Nov. 29, 2008
Box Score | Quotes | Notes
ST. THOMAS, U.S. Virgin Islands (AP) - Alyssa Karel scored 15 points, including a jumper with 7 seconds left, to lift Wisconsin to a 59-58 win over No. 6 Baylor on Saturday.
Baylor led 58-53 with 2:43 left before Wisconsin rallied behind Karel, scoring the game's final six points. Mariah Dunham started the run with a free throw, then Karel scored a layup to cut the deficit to 58-56. Dunham then hit another free throw with 53 seconds left and Jhasmin Player missed a 3-pointer with 30 seconds left, setting up Karel's basket.
Baylor had one last chance when Melissa Jones was fouled with five-tenths of a second left when she grabbed an offensive rebound. After a Wisconsin timeout, Jones missed both free throws.
"I'm just so emotional, I can't even stand it," said Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone. "I'm so proud of my entire team. This was a great trip. This capped off some beautiful weather and a Paradise Jam championship."
The win was Wisconsin's first over a top-10 opponent since defeating then-No. 7 Purdue, 71-59, on Dec. 28, 2001, and the first time Wisconsin has beaten a ranked team since Feb. 19, 2006, when it upset No. 17 Minnesota, 67-61.
"This team and their identity has surfaced. I'm so proud of them," said Stone. "From a defensive standpoint, we did what we had to do. We got one stop, they go to the free throw line. They had to make a play and we had to make a play. My team was just outstanding and this is just a great lift for us right now."
Danielle Wilson scored 18 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for Baylor (6-1).
"We missed a lot of chippers and free throws down the stretch," Wilson said. "We've got to figure out what we're doing and move on."
Dunham finished with 11 points for Wisconsin (5-1), which shot 35.5 percent from the field but made 18 of 21 free throws.
Baylor shot 17-for-46 (37 percent) from the field and was only 24-of-38 (63 percent) from the free throw line.
"We're not going to beat anybody shooting the percentage we shot. We missed too many free throws and too many gimmes," Baylor coach Kim Mulkey said. "We had an opportunity to win at the end of the game, but it didn't come down to Melissa Jones missing free throws. We missed them throughout the game."
