UW upsets No. 6 Baylor for Paradise Jam title

Nov. 29, 2008 ST. THOMAS, Virgin Islands – Alyssa Karel made the game-winning shot with seven seconds remaining to lead the Wisconsin women's basketball team to a 59-58 upset over No. 6/7 Baylor on Saturday afternoon. The Badgers (5-1) win the Island Division of the Paradise Jam, their first tournament title since winning the 2006 Lady Rebel Shootout in Las Vegas. It was also the highest-ranked team the Badgers have defeated in head coach Lisa Stone's tenure. "I'm just so emotional, I can't even stand it," said Stone. "I'm so proud of my entire team. This was a great trip. This capped off some beautiful weather and a Paradise Jam championship." The win was Wisconsin's first over a top-10 opponent since defeating then-No. 7 Purdue, 71-59, on Dec. 28, 2001 and the first time Wisconsin has beaten a ranked team since Feb. 19, 2006, when it upset No. 17 Minnesota, 67-61. "This team and their identity has surfaced; I'm so proud of them," said Stone. "From a defensive standpoint, we did what we had to do. We got one stop, they go to the free throw line. They had to make a play and we had to make a play. My team was just outstanding and this is just a great lift for us right now." The Badgers rallied from a 10-point deficit in the second half to take their first lead of the game with just seven seconds left. After Mariah Dunham hit one of two free throws to put the Badgers within one with 53 seconds left, Karel nailed a jumper to put Wisconsin up 59-58. Baylor had one last chance and missed a jumper but Melissa Jones grabbed the offensive rebound, attempted the putback and was fouled by Lin Zastrow with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Jones had the chance to win or tie the game with two free throws. Jones missed both as the Badgers celebrated their fifth straight win and Paradise Jam championship title. Karel earned tournament MVP honors and was joined on the all-tournament team by junior guard Rae Lin D'Alie. Karel, who has scored double figures in every game this season,  led the Badgers in scoring every game during the jam, including her 15 points against Baylor. Karel also finished with five rebounds, two assists and two steals. D'Alie finished with six rebounds, four points, a rebound and an assist. Zastrow also finished in double figures with 10 points, nine of which came in the second half, and grabbed five rebounds, had two blocks and two steals. Junior forward Mariah Dunham had a standout game off the bench, scoring 11 points, grabbing four rebounds and had one block. Teah Gant also contributed offensively with eight points and went a perfect 6-of-6 from the line. The Badgers shot 35.5 percent from the field but stood strong at the free throw line, connecting on 18-of-21 attempts for 85.7 percent. The Badgers clamped down on defense and held pre-season first-team All-American Rachel Allison to just nine points and seven rebounds. Danielle Wilson led the Bears with 18 points, 12 of which came in the first half, and 10 rebounds while Jhasmin Player chipped in 13 points. Baylor, who was averaging 78.7 points per game before tonight, shot just 37 percent for the game. "We rotated a lot of different people on (Rachel Allison)," said Stone." I thought Mariah, Tara and Ashley did a great job on her, but our team did as well." Baylor won the battle on the boards, 39-32 but Wisconsin had fewer turnovers than the Bears finishing with the 15-19 advantage. Wisconsin played Baylor close in the first half but the Bears were powerful in the post and managed to score 16 points in the paint by the end of the first half. Baylor led by as many as 10 points in the first half but the Badgers pulled within four after a layup by Dunham before Baylor took the six-point lead after a tip-in as time expired heading into halftime. In the second half, Zastrow came on strong and scored seven straight points to put the Badgers within five at 35-30. Baylor then managed to jump out to a 10-point lead twice midway through the game but that would be its biggest lead of the night. Wisconsin chipped away at the lead and pulled within three off a layup by D'Alie in the paint to put the score at 54-51 with 3:19 left in the game. Baylor managed to jump back out to a five-point lead but a 3-pointer by Karel with 1:37 left in the game put the Badgers within two at 58-56. Baylor was scoreless the rest of the way and turned the ball over with 1:22 left to play. The turnover led to a steal by Karel, which set up a missed 3-pointer by Gant. Dunham grabbed the rebound, was fouled and went to the line. Dunham missed the first but nailed the second to put the score at 58-57 in favor of Baylor with 53 seconds left. Baylor came down on its next possession and Player missed a 3-pointer. Wisconsin took a timeout with 23 seconds left and ran a play to Karel, which resulted in a made jumper on the left side to give Wisconsin its first and only lead of the game at 59-58. Jones went to the line with 0.5 seconds left, missed the free throws and Dunham grabbed the rebound for the Badgers' big win. "We got it down to one (point)," said Stone of her team's strategy. "We went a little bit early but that's okay. We said eight or 10 (seconds left on the clock) and we went about 12. Alyssa made a great play (and) we take it when we can get it. We wanted to use the clock. We wanted to give us enough time to get an offensive rebound. "Unfortunately, they got it in quick and came back down but I'm really proud of our team. That's a great Baylor team." Wisconsin returns home tomorrow from the Paradise Jam and be sure to check back to UWBadgers.com for a final blog from the trip. The Badgers return to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. against in-state rival, UW-Milwaukee.