The Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team is back on the court Thursday, February 19th against a strong USC Trojans team in need of a win.
For Wisconsin, the team is currently in the midst of a brutal six-game losing streak that dates back to January 25th in Minneapolis. The Minnesota Golden Gophers put together a 35-point beating as the Wisconsin offense fell flat from the initial buzzer across the board. The Badgers shot just 35% from the field but shot 38% from three-point range as two-point field goals had to be earned against the Golden Gophers.
Following the difficult loss in Minneapolis the Badgers faced #11 Ohio State who outclassed Wisconsin in Columbus. Two close home games against Indiana and #24 Washington showed plenty of heart and fight out of the team, but unfortunately the wins were not secured at the Kohl Center. Illinois and Minnesota both delivered punishing losses as Wisconsin continues to struggle to put four full quarters of play together against Big Ten Conference competition.
The struggles for Wisconsin have started and ended on the offensive side of play as low outputs have led to major leads being mounted by opposing teams. The Badgers have had their fair share of defensive issues as well, but without a strong offense in one of the higher scoring conferences the team continues to suffer.
Wisconsin Badgers’ Offense Needed to Stop Strong USC Trojans Team
Offense has been hard to maintain at times for Wisconsin this season as the Badgers have at times been hard to stop and at others been hard to find. The Badgers are currently struggling with 60 or less points in four of the last six games. Wisconsin only had four such games prior to the current losing streak and the lack of help behind leading scorers Destiny Howell and Kyrah Daniels has been felt.
Howell and Daniels average 27.1 points per game for the Badgers and the remainder of the starting lineup adds up to 21.2 points per game on average. At 69.8 points per game as a team, Wisconsin holds the third-worst offense in the Big Ten Conference. Howell and Daniels are both successful players, but more consistent scoring presences behind the duo is needed to push the team further.
The Trojans are no easy team to face with a 16-9 record and ranked Big Ten Conference wins over Washington, Nebraska, and Iowa. USC also defeated NC State, 69-68, early in the season and the Wolfpack were the ninth-ranked team in the country at the time.
The Trojans have appeared in the rankings themselves this season but four-straight losses to #4 UCLA, Oregon, Minnesota, and #12 Maryland dropped the team out of the top 25. Seven of the nine losses the team has the season came against ranked opponents including #1 UConn and #2 South Carolina.
During the four-game losing skid one thing the Trojans were unable to do was break 70 points in any of the losses. The Trojans struggled to score two-point buckets in particular, shooting just 33% from the field during the stretch. If Wisconsin can find a way to create additional offense outside of the familiar faces while preventing easy buckets, a win over the Trojans could emerge.
Despite the odds and the current outcome of the season, the first year under Head Coach Robin Pingeton has been more successful than the last few Badgers’ campaigns. Wisconsin finished the 2024-25 season with just four conference wins against Rutgers, Michigan, Penn State, and Northwestern. Wisconsin additionally performed far worse against ranked opponents a season ago with an 11-point loss to Ohio State being the best outcome the team had against top programs.
The first step to getting the program back into the right direction will begin with the postseason play this year under Coach Pingeton. Wisconsin is just two seasons removed from a WNIT Quarterfinal run that was the best postseason play the program has seen in a few seasons. If Pingeton and the Badgers can make some noise following the completion of the regular season, the difficult losses during the year might be slowly forgotten.
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