Junior Serah Williams finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Badgers in an 80-69 loss to the Buckeyes Thursday night at the Kohl Center..

John Tonje scored 17 points and No. 24 Wisconsin staved off a late rally by Ohio State, extending its winning streak to six with a 70-68 victory Tuesday night.

Junior Serah Williams finished with 20 points and 17 rebounds for the Badgers, who lost, 80-69, to the Buckeyes Thursday night.

Mar 26, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler motions to his team during the first half of the NIT quarterfinals against the Georgia Bulldogs at Value City Arena. Credit: Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch-USA TODAY NETWORK

The Badgers' second straight push against a top-10 team petered out against the undefeated Buckeyes. Here's what stood out.

Ohio State women's basketball limited turnovers and played tough defense at Wisconsin. The Buckeyes are now 17-0.

First, Wisconsin entered with red-hot momentum after three consecutive decisive conference wins. The Badgers had a real chance to rise in the standings with a win. Second, and more significantly, Ohio State is better than its record shows. The team is No. 32 in KenPom and No. 29 in the NET (making that a Quad 1 win).

The Badgers had to battle through shooting struggles after a hot start Tuesday night, but they managed enough to hold on for their sixth straight win.

Cambridge, who entered averaging 14.5 points, shot 11 of 16 from the field and added a career-high eight rebounds.

BOX SCORE:Wisconsin 70, Ohio State 68 The story of the night, however, was the Badgers ability to get to the free throw line and cash in. They finished the night 25 for 28, their third-highest ...

Rating metrics hold their optimistic outlook for the Badgers after its win over a highly-ranked Buckeyes team. Wisconsin remains in the Big Ten’s top tier in both KenPom and ESPN BPI: KenPom: No. 21 overall (same ranking as it held after the Minnesota win) and No. 5 in the Big Ten, with the No. 12 offense and No. 50 defense in the country.

In a back-and-forth contest where neither team could cut into or extend the lead, carelessness with the basketball proved to be the difference maker. No. 9 Ohio State (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) fought off multiple strong pushes from Wisconsin (10-8,