Nice win

The Badger women's basketball team didn't just get a win on Monday night.

They got the signature win that the Badger faithful have been waiting for ever since Lisa Stone arrived on campus.

The nailbiting win over No. 6-ranked Baylor was eyebrow raising but the 62-54 pounding the Badgers gave to Minnesota, a perennial Big Ten contender, was awe-inspiring.

Wisconsin kept Emily Fox, one of the conference's most talented guards frustrated all night with a one-for-14 shooting effort from the floor, including zero-for-four from beyond the arc.

The Badgers really proved a lot to me tonight. They proved they can withstand a three-point flurry by Minnesota after the Gophers sprinted out to a 13-point lead with 12:56 left in the first half. They proved they can play with a lead, as evidenced by their impressive 11-for-14 shooting from the free throw line in the second half. And most importantly, they proved that they belong.

Often the doormats of the Big Ten, Wisconsin has never been more than a minor blip on the championship radar of teams with the pedigree of Purdue and even Minnesota.

But this game not only proved something to themselves but it also put the rest of the conference on notice. Other teams won't be able to circle Wisconsin as a 'W' anymore. They will have to account for the great inside presence of Mariah Dunham, who outblocked every Gopher 5-2. And they will have to locate Alyssa Karel, who was three-for-five from three-point land in 39 minutes.

Judging from its 19 turnovers, this team still hasn't hit its stride, but when it does, they're going to be awfully good.