Instant analysis: Maty Wilke provides Wisconsin women's basketball a lift

The Beaver Dam native took a redshirt year while recovering from a torn ACL. She was one of the highlights on Friday.

MILWAUKEE — The University of Wisconsin women’s basketball team fell to 1-1 with a 77-63 loss to Kansas State on Friday at American Family Field.

Here are my quick thoughts on the game:

What I liked

It’s great to see UW redshirt freshman Maty Wilke back in action.

Wilke tore the ACL in her right knee during her senior season at Beaver Dam in 2020-21 and sat out her first season with the Badgers.

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But she’s back and adds a lot to this roster, including scoring. Wilke went 7 of 14 from the field against Kansas State to finish with 17 points.

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• UW has some nice newcomers on the roster.

Senior point guard Avery LaBarbera, a transfer from Holy Cross, had 13 points, while freshman center Serah Williams added 12.

Brew City Battle Womens 18.jpg — Wisconsin guard Avery LaBarbera brings the ball up court against Kansas State forward Eliza Maupin Friday during the Brew City Battle at American Family Field in Milwaukee.
JOHN HART, STATE JOURNAL

Williams needs some fine-tuning but she has a ton of talent and should be exciting to watch this season and beyond.

What I didn’t like

UW did a poor job taking care of the ball, finishing with 20 turnovers.

Kansas State’s full-court pressure caused some of the issues for the Badgers, but they also were sloppy with the ball at times.

• UW’s leading scorer last season, Julie Pospisilova, struggled to get in a rhythm against the Wildcats. Pospisilova missed eight of her first 11 shots before getting some easy baskets late in the game to finish 6 of 15.

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She also had a team-high six turnovers.

Oddly enough, UW scored 23 points in the first quarter — and had a 13-point lead at one point — despite Pospisilova only attempting one shot in the opening 10 minutes, a made 3-pointer.

What it means

This was the real first test of the season for the Badgers and, even in a loss, UW coach Marisa Moseley has to be encouraged by what she saw.

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There are plenty of things to clean-up — especially the turnovers and some defensive breakdowns — but this should be an improved team in Year 2 of the Moseley era.