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Penn State ends UW winning streak

MADISON — The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team got to the brink of breaking into the Top 25 ratings, but then Penn State came to town.

The Nittany Lions handed the Badgers a 54-43 loss before a crowd of 4,708 at the Kohl Center on Thursday night.

The Badgers, who had a four-game winning streak, fell to 5-4 in the Big Ten and 15-5 overall.

“We thought that this would be a really pivotal game for both Penn State and Wisconsin in terms of battling for second place and to find some separation,” UW coach Lisa Stone said. “It didn’t happen for us, but we’ll get this one back.”

Penn State led by only two, 31-29, with nine minutes left. The Nittany Lions then scored on seven straight possessions to build a 46-36 lead with four minutes left.

Two UW baskets, including one down low by Jefferson High graduate Lin Zastrow, cut the lead to five.

After a Penn State turnover, Zastrow drove the lane for another basket, but was called for an offensive foul.

Penn State’s Tyra Grant responded with a basket to make it 50-43 with 1:41 left.

Wisconsin, which was ranked 26th this week in the Associated Press poll, was held to a season low in points and field-goal percentage (28.1 percent).

“We could not get any flow and a lot of that credit goes to Penn State,” said Stone. “They’ve got great athletes on the perimeter, good size and we had a tough time finding good looks.”

Alyssa Karel led the Badgers with 15 points.

Wisconsin plays at Indiana next Thursday at 6 p.m.