Wisconsin’s Marisa Moseley accepts challenge new B1G format creates
Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Marisa Moseley gives her thoughts on the Big Ten’s new scheduling format starting next year with the addition of several new teams.
MADISON – In Serah Williams, the Wisconsin women’s basketball team has its star.
Ronnie Porter gives the team its grit.
How else would you describe someone who at 5-foot-4 was one of three players in the Big Ten to rank among the top 20 in assists and rebounds. She was so indispensable to the Badgers that she played 35 minutes per game, the second-best average in the league.
For a program like Wisconsin that is trying to climb from the depths of the Big Ten, finding players like Porter, a former walk-on who has performed well beyond their recruiting grade, is crucial.
She set the bar high last season. It’s time to raise it again.
“I think she understands more of what our team needs from her as a junior,” Badgers coach Marisa Moseley said. “I think she wants that responsibility more than she could understand (her first two years).”
At this time a year ago, Porter was one of the many questions surrounding the Badgers. She played in 27 games as a freshman, but with 6.8 minutes of action per game was far from a key player. That she would play more than 1,100 minutes didn’t seem realistic.
A year later it’s hard to imagine the team playing well without her.
The Badgers will have deeper, more talented team this season
Year 2 as the Badgers’ point guard will bring a new set of challenges. There are seven new players, including two transfers who are expected to be key pieces of the rotation. The sophomore class that showed promise last season returned almost entirely.
On paper the 2024-25 Badgers could be the deepest of coach Marisa Moseley’s four seasons. What was needed from Porter last year might not exactly be the same this year.
That said, when the Badgers open the season at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday against Wright State at the Kohl Center, she’ll be a much surer version of herself.
“I would say a year ago in this position was definitely nervous,” Porter said. “I didn’t play (much) freshman year, so going into sophomore year knowing I had that starter role, that 40-minute role, was something that got to me mentally. Not in a bad way, just that I had to focus a lot more than I did freshman year because I didn’t have nobody to watch over me. I was that person people watched for and looked up to.”
It didn’t take long for Porter to establish herself. After playing 184 minutes as a freshman, she was on the floor for 36½ minutes in the season-opening win over UW-Milwaukee. Two days later she posted a double-double, finishing with 12 points and 13 rebounds, in a victory over Western Illinois. And then in the third game she scored a then-career-high 17 points and tied her career-high with five steals against South Dakota State.
Each opportunity Porter showcased different aspects of her game. It was clear very early in the season that Porter was a player that could not be kept off the floor.
“Once a few games got going and me knowing myself and what I’m capable of, it got to me that I can do this,” she said. “I can be here just as much as any other point guard in the country.”
Porter went from little used reserve to all-Big Ten selection
Porter finished her sophomore season second on the team in scoring (10.6 ppg), second in rebounds (5.5 rpg) and tops in assists (4.1 agp) and steals (1.9 spg).
She received honorable mention all-Big Ten.
Moselely believes Porter has more to offer the team this year.
“She’s always been a scoring point guard, but I think she’s understanding there can be a mix of scoring and facilitating that we need from her and also she can be much more of an impact on the defensive end than she has been in the past,” Moseley said. “She would get after people and she could steal it when she was on the ball, but in her off-the-ball defense we’re challenging her to be more involved.”
Moseley also expects Porter to continue to grow as a leader and to be an extension of the coach on the floor.
That’s fine with Porter. As much as any skill, she worked on her leadership this offseason with an eye on helping Wisconsin continues its rise in the Big Ten. Last year the Badgers finished 15-17 with a 6-12 mark in the Big Ten.
She says she likes the want in this group. She is seeing teammates who are showing they want to get help the program take another step.
“I am excited,” she said. “This group is special. Everyone comes and brings something different and we can look to each player to make a game-winning play. That’s the best part of this.”
