They hadn't found themselves in this situation yet this season -- players such as Rae Lin D'Alie, Tara Steinbauer and Caitlin Gibson.

Sure, the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team has been searching for players other than senior guards Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks to help shoulder some of the scoring load.

But before Tuesday night's game against UW-Milwaukee, the Badgers had yet to happen upon a game in which Anderson, the team's leading scorer the past three seasons who was averaging 24.3 points per game, had struggled.

But with Anderson entering the second half with just three points on 1-for-3 shooting and three turnovers, UW 's supporting cast stepped to the forefront and played a large hand in delivering a 79-59 win over the Panthers.

"I think as a team we needed that just to build everybody else's confidence, like, 'Oh, we can score. We do have the ability to score,' " said D'Alie, a sophomore point guard who was one of the pivotal figures in a 19-5 run to start the second half that the Badgers used to pull away for the win. "And it's good for us and it's definitely going to help us in the long run."

UW (4-3) -- looking for its third straight win when it hosts Air Force (4-4) in a non-conference game Sunday at the Kohl Center -- had three players in double figures against UW-Milwaukee, something the Badgers have done four times this season.

But they got at least eight points from all five of their starters -- the first time that's happened this season -- and nine more from backup guard Alyssa Karel.

And with the Panthers' defense geared to stop Anderson -- they switched on screens and ran multiple players at her -- players like D'Alie (eight points, six rebounds, seven assists and two turnovers), Steinbauer (eight points and three rebounds) and Gibson (four points, two rebounds and a block in just five minutes) took on more of the offensive onus. So, too, did Banks, who scored a team-high 23 points -- her best total of the season and the first time Anderson hadn't paced UW in scoring.

"I just knew that they had to (step up)," said Anderson, who thought the last time she'd only shot the ball three times in a half was probably in grade school. "I think everybody else knew that they had to. So it's just a matter of knowing what they had to do in order to step up."

Anderson, whose previous season-low was 18 points in a loss to Virginia, still managed to extend her streak of scoring in double figures to 36 games after finishing with 11 points on 3-for-12 shooting. And, as UW coach Lisa Stone was quick to point out, the All-America candidate was only one rebound shy of a double-double even on an off night.

But the fact it was players other than Anderson who made key shots is an encouraging sign for the Badgers.

"Jolene plays hard no matter what," said Stone, whose team is 13-21 overall and 5-15 in Big Ten Conference play when Anderson has scored 15 points or fewer in her career. "(Her) shot didn't fall the other day. It'll fall. I'll guarantee it'll fall (today). But other people stepped up. That's really good news for me. So I was pretty happy about that."