(UW ATHLETICS) WICHITA, KAN – The Wisconsin women’s basketball season came to an end Monday with a 67-50 loss to Columbia in the 2026 WBIT Semifinals. The Badgers finished the season with a record of 16-18, tallying the team’s most wins since the 2010-11 season.
Destiny Howell (12 points) and Laci Steele (11 points) led the Badgers in scoring. Wisconsin forced 19 turnovers, but was unable to overcome 30.5% shooting, including 5-for-21 (23.8%) from 3-point range.
How it happened:
Wisconsin fell behind early and could never fully regain its footing. Trailing 8-0 to open the game, UW got four baskets from four different Badgers, including a three from Kyrah Daniels and a fast break layup from Gift Uchenna to pull within two at 11-9. Despite the rally, Columbia led 13-9 after the first quarter.
Laci Steele sparked the Badgers in the second quarter with six straight points, but the Lions answered by closing the half on a 13-2 run to take a 32-17 halftime lead.
Destiny Howell scored 7 points in the third quarter, including a deep three that pulled Wisconsin within 11 midway through the third quarter. But every time the Badgers made a run, Columbia seemed to have an answer. Following back-to-back buckets from Shay Bollin, the Lions responded with four points in the final minute to gain a 48-32 lead after three.
The fourth quarter belonged to the Badgers early as they forced five Columbia turnovers and clawed back into the game. A corner three from Lily Krahn punctuated a 7-0 run and pulled UW within 52-44 with 6:52 remaining. But Wisconsin would get no closer, getting out-scored 16-6 in the final 6:30 of play.
Notes to Know
- The Badgers tallied 16 wins in their first season under head coach Robin Pingeton – the second-highest total by a first year head coach record in program history (trailing only Jane Albright’s 20 wins in 1994-95).
- Wisconsin made its first postseason semifinal appearance since 2006-07.
- UW finished the season with a school-record 285 3-pointers.
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