D'Yanis Jimenez's strong debut and three other takeaways from UW basketball's win over UWM

MADISON – This was a day for promising starts.

The Wisconsin women’s basketball team opened the season with a 62-51 victory over UW-Milwaukee on Tuesday night in front of 3,120 at the Kohl Center that was fueled by 64% shooting in the first quarter, a rock-solid debut by point guard D’Yanis Jimenez and a first-half double-double by sophomore forward Serah Williams.

Williams finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds, going for 12 and 10 in the first half. Jimenez came through with 16 points, five rebounds and three assists and hit five of six from the free throw line. UW also got 10 points on 4-of-4 shooting off the bench from sophomore guard Sania Copeland, who had been sidelined for a good portion of the preseason due to injury.

“I think it’s pretty well documented that we have a very young team and in a situation where a really tough Milwaukee team continues to keep coming, we found a way to win,” Badgers coach Marisa Moseley said. “I can’t say that in every situation that we’ve had in the past that would have been the outcome of that game and so I’m really proud of his team.”

Here are four takeaways from the win.

D'Yanis Jimenez's debut was impressive

Wisconsin is going to need other scoring options besides Williams. Jimenez, though a freshman, has the skillset to help.

The 5-foot-8 Florida native was strong off the dribble and scored in a handful of ways from a step-back three-pointer to a runner in transition to beating defenders off the dribble in the half-court.

She was also clutch in the fourth quarter. UWM, which trailed by as many as 15 points in the final quarter, trimmed the lead to 56-51 with 66 seconds to play.

Jimenez, however, went 4 for 4 from the line during the final minute to seal the win.

“One of the things we talked about is end-of-game situations," Moseley said. "When teams foul, who is going to have the ball in their hands and she wasn’t panicked in trying to get rid of it, knowing time and score they were going to come after her. I’m really proud of her to have that poise and step up.”

Increased pace of play leads to more turnovers

The Badgers hope to push the pace this season. Part of the growing pains of playing faster is probably going to be turnovers. The team had 14 in the first half and 26 for the game.

UWM converted those turnovers into 22 points.

Williams was the biggest offenders, but Jimenez and sophomore guard Ronnie Porter, the team’s primary ball-handlers had five and four, respectively.

Hard fall doesn’t keep Serah Williams down

Williams suffered an ugly fall in the second quarter when she bit on a pump and can down awkwardly before landing on her back. She received treatment on the floor for a few minutes before briefly leaving the bench .

She returned quickly and missed only about a minute of game time, but you have to wonder what lingering effect there was from the crash to the floor.

Before the fall, she was 4 of 5 shooting and 2 for 2 from the line. After the fall she was 2 for 9 from the floor and 3 for 8 from the line.

“It definitely inhibited me a little bit in how aggressive I could have played, but that’s it,” she said.

Sania Copeland contributes in her return

Copeland, who didn’t play in the exhibition game, established a career-high with 10 points and equaled a career best with four assists. She was 4 for 4 from the floor, including two buckets from three-point range.

“This year I want to make a statement that I can score, too because last year I was more of a defender,” Copeland said. “I want to make an impact on the offensive side as well this year. It was really a boost of confidence for me.”