TAYLOR WURTZ
"I do believe there's a difference between a shooter and a scorer," Wurtz said. "My first two years I was just a shooter, a 3-point shoot- er. Now I definitely want to say I'm a scorer.''
practice. She's expecting our best, and she doesn't settle for anything less.'' Wurtz believes that she has become a
That type of commitment makes her parents
— Lud and Jane Wurtz — very proud of her ac- complishments. "You're not going to find any- one who works harder at it than Taylor,'' he said. There's a high degree of perseverance in her game and life that Lud credited to Jane. "The stick-to-itiveness to never accept any-
thing other than first place,'' he said. "In other words that idea you're going to succeed and work hard to succeed. That's what she gets from her mom.'' In most respects, this has been a learning sea- son for Wurtz and her UW teammates. Transi- tions are like that. They've been learning a new discipline under a new coach, Bobbie Kelsey. "When we first met coach Bobbie,'' recalled
Wurtz, "she told us that she was going to squeeze us like lemons and get everything out of us — work us like we've never been worked. "I really admire that in her. She treats every- body the same. She rides everybody the same in
46 » VARSITY FEBRUARY 16, 2012
better player over the course of the sea- son and "I credit all my coaches and team- mates — they've gotten me better every day in practice because we go so hard.'' Even if they don't measure up in terms of personnel, the Badgers are starting to understand what it takes to win. "As a col- lective group,'' Wurtz said, "I think we're learning a lot about each other.'' As one of the upperclassmen, Wurtz accepts
the responsibility of setting the tone for others. "One of the ways that I can lead is by example,'' she said, "because I'm not that vocal.'' Her game speaks volumes. She has led the Badgers in scoring — or shared the team lead in scoring — in 17 of the 24 games this season. So is Wurtz a shooter? Or a scorer? "I do believe there's a differ-
ence between a shooter and a scorer,'' she said. "I feel like a pure shooter is someone like Ray Allen who comes off stag- ger screens and is always ready to shoot.
"A scorer is Kobe Bryant — someone who can put the ball on the floor and score different ways. My first two years I was
» Wurtz has emerged as one of the Bad- gers' top scor- ing threats, leading — or sharing the team lead — in scoring in 17 of the Badgers' 24 games this season.
UF COMMUNICATIONS DAVID STLUKA
