it as easily against some of their opponents this season, but the seeds of that mentality are being planted.
“I just think that it starts with us wanting to get up and down how we want to,” Howell said.
Destiny Howell, Kyrah Daniels have efficient nights
Newcomers Howell and Daniels both made the most of their opportunities.
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Howell hit 8 of 14 shots and was 3 for 6 from three-point range. Her scoring came in flurries. She scored eight points in a 2 ½-minute stretch in the first quarter and got seven points in about a minute in the third quarter. Howell also drew a team-high four fouls.
Daniels connected on six of 12 attempts. She led the team in 3s made (four) and attempted (eight).
Pingeton called both players three-level scorers.
“That’s a pretty tough, hard guard,” she said. “And they’re bigger guards, so there’s going to be opportunities as we continue to install some of the things that we do that maybe we can take advantage of them around the basket as well.”
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Badgers stay aggressive, bring on-ball pressure defense
Wisconsin owned a major size advantage over River Falls that played a large role in the Badgers’ 23 steals. UW forced 42 turnovers that helped account for 26 fast break points.
“We didn’t start off the way that we wanted to in terms of our intensity and I think that as Coach kind of got into us a little bit, it definitely started to pick up,” Howell said. “And, you know, we did exactly what we said we wanted to do. We wanted to be in passing lanes. We wanted to be disruptive and we wanted to get steals and get out and run.”
Wisconsin hunts three-point opportunities
Not only did the Badgers shoot a healthy percentage from 3-point range, they also made the shot a key part of their offensive strategy.
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Wisconsin took 76 shots with 33 or (43.4%) coming from three-point range. The Badgers, who shot 52.6% overall, shot 45.5% (15 of 33) from 3-point range with Porter going 3 for 3 and junior guard Laci Steele going 2 for 5 as part of an 11-point performance.
“I absolutely love the three ball,” Pingeton said. “I think that’ll probably be one of the strengths of our team, just how balanced we are in our attack offensively.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Four takeaways from Wisconsin women’s basketball’s exhibition game win
