Wisconsin

Wisconsin women’s basketball searches for answers after slow start leads to loss to Minnesota

Published

1 year ago

December 31, 2024

Press Room

Wisconsin women’s basketball searches for answers after slow start leads to loss to Minnesota

MADISON – This game of catch up isn’t working for the Wisconsin women’s basketball team.

For the second straight game, a slow start laid the foundation to a Big Ten loss. Tuesday in a New Year’s Eve late afternoon matinee at the Kohl Center the Badgers didn’t have a basket in the first quarter when they fell behind by as many as 21 points.

The result was an uphill climb for the final 30 minutes and in the end a 59-50 loss to Minnesota.

The recipe for defeat included 14 turnovers, seven in each half. Wisconsin also got out-worked on the boards and continued to struggle to get opportunities from three-point range.

As a result the Badgers (10-4 overall, 1-2 in the Big Ten) are searching for answers after getting off to the program’s best 12-game start in 15 years.

“It really starts in practice, everyone coming in hungry,” junior guard Ronnie Porter said. “Our last two games weren’t our best two games. Obviously you’ve seen from the beginning of the season until now a lot has changed and what we were good at we’re not doing now and it’s given us the results we’ve gotten these last two games.”

Wisconsin’s four-game winning streak over the Gophers snapped

Serah Williams, a 6-foot-4 junior forward, finished with 16 points on 7-for-15 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Porter posted 13 points on 4-for-12 shooting, grabbing eight rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Minnesota (14-1, 2-1 Big Ten) never trailed. Three Gophers reached double figures including former Kettle Moraine standout Grace Grocholski, a 5-10 sophomore guard who finished with 12 points, went 2 for 5 from three-point range, and grabbed five rebounds.

Minnesota has played without standout Mara Braun (foot) but even without the 6-foot junior guard the Gophers had plenty of size inside and length across its lineup to make it difficult for Wisconsin to move the ball, get off passes cleanly and clean the boards as well as it would like.

“Honestly I think the biggest thing for us is we’ve killed people on the boards. We had four offensive rebounds (today)” Badgers coach Marisa Moseley said. “For us that is not our game. We’ve got to be able to go get second- and third-chance opportunities, getting to the free throw line.

“Starting down 19 points (after one quarter), you’re not going to win many games like that. I’ll take responsibility. We’ve got to have better starts,”

At Indiana, the Badgers trailed by as many as 15 points in the first quarter before an 11-0 run allowed them to cut the lead to four. The Hoosiers led by 19 at the half.

Tuesday Minnesota enjoyed runs of 10 and 13 straight points in the first quarter. Wisconsin settled into the game in the second quarter, but never enough to pull closer than 13 points. The halftime deficit was 17.

UW had a few chances in the fourth quarter to pull to within 10 but the outcome was never in jeopardy down the stretch.

Cutting turnovers, increasing three-pointers key to improving

As Wisconsin tries to get back on track, two areas will be key.

* Turnovers. Williams finished with six to lead the Badgers for the second straight game. Porter had four for the second straight contest.

Williams has been getting smothered in the paint, which has caused her to attempt a lot of passes through traffic.

“I just think I’ve got to be more patient with it and see the thing develop,” she said.

* Three-point shooting: At one point this season the Badgers had a run of four straight games with at least 20 three-point attempts. Thursday marked fourth straight game they didn’t reach that mark.

UW had 12 attempts against Indiana, six less than its season average, and was on track for that total in the first half Tuesday before going 3 for 11 in the second half when they were playing catch up.

“We know how good we are and how good we can be,” Porter said. “These games just show us what we need to work on. We play in one of the best conferences in the country so it’s just about how we respond and be as one while respond.”

Upcoming Big Ten schedule filled with challenges

Porter isn’t kidding about the Big Ten.

Up next is a trip to west coast to face Oregon on Saturday and Washington on Tuesday. After that comes two games against opponents ranked in the USA Today coaches poll – vs. No. 7 Maryland Jan. 11 and No. 9 Ohio State Jan. 16 – before back-to-back road games at Nebraska Jan. 20 and Minnesota Jan. 26.

“You can’t ride that rollar coaster and be so high then get so low,” Moseley said. “We’ve got to find that midpoint to say, how do we dissect this and how do we get better.

“We’ve got three months to figure this thing out. I told them that’s a lot of time and for us to continue to grow. We’ve made big leaps, but we obviously still have a long way to go to really become the team we want to become.”

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Wisconsin

Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison

Published

6 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

Wisconsin man accused of setting fire to congressman’s office over TikTok ban gets 7 years in prison

MADISON, Wis. — A Wisconsin man who allegedly told police he tried to set fire to a Republican congressman’s office last year because he was angry that the lawmaker backed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese owner to sell off its U.S. operations was sentenced Thursday to seven years in prison.

In addition to the prison time, Fond du Lac County Circuit Judge Tricia Walker sentenced 20-year-old Caiden Stachowicz to seven years of extended supervision, court records show.

Stachowicz, of Menasha, pleaded no contest to an arson charge in November. Prosecutors dropped burglary and property damage counts in exchange for Stachowicz’s no contest plea, which isn’t an admission of guilt but is treated as such for the purposes of sentencing.

Stachowicz’s attorney, Timothy Hogan, didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

According to a criminal complaint, a police officer responded to a fire outside Republican U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman’s office in Fond du Lac, about 55 miles (90 kilometers) northwest of Milwaukee, at around 1 a.m. on Jan. 19, 2025, and saw Stachowicz standing nearby.

He told the officer that he started the fire because he doesn’t like Grothman, according to the complaint. He initially planned to break into the office and start the fire inside but he couldn’t break the window, so he poured gas on an electrical box behind the building and around the front of the building, lit a match and watched it burn, according to the complaint.

He said he wanted to burn down the office because the federal government was shutting down TikTok in violation of his constitutional rights and peace was not longer an option, the complaint states. He added that Grothman voted for the shutdown, but he didn’t want to hurt Grothman or anyone else.

This undated photo provided by the Fond du Lac County Sheriff’s Department and the Fond du Lac County District Attorney’s Office on Nov. 10, 2025, shows Caiden Stachowicz. Credit: AP/Uncredited

Grothman voted for a bill in April 2024 that required TikTok’s China-based company, ByteDance, to sell its U.S. operation. The deadline was Jan. 19, 2025, but President Donald Trump has issued multiple executive orders prolonging it. TikTok finalized a deal two months ago to create an American version of of the social video platform. Trump praised the deal.

A spokesperson for Grothman’s congressional office didn’t immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

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Wisconsin

Carrington scores 18 points to lead Wisconsin’s 78-45 throttling of Maryland

Published

18 hours ago

March 5, 2026

Press Room

MADISON (AP) — Reserve Braeden Carrington scored 18 points, John Blackwell scored 14 points and Wisconsin poured it on in the second half to dismantle Maryland 78-45 on Wednesday night.

Nick Boyd scored 13 points and reserve Austin Rapp scored 11 points for Wisconsin (21-9, 13-6 Big Ten), which had 11 players enter the scoring column.

The Badgers’ Andrew Rohde passed out six of Wisconsin’s 15 assists and didn’t commit a turnover. Wisconsin turned it over only three times.

Andre Mills scored 14 points and Elijah Saunders scored 11 points for Maryland.

Wisconsin turned an already commanding 34-21 first-half stranglehold into a 21-point lead 5 1/2 minutes into the second half. The Badgers shot 48% (27 of 56) and made 42% (13 of 31) from 3-point range. The Badgers scored 44 second-half points.

It was the fewest point Maryland (11-19, 4-15) has ever posted against Wisconsin in the shot-clock era. It was also Maryland’s lowest point total of the season.

Wisconsin has won five of its last seven. Maryland has lost five of its last six.

Up next

Maryland wraps up the regular season hosting 11th-ranked Illinois on Saturday.

Wisconsin ends the regular season at No. 15 Purdue on Saturday.

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Wisconsin

Flood Safety Week runs March 9-13 as Wisconsin braces for a spring swell

Published

1 day ago

March 4, 2026

Press Room

Flood Safety Week runs March 9-13 as Wisconsin braces for a spring swell

(WLUK) — As winter thaws, Wisconsinites are encouraged to think about preparing for potential flooding.

Gov. Evers has declared March 9 -13 as Flood Safety Week in Wisconsin.

During Flood Safety Awareness Week, ReadyWisconsin is asking everyone to review their flooding risk and take proactive steps to protect their families, homes, and businesses before waters rise.

Know your flood risk. Assess the potential for flooding on your property if you live in a flood plain, near a body of water, or have a basement. Plan with your family for what you will do if the floodwaters begin to rise.
Consider flood insurance. Most homeowner, rental, and business insurance policies generally do not cover flooding. Don’t wait until it’s too late. Most flood coverage requires 30 days to take effect. Find more information about flood insurance options here.
Move valuables or mementos out of the basement and store them in waterproof containers.
Elevate or flood-proof your washer, dryer, water heater, and HVAC systems. Relocate electrical outlets to three feet above the floor.
Have copies of important documents (personal identification like passports and birth certificates, medical records, insurance policies, and financial documents) in a waterproof container.
Build a “Go Kit.” Include items such as food, water, cash, and medications.
Make an emergency plan. If you can’t make it home or need to leave quickly, identify a meeting place for your family. Make a list of emergency numbers and important contacts.
Keep water out of and away from your house. Clean gutters regularly, direct downspouts away from your foundation, repair cracks in your foundation, improve grading so water flows away from your house, and cover window wells.

When flooding occurs, keep the following steps in mind:

Stay up to date on the forecast. Identify multiple ways to receive alerts about dangerous weather conditions and potential flooding, such as a NOAA Weather Radio, trusted local news outlets, and mobile weather apps. Enable Wireless Emergency Alerts on your smartphones.
Never drive or walk through flooded areas. Just six inches of fast-moving water can sweep adults off their feet, while just 12 inches can carry away a small car or 24 inches for larger vehicles. Moving water is not the only danger, your vehicle could potentially stall when driving through floodwater.

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Flooding could potentially impact your health as well. Avoid entering floodwaters, which can contain bacteria from human and animal waste, sharp objects, hazardous chemicals, downed power lines, and other dangerous items. If your home floods, follow cleaning and disinfection guidelines to avoid mold growth.

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