MADISON, WISC. - Tuesday's 88-45 loss inside H. Douglas Redsten Gymnasium to in-state and Region 4 rival Milwaukee Area Technical College brought the 2023-24 Madison College women's basketball season to a close. The WolfPack, who played the entire second half of the season with just five players, finished with a 1-24 record. First year head coach Angel Whetstone will say goodbye to sophomore guard Kaylee Anzalone and Kayla Staveness, as well as to a trio of women's soccer players, Tazhia Aune, Mirella Zielke, and Kialee Fox, who stepped up to join the team and keep the season going. Tuesday's meeting also included a Breast Cancer Awareness Night, with Madison College recognizing the continued fight to find a cure through donations to the Kay Yow Cancer Fund.

"I am extremely grateful to this group for persisting through challenges this season and working together," stated Whetstone. "I hope that they will carry the lessons from this season and apply them to any future life obstacles they may face. Knowing that they can get through any challenges life throws at them."

Staveness got the WolfPack started with an early three-pointer to give the home team a 3-2 edge 75 seconds into the game. Unfortunately, Milwaukee Tech (17-9) finished the first quarter with a 22-8 lead. Anzalone scored five early points in the second quarter, while Staveness took advantage of three trips to the free throw line to make it a 44-21 differential at the half. The third quarter proved to be a challenge for Madison College, with only an Aune triple and a Fox free throw to bookend a 16-0 run for the Stormers. The WolfPack rebounded in the fourth quarter, scoring 20 points and getting 17 of those from Staveness.



The 5'3" native of Rio, Wisconsin, registered 29 points and sank three of her nine baskets from beyond the arc. The returning all-region honoree was also 8 for 12 at the charity stripe, where she currently ranks second in NJCAA Division II with 138 made free throws. Staveness closes out the season 443 points and a 17.1 per game average to reach 641 for her career. Over 53 career games, she averaged 12.1 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.6 assists.

Anzalone, an Elkhorn, Wisconsin, native, finished with five points, three rebounds, and a team-high eight assists. For the season, she averaged 7.3 points, 5.3 boards, and 4.3 assists, the last of which ranks sixth in Region 4. Anzalone departs Madison College with career averages of 6.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.3 assists

Fox, a forward from Arlington, Wisconsin, had four points and a career-high 15 rebounds, while Zielke, a guard from Edgerton, Wisconsin, racked up four points and career-high-tying ten boards. Aune, a second year guard from Winona, Minnesota, posted three points, two steals, one rebound, and one assist.

Madison College still boasts a 75-18 lead in the all-time series with MATC-Milwaukee, however, the Stormers have now won four consecutive games in the rivalry that dates back to 1978. 

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