The Wisconsin women’s basketball team started slow but finished strong, beating UW-Whitewater 70-54 in their exhibition opener at the Kohl Center on Thursday night.
It was the head coaching debut for Bobbie Kelsey, who saw her team fall behind 17-10 early. But the Badgers went on a 20-0 run to take a 30-17 lead with 5:57 left in the first half.
Whitewater climbed back to within 6-points with 13:19 left to play in the game, but the Badgers went on a 6-0 run to stop the threat.
Ashley Thomas had 17 points to lead the Badgers. Whitewater got 15 points from Kaitlyn Thill.
The Badgers shot 52% from the field and held the Warhawks to 28%.
Wisconsin returns to the Kohl Center on Sunday to wrap up exhibition play against UW-Parkside. Tip time is 1pm.