The Wisconsin Badgers edged past the Harvard Crimson Tide 64-61 in overtime on Thursday to move forward in the WBIT, as they had an impressive comeback in the final minute of regulation to keep their season alive.
Trailing 54-46 with 46 seconds left after failing to score a point for nearly four minutes, Wisconsin found a way to mount a comeback and tie things at 56 apiece at the end of regulation. The comeback started with a Kyrah Daniels three-pointer to cut the lead to five with 43 seconds left.
Then, after a pair of Harvard free throws, Daniels hit another three with 29 seconds left to cut the lead back to four.
Then, Lacy Steele forced a turnover, leading to a Dorja Zaja layup, and suddenly, the lead was down to 56-54 with 22 seconds left. There, once again, the Badgers forced another turnover, this time thanks to a Ronnie Porter steal, and Robin Pingeton called timeout with 15 seconds left with a chance to win or tie.
Coming out of the timeout, Destiny Howell got a layup, and the Badgers forced a Harvard miss to get the game to overtime. It was a struggle to score in overtime, and Harvard had a 61-60 lead with 1:53 left after Saniyah Glenn went 1 for 2 at the free throw line.
The Badgers retook the lead with a Dorja Zaja layup, getting ahead 62-61 with 1:13 left. Harvard didn’t score from that point on, as Wisconsin got a number of key stops to eventually win 64-61 and punch their ticket into the WBIT Semifinals.
Gift Uchenna led the way with 17 points for the Badgers on 8 of 13 from the field. Kyrah Daniels added 15 and Destiny Howell had 13 as well.
Now, Wisconsin will take on Columbia in the WBIT semifinals on Monday, with tip-off set for 1:30 p.m. at the Charles Koch Arena in Wichita, Kansas. On the other side of the bracket, Kansas takes on BYU, with the two winners meeting in the championship game on Wednesday.
Wisconsin still has a losing record on the season at 16-17, but they’ve found a way to have some late-season magic with three straight wins in the WBIT.
