Badgers fall to Wildcats on Theresa Huff Day

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Despite having four players score in double figures, Wisconsin came up short to Northwestern on Sunday afternoon 70-67.

The Badgers welcomed a season-high 8,217 fans to celebrate National Girls & Women in Sports Day and legendary Badger, Theresa Huff.

Freshman Serah Williams scored in double figures for her fifth game in a row, leading the Badgers with 21 points and seven rebounds. Brooke Schramek added 12 points followed by Avery LaBarbera and Maty Wilke who each had 11 points apiece.

Wisconsin opened the game on a 13-0 run and would lead 39-26 at halftime.

Wildcats went on a run of their own, opening the third on a 17-0 stretch to erase Wisconsin’s lead. Northwestern outscored the Badgers 20-11 in the fourth quarter and came away with a three-point victory.

“Obviously not the outcome we wanted,” Head Coach Marisa Moseley said. “But we just have to continue to move forward and clean up our turnovers, and there were some opportunities there to make winning players and we came up a little short.”

At halftime Wisconsin honored Theresa Huff, officially retiring her No. 21 jersey and raising it into the rafters at the Kohl Center.

Huff became the first women’s basketball player in program history to have her jersey retired. She joined Frank Kaminsky (No. 44), Michael Finley (No. 24) and Ab Nicholas (No. 8) from men’s basketball and Mark Johnson from men’s hockey (No. 10) as players to have their uniform number displayed high above the Kohl Center floor.

The ceremony today was 40 years in the making for Huff. Her number was unofficially retired by Edwina Qualls in 1983, prompting Tam Flarup, the former Hall of Fame sports information director, to instruct equipment staffers not to give out the number.

“Bummed I wasn’t out there to see her reaction as it went up into the rafters,” Moseley said. “She just came and spoke to the team for a little bit, talking about the energy and the effort they put forth in the game, and that her grandkids love the team and she will definitely continue to come back. That’s what we want to make sure we do, that the legacy that we continue to pass on. Congratulation to her and we hope that her and her family enjoyed the day.”

Huff is the only Wisconsin women’s basketball player to surpass 1,000 points and rebounds, with 1,879 points and 1,201 rebounds respectively.

Next up the Badgers will return to the Kohl Center on Wednesday night to face No. 2 Ohio State. Tip is set for 6:30 p.m.

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