Despite their poor record in the Big Ten, the Wisconsin women�s basketball team came through with a big win over Penn State Thursday, blowing out the Lady Lions 72-52 for their 100th win at the Kohl Center.

After losing six out of their first seven conference games, the Badgers dominated from the start, running the fast break and capitalizing on several Lady Lion errors. Penn State made mental mistakes and allowed Wisconsin to score on second-chance opportunities.

�I thought we were pretty awful from start to finish,� Penn State head coach Coquese Washington said. �I didn�t anticipate that we would come out and play that poorly, but we didn�t really get after it defensively like we needed to, and we had some early turnovers. � Coming out and being able to get easy buckets in transition gave them a lot of confidence and really opened things up for them.�

Wisconsin jumped out to a 20-8 lead in the first half, displaying impressive defense on every possession. After extending their lead to 17 points at halftime, the Badgers went on a roll, continuing to shut down the Lady Lions for the second half even more effectively than in the first.

Wisconsin held Penn State to a mere 26.9 percent from the field and only 19 points in the first half. The Badgers also out-rebounded Penn State by 10 and shot 43 percent from the field and an impressive 38.5 percent from behind the three-point arch.

�It came off of our defense,� Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone said. �It puts us in a position where we can shoot a pretty high percentage and make lay-ups. But that came off of some good pressure defense. � We just put some things together defensively that allowed us to get into the transition and the fast break.�

The Badgers had four scorers in double figures, displaying some aspects of their strong play and balanced scoring attack from earlier in the season. The trio of freshman Lin Zastrow and seniors Janese Banks and Jolene Anderson led the team with 16 points.

�I�m so proud of the kids,� Stone said. �They really hung in there. It�s been a tough go of it, and we�ve stayed resilient. We�ve stayed strong. I told them to play their butts off, and they did it for me. Everybody contributed.�

Wisconsin also set a school and a Kohl Center record for least amount of turnovers in a game, amounting to an impressive five turnovers � including only turning the ball over once in the first half.

�I didn�t tell them at halftime that we only had one turnover,� Stone said. �I didn�t want to jinx ourselves. � It was pretty flawless basketball.�

Going into the second half, the Badgers continued with their all-around strong play, not allowing the Lady Lions to make a run and get back in the game. The defensive energy was particularly noticeable despite the Badgers� recent troubles.

�We spent this whole week on defense,� Anderson said. �If we didn�t come out with defensive intensity, I don�t want to know what tomorrow would be like. It�s just a matter of playing defense for 40 minutes. I think we did a pretty good job at that tonight.�

Wisconsin continued to expand its lead, and the game culminated with Annie Crangle�s three-pointer with only 11 seconds left, which put the Badgers ahead by 30 points � their biggest margin in the game before winning by 27.

Even with the victory, the Badgers know they have a long road ahead. They currently sit in 10th place in the Big Ten and have dug themselves into a deep hole.

�Now we just have to focus on Sunday,� Banks said. �We�ll enjoy this for the night, but tomorrow we�ll break the film down and start focusing on Sunday and come out with the same defensive intensity.�

With the win, Wisconsin moves to 2-6 in the Big Ten, and 9-9 overall, moving back to an even record after falling to Ohio State last Sunday.

On Sunday, the Badgers face the last-place Northwestern Wildcats in an attempt to win consecutive games for the first time since winning five straight in December.