In a critical game for the Badgers� NCAA Tournament hopes, the Wisconsin women�s basketball team fell to No. 19 Ohio State 80-77 Sunday.

Despite coming off a big win at Penn State Feb. 3, the Badgers couldn�t handle the post presence of Jantel Lavender, as the Buckeyes beat Wisconsin on its home court in comeback fashion.

Senior Jolene Anderson failed to hit a game-tying 3-pointer with time expiring to push the game into overtime, resulting in Wisconsin�s eighth Big Ten loss of the season.

UW started off the game on a strong note, jumping out to a 21-10 lead, relying on senior guard Janese Banks� 3-point shooting. Wisconsin looked to be in control of the game when Banks hit a 3-pointer as the first half clock expired, heading into the locker room with 18 points.

�She was unconscious,� Ohio State head coach Jim Foster said of Banks. �She felt that anything she touched was going to go in, and compounded by the fact that we had a couple of defenders standing there watching.�

In the first half, the Badgers had eight total steals and only five turnovers. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, committed 12 turnovers, allowing the Badgers to accumulate 14 first-half points off Ohio State miscues. At the end of the first half, the Badgers led 42-31 and were playing with all the momentum.

The second half, however, was a different story. Wisconsin once again came out strong, but this time the Buckeyes fought back with more intensity. In the first 10 minutes of the second half, Ohio State shut down the Badgers, allowing them to make only four field goals and causing them to force bad shots.

�I don�t we think we liked who we were in the first half, and I think to their credit they stepped up,� Foster said. �I thought we had terrific senior leadership, and I thought Jantel decided that she was going to really go after the ball aggressively. I think both of those things helped us immensely.�

The Buckeyes wiped away the 11-point deficit and outscored the Badgers 19-10 to gain a 10-point lead with 10:01 remaining in the game. During that time, Ohio State relied on Lavender�s post play, which dominated the Badgers in the second half.

�I don�t know if our energy totally disappeared � I mean we were still talking,� Banks said. �We just didn�t make good decisions so I think that � people were getting a little tense.�

After the 10-minute drought, the Badgers cut the lead to four points with 6:12 remaining.

�I am very proud of our team,� UW head coach Lisa Stone said. �We dug down and went with a small lineup at the end just to try and get some things going and attack the basket, and we would have done things the same way.�

The smaller lineup worked well for the Badgers, who eventually cut the Buckeye lead to only one point with 16 seconds left in the game. After Buckeye guard Shavelle Little hit two free throws with 15 seconds remaining, the stage was set for Anderson�s final shot.

With the clock winding down, Anderson looked for an opening, but forced an off-balanced 3-pointer. Luckily, freshman guard Alyssa Karel grabbed the rebound and passed it back to Anderson, who this time had an open look. But her shot went off the back iron as time expired.

�I should�ve made at least one of them,� Anderson said. �I think one of them should�ve went in, but it didn�t, so we just gotta move on. I had two great looks, and I just should have made it. That�s what it comes down to.�

Banks and Anderson finished with 22 and 20 points for the Badgers, respectively, but were unsuccessful in rallying the team to a victory over the Buckeyes.

Despite the heartbreaking loss, Stone�s team will look to continue to improve and take the positives away from its loss against Ohio State.

�We have to pick up the pieces and go back and get Illinois here,� Stone said. �Again, I hope our fans see how hard these kids play and how well they play together, and [that the fans] are looking forward to taking the good things from this game into the game against Illinois on Thursday.�