Ronnie Porter’s, Natalie Leuzinger’s big nights lead our takeaways from UW hoop’s second win

MADISON – As promising as Serah Williams might be, it’s unrealistic to think she’ll be able to lead the Wisconsin women’s basketball every night.

Thursday we got a glimpse at what the Badgers could look like in those games when the 6-foot-4 forward doesn’t have her typical production.

It didn’t look too bad.

The Badgers got career scoring highs from sophomore guard Ronnie Porter and senior guard Natalie Leuzinger and had four players in double figures overall in a 74-52 victory over Western Illinois in front of a crowd of 3,058 at the Kohl Center.

Leuzinger scored a career-high 13 points. She hit 4 of 10 shots and was 3 for 9 from three-point range. She entered the day with just 5 for 20 three-point range for her career.

The 5-foot-4 Porter raised her career-high to 12 points while also establishing career bests in rebounds (13) and steals (five).

Wisconsin also got double-digit efforts from senior Brooke Schramek (10) and sophomore Sania Copeland (10). Freshman point guard D’Yanis Jimenez (nine points, five assists) had a solid second game and freshman forward Tessa Grady came off the bench late to go 3 for 3 from three-point range in just 3 ½ minutes of action

Seven players in all had at least seven points with two of team’s lesser-heralded players leading the way,

“I can confidently say (Ronnie has) been underestimated her whole life due to her size and that wasn’t something that deterred me,” Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley said. “She’s a true competitor and I think the same thing with Nat.

“The two of them to set the tone for us in a game when you’ve got to be alert all the time. When you play a team that runs motion for 40 minutes there’s no breaks, no set plays. Your head has to be on a swivel.”

Here are three takeaways from the victory.

Ronnie Porter, a beast on the boards

The beauty of Porter’s career night was that it came as she continued to provide the hustle plays that have helped her earn a spot in the starting lineup.

She hit 5 of 11 shots and recorded three assists. Her rebounding proves height doesn’t always matter when it comes to that statistic. Her quickness helps. So does some stubbornness.

“People don’t look at me like she’s going to get 13 rebounds, so I did,” she said. “For me it’s giving 100 (percent) every possession, never give up on a play. I think that’s what I did.”

Balance shows during key run

The Badgers’ balance was especially evident during a 17-2 run to end the first half. UW went from trailing, 20-17, with 6 minutes 11 seconds left to leading, 34-22, at the break.

Five players scored during the run: Schramek (five), Porter (four), Leuzinger (three), Williams (three) and Jimenez (two).

The streak came after UW survived an early rash of turnovers that contributed to the team’s slow start in the quarter (10 points), a turnaround Copeland believes is a sign of the team’s growing maturity.

“Last year it would have been a different game for us,” Copeland said. “Us being so young and being able to push past adversity and making these runs is really big for us.

Serah Williams makes impact without her usual point production

Williams was still feeling the effects of the hard fall she experienced Tuesday against UWM. She finished with seven points on 3-for-5 shooting.

Despite not being as aggressive as normal offensively, she played 29 minutes grabbed six rebounds. Just having her on the floor helped collapse Western Illinois defense when the Badgers had the ball and when they didn’t her size still impacted play.