Wisconsin
No. 8 Ohio State women records a program record in a victory over Wisconsin
After two close road matchups in which Ohio State allowed two unranked Big Ten opponents to hang around until late in the game, the Buckeyes made sure to shut down that trend Thursday at Value City Arena.
Holding a five-point lead going into halftime against Wisconsin, Ohio State put up 39 points in the third quarter, compared to the Badgers’ 11. This effort tied the OSU program record for most points in a quarter, previously set in November 2021, and helped secure the 87-49 victory.
“We came out at halftime, I thought we really moved the ball, made the extra pass,” Buckeyes’ coach Kevin McGuff said. “And it led to a lot of really open shots.”
Other than Taiyier Parks, every Buckeye who entered the game scored. Further proof this was a collective effort came in Ohio State’s 24 assists.
Cotie McMahon opened up the matchup for Ohio State with the team’s first five points, building on the strong performances the sophomore has been putting together since her career game against Iowa on Jan. 21. McMahon finished with a double-double, 15 points and 10 rebounds.
The first quarter was tit for tat with each team having an answer for the other on multiple occasions, whether in the form of a made layup or a forced turnover, and the Badgers held a 16-15 advantage after the first 10 minutes of play.
Wisconsin’s six offensive boards over that span helped lead to nine second chance points. Meanwhile, Ohio State recorded six rebounds overall in that time period. During halftime, McGuff made his thoughts on the team’s play clear.
“He just said firstly, get ourselves together because we were not playing to our capabilities,” OSU guard Madison Greene said. “But I feel like what he said, motivated us to play better.”
The Buckeyes’ biggest challenge was containing Wisconsin’s 6-foot-4 forward Serah Williams in the post. McGuff tried several different match ups, particularly relying on forwards Rebeka Mikulasikova, Eboni Walker and Parks.
Williams recorded 12 points and eight rebounds in the first half but was limited to four points and three rebounds the remained of the night.
In the second quarter, the Buckeyes started to find more success on the boards, outrebounding the Badgers 11-9. McMahon grabbed multiple rebounds in key moments to put an end to the back-and-forth nature of the game and help Ohio State pull ahead 31-26 before halftime.
“She’s really locked in on rebounding right now,” McGuff said in regard to McMahon. “Her effort on the boards, it’s terrific… We need that because sometimes that can be an issue for us.”
After being fairly limited in minutes following a solid outing against Northwestern at the beginning of January, Walker provided a bit of a spark late the half, scoring four of the Buckeyes’ six points in the final three minutes.
With Ohio State’s signature press starting to click in the second half, monument started to build on the defensive end and carried over on the offensive side of the ball.
Jacy Sheldon scored 11 of her 17 points in the third quarter, and the Buckeyes forced the Badgers to commit 12 turnovers in that stretch, which is more than the number of points they scored. Wisconsin had 27 giveaways in the game. Ohio State limited their total to 8.
“Our press is our identity,” Walker said. “So, I feel like when we start getting those steals and we get a steal and an ‘and-one’ and Jacy dives on the ground and we get another ‘and-one.’ It’s just little things like that we love for each other.”
Ohio State shot 16 for 24 from field goal range during the third quarter while holding Wisconsin to eight field goal attempts.
Ohio State’s next game pits the No. 8 Buckeyes against the visiting Indiana Hoosiers, who are ranked No. 10 nationally, at noon on Sunday.
bmackay@dispatch.com
In a bit of a surprise, Wisconsin Badgers starting center Jake Renfro is using a medical hardship year and entering the transfer portal for his final season of eligibility.
Renfro, a sixth-year senior in 2024, battled numerous injuries this season, limiting him to only four games after having season-ending surgery. He was a full-time starter for Wisconsin in 2024 after missing the entire 2023 season except for the team’s bowl game due to injury.
Prior to his time at Wisconsin, Renfro had played for head coach Luke Fickell at Cincinnati for three seasons. He played in seven games as a freshman in 2020, making six starts at center. He then was the full-time starter as a sophomore in 2021, earning All-AAC honors before missing the entire 2022 season due to injury.
Now, he’s set to come back to college football for a seventh year, rather than turn pro, and will look to do so at another school.
“I want to thank Coach Fickell, the entire coaching and training staff, my teammates, and the University of Wisconsin for everything over the past three seasons,” Renfro wrote. “I am grateful for the support, development, friendships, and memories I have made during my time in Madison. After much prayer and consideration, I have decided to enter the transfer portal and use a medical hardship year to continue my college football journey. I will always appreciate my time as a Badger.”
Renfro was one of the biggest supporters of Fickell publicly, being a vocal leader on the team as the starting center.
With his departure, Wisconsin could need a new starting left tackle, left guard, and center next season, depending on whether Joe Brunner heads to the NFL or returns for another season.
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield discusses tournament win
Wisconsin volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield commented on the Badgers’ ‘huge’ win over North Carolina in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
MADISON — It did not take long for Alicia Andrew to text her younger sister after watching the NCAA volleyball selection show with her Wisconsin teammates in a lounge area in the south end zone of Camp Randall Stadium.
“I was like, ‘Girl!’” Andrew said. “She’s like, ‘I know! I’ll see you in Texas! And I was like, ‘I’m so excited!’”
Andrew will not see her younger sister in the Gregory Gym stands like any other family members, but rather on the court as an opposing player in the Badgers’ NCAA tournament regional semifinal match against Stanford.
Alicia Andrew is a 6-foot-3 redshirt senior middle blocker for Wisconsin. Lizzy Andrew is a 6-foot-5 sophomore middle blocker for Stanford. The sisters will play against each other for the first time with a spot in the NCAA regional finals on the line.
“Certainly when you’re having two high-level Division I starters on teams that are top five, top 10 in the country playing the same position, that’s pretty unique,” Wisconsin coach Kelly Sheffield said. “They’re both talented and competitive. But I also know that the players aren’t going to make it about themselves or the person that’s on the other side of the net. They’re parts of teams that are trying to move on and move forward and play great volley.”
Alicia has naturally fielded questions about the sibling rivalry, but she is “not reading too much into rivalry stuff and just playing this sport.”
“It’s another game,” she said after a recent UW practice. “Yes, it’s her across the net. But it’s a business. We both want to move on to the next round.”
Both players have played key parts in their respective teams’ path to this stage.
Alicia, after transferring from Baylor, is the only UW player to appear in all 98 sets this season and one of five to appear in all 30 matches. She is second on the team with 111 blocks, barely trailing fellow middle blocker Carter Booth’s 119.
“Really wants to be good for the people around her,” Sheffield said of Alicia. “Wants to do her job. Takes pride in her job. There’s a maturity, but yet there’s a playfulness that is a really good balance for her. Love coaching her. She’s wired the right way. She really is.”
Lizzy, meanwhile, ranks seventh in the country with a .441 hitting percentage in 2025 after earning a spot on the all-ACC freshman team in 2024. She also has experience playing with the U.S. U21 national team.
“I’m so proud of how hard she worked and her journey to Stanford,” Alicia said. “She puts in so much work, and she just loves the sport of volleyball. And I have loved watching her grow. It’s been fun to see her get better and better every year. And this past season, she’s been playing lights out.”
That pride has turned Alicia into a frequent viewer of ACC volleyball, of course whenever it has not conflicted with the Badgers’ own matches.
“We try to watch as many of each other’s games as we can, and I always just love watching her play,” she said. “I’m so proud of her. She’s just worked her tail off at Stanford, so to see her excel has been so fun.”
The Andrew sisters — Alicia, Lizzy and Natalie, who is on the rowing team at the U.S. Naval Academy — competed together in high school. (They also have a younger brother, William.) Competing against each other is a new concept for them, though.
“We’re not huge trash talkers, neither one of us,” Alicia said. “So I think that she’s going to play her game. I’m going to play my game. We’re going to have our heads down. There might be some looking across and smiling because we make the exact same expressions and quirky faces and reactions.”
The sisters don’t look the same – Lizzy has blonde hair and Alicia has brown hair. But Alicia quickly sees the resemblance with those on-court mannerisms.
“If there’s a silly play or if there is like a really unexpected dump or something, she’ll turn around and make the exact same face that I will,” Alicia said. “And it’s funny watching her on TV because I’m like, ‘Wow, that looks scary familiar.’”
They have some similarities off the court, too.
“We’re just goobers,” Alicia said. “We just like to have a good time together. Obviously she’s my little sister, but we have always been a close family — like all the siblings — so I feel like we’ve done all the things together growing up in all the sports.”
The Andrew parents are perhaps the biggest winners of the NCAA tournament bracket.
“My parents were super excited,” Alicia said. “They don’t have to split the travel plan, so they can save some frequent flyer miles there and both be in Texas. … They’re always trying to coordinate all the schedules.”
The Andrew family made T-shirts for the unique sisterly matchup. (Alicia thinks she is getting one considering they asked her and Lizzy for their shirt sizes in the family group chat.) The shirts are black, too, so there is no favoritism between Wisconsin and Stanford’s variations of cardinal red.
“They have a Stanford ‘S’ and a tree on it and then a Wisconsin ‘W’ and a little Badger on it, too,” Andrew said. “They’re really excited about these shirts. They’re being non-biased; they’re repping both daughters.”
RICHMOND TOWNSHIP, Wis. (FOX 9) – A crash in western Wisconsin killed an 8-year-old boy and seriously injured a 27-year-old Wednesday morning.
Fatal crash in Richmond Township, Wisconsin
What we know:
According to St. Croix County, just before 10 a.m., deputies responded to a crash on the 1500 block of County Road A.
Authorities say that a 27-year-old woman was driving a van southbound, and lost control on an icy curve and collided with another vehicle.
The woman suffered serious injuries from the crash and was taken to the hospital to be treated, law enforcement said. The boy was critically injured, and was also taken to the hospital, where he later died.
Both were wearing seat belts during the crash.
The driver of the other vehicle was treated for minor injuries at the scene and was released.
This is the 10th traffic fatality in St. Croix County.
What we don’t know:
The current condition of the woman is unknown.
The Source: A press release from St. Croix County Sheriff’s Office.
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