In some ways, you could call it a New Year's resolution.

Alyssa Karel wasn't thinking that long term when she offered it up Wednesday night, but she'd certainly like to see the effects last for a while.

Just before the best performance of her young career with the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team, the freshman guard was huddled up with the Badgers' other bench players, who were each saying what they would add to the team that night.

And when you consider the rough patch Karel was coming off, her contribution — to play without fear —was a fairly bold one.

She wasn't going to worry about making mistakes when she got on the court, a considerable task for a freshman point guard on a team that's struggled with turnovers at times this season. She wasn't going to settle for making the easy, safe passes.

Karel knew that had been the case in UW's first two Big Ten Conference games, disappointing losses at Purdue and Illinois in which she played just 14 minutes combined, going 1-for-5 for two points with one assist and no turnovers.

But in Wednesday's 84-71 win over Michigan State at the Kohl Center, Karel was aggressive on both ends of the court on her way to a career-high 19 points and three steals in 18 minutes of action.

"After that one, I'm feeling a little bit better," said Karel, who has played in all 13 of UW's games, averaging 4.8 points per game.

Karel flashed her potential right away this season, combining for 27 points in the Badgers' two exhibition games — second only to senior guard Jolene Anderson — as well as four steals and nine assists versus three turnovers.

The start of the regular season brought with it some rough performances — Karel was averaging just 2.5 points per game and had 15 turnovers through the first six games.

And just when she was starting to settle in, with 26 points in a four-game stretch, then came conference play.

"There's been a lot of ups and downs this season," Karel said.

UW coach Lisa Stone challenged Karel to be more offensive-minded last week, and she certainly was against Michigan State. The athletic Karel flourished in the Badgers' up-tempo approach, using her speed to get easy scores in transition — eight of her points came on layups — and build her confidence.

"She went out there and she was fearless," said UW freshman forward Tara Steinbauer, Karel's former AAU teammate and close friend. "She lit it up."

Karel made eight of her 11 shots, including three of four from 3-point range, and was on the floor when the Badgers made a run midway through the second half to separate themselves from the Spartans.

"I just think she's held back a little bit," said Stone, who also used Karel some at shooting guard alongside starting point guard Rae Lin D'Alie. "And I'm hoping this last game was just a huge breakout for her."

UW (8-5 overall, 1-2 Big Ten) could certainly use more of the same from Karel when it plays Minnesota (11-4, 2-1) Monday night at the Kohl Center in a game the Badgers need to win to avoid falling too far behind in the Big Ten race. And Karel, a native of St. Paul, Minn., would love to play well against the team she grew up watching.

"I hope (Wednesday was) a turning point," she said. "I guess we're going to have to see."