MADISON – Ronnie Porter, fresh off a career scoring high and the elation of a hard-earned win, was asked to explain what got into the Wisconsin women’s basketball team Sunday afternoon.
The Badgers junior point guard skipped the Xs and Os and went straight to the heart.
“We wanted it,” she said. “At the end of the day we came into this game wanting to leave with a W and that is what we did. Prior to the game Coach Mo (Marisa Moseley) talked about us sticking together from the first quarter to the fourth quarter and that is exactly what we did.”
Wisconsin improved to 2-0 with a 79-61 victory over Georgetown in front of 3,452 at the Kohl Center, a win that was much tougher than the score indicates.
BOX SCORE: Wisconsin 79, Georgetown 61
The Badgers, however, were so good during the final 1½ quarters that the outcome wasn’t in doubt for the final 3½ minutes. They wrapped up the day with a gritty 34-13 run filled with tough buckets inside, and-1 opportunities and 14 points from Porter.
It was as if the Badgers flipped the switch and, voila, led by 20 points.
“This was a good win. I’ve been her for three years and this was one of the most fun games I’ve played at the Kohl Center,” junior forward Serah Williams said. “I think we just stayed together, moved the ball pretty well. Everybody had a hand in what we did today.”
Porter finished with 26 points, which raised her career high by seven, and posted four rebounds, four assists and three steals. She hit 12 of 20 shots, including 2 for 6 from three-point range. She had 16 points on 8-for-12 shooting in the second half, 14 during the final 14 minutes.
The effort came on the heels of a 19-point performance in the season opener versus Wright State Tuesday that tied her career high.
It wasn’t an A-plus effort, but close.
“A-minus,” Porter said when asked to grade her play.. “I had too many turnovers. I don’t like that.”
Serah Williams, Carter McCray give UW a double double-double
Williams (17 points, 12 rebounds) and sophomore transfer Carter McCray (11 points, 11 rebounds) recorded double-doubles. They two almost matched Georgetown’s work on the boards (33) and combined for 12 offensive rebounds.
McCray, who grabbed 150 offensive rebounds while playing for Northern Kentucky last season, had seven Sunday.
“I think we both took it personal,” Wlliams said. “We noticed they were being really physical to start the game and we really adjusted well to that and we used our strength and our love for it against them and it worked out in our favor.”
Graduate guard Tess Myers posted 14 points and was 4 for 9 from three-point range. Halle Douglass, another grad student, scored just two points, but her defense helped contain Hoyas standout Kelsey Ransom (27 points) in the second half.
It was a quality effort against a solid Hoyas squad that qualified for the Women’s Basketball Invitation Tournament last year. They were picked to finish fifth in the Big East this season and against UW set the tone for a good portion of the night even though their largest lead was five points.
Ronnie Porter scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter
Sunday the Hoyas started fast, hitting 53.8% of their shots (seven of 13) in the first quarter but their shooting percentage dipped each quarter and in the fourth quarter they managed just 11 points.
Wisconsin, on the other hand, shot better and increased its scoring each quarter. They shot 50% (32 of 64) for the day and 42.1% (8 for 19) from three-point range.
“How we practice we talk about we cannot take breaks, we’ve got to continue to practice at a high clip because in the fourth quarter that is when you’ve got to be able to finish things,” Moseley said.
“Using a boxing metaphor, I saw them on the ropes. They were tired and I’m like right now we’ve got to go. The fact that we have the depth that we have this year and that we can continue to rotate players in and they can make plays in different ways, I think that really helped us to open it up.”
McCray jump started the run with seven straight points. Two of the buckets came off offensive rebounds, including a bucket and foul she converted for a three-point play with 45 seconds left in the third to give the Badgers a 52-50 edge.
Porter followed with jumper at the third quarter buzzer to push the lead to four points. The hustle points continued early in the fourth when Williams put back McCray’s miss and when Porter stole the ball from Ransom underneath the UW hoop and scored a layup to give the Badgers a 58-53 advantage with 8:03 to play.
Porter’s bucket was the start of an individual run of 10 straight points. When she was done the Badgers lead was still only eight points, 64-56, with 5:20 to play.
Three-pointers by Myers (two) and senior Natalie Leuzinger helped the Badgers push their advantage to 20 points, closing out a satisfying first week of the season.
“It’s a testament to all the work we’ve done in the preseason,” Myers said. “We’re very connected and the way we play attested to that. This is really exciting for us going forward to know that if we’re down it doesn’t matter. We were very together and came out with a win.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Strong second half lifts Wisconsin women’s basketball over Georgetown
