Poor shooting nights were a hallmark of the previous Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball regime. On Friday, the Jonathan Tsipis era looked eerily familiar as UW struggled to shoot well from the field and were dropped 63-45 by the Charlotte 49ers.
Wisconsin was led by junior guard Cayla McMorris, who had 13 points, but that was about the only highlight from an awful start to a new era in UW women’s basketball. The Badgers managed to shoot just 23.8 percent (15-of-63) from the field in the loss.
However, it appeared that things were going to look very different from the start. UW went on a 6-1 run to start the game, but simply couldn’t stay hot or even lukewarm. It also was a warning sign to the host 49ers, who answered that run with a 15-6 run of their own to lead 16-12 after the first quarter.
Charlotte was led by a trio of players in double figures, starting with guard Laia Raventos’ game high 16 points. Fellow guard Lefty Webster also poured in 16 point, while Ciara Gregory put up 12 points in the winning effort.
Wisconsin won just one of the four quarters in the contest, owning the third quarter 16-14. However, it lost the game thanks to a poor second quarter effort that saw UW outscored 19-8 going in to halftime.
About the only bright spot in the loss for the Badgers was the return of junior forward Malayna Johnson. She finished with a game high 10 rebounds to go with four points in 21 minutes on her return to action following a knee injury that cost her last season.
This game was out of hand in the final few minutes, as Charlotte led by a game-high 20 points with 2:12 to play in the fourth quarter.
Wisconsin will open its home slate with a visit from St. Francis (PA) on Sunday at 4p.m. CT. The game can be heard on The Mic 92.1 and seen via BTN Plus ($).
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