COLUMBUS, Ohio — The performance was better.

Unfortunately for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team, it still produced another loss.

And had the Badgers been able to contain Marscilla Packer down the stretch, they might have put a stop to their skid.

In the end, though, UW was left with a 79-74 loss to No. 16 Ohio State Sunday afternoon in a Big Ten Conference game at Value City Arena after Packer scored 20 of her 32 points in the second half to deal the Badgers their fourth straight defeat.

A crowd of 6,312 watched as UW (8-9, 1-6 Big Ten) fell to 1-30 against teams ranked in The Associated Press Top 25 under fifth-year coach Lisa Stone.

It was also the Badgers' 11th straight loss to the Buckeyes (15-3, 6-1), and put UW — a team expected to challenge three-time defending conference champion Ohio State for the Big Ten title — in an even bigger hole in the league standings.

"To come in here and battle to a five-point loss, there's a bit of a moral victory," Stone said in her postgame radio interview. "This hopefully is a turning point for us, because we put ourselves in a position to win once again and just couldn't close the door, along with a great performance by Marscilla Packer."

The Badgers, who trailed by seven at halftime after falling behind by as much as 11 in the first half, tied the game at 55 on freshman forward Lin Zastrow's basket in the post with 8 minutes, 13 seconds left.

But Buckeyes freshman center Jantel Lavender answered with a 3-point play on the next possession, and Packer followed it up by drilling a 3-pointer to give Ohio State (15-3, 6-1) a 61-55 lead.

"When she got a little rhythm going, they were going to her," Stone said of Packer, who hit six of her eight 3-point attempts.

Another bucket by Zastrow, who scored 13 of her career-high 15 points in the second half, cut the Badgers' deficit to 64-61 with 4:50 to go. But UW couldn't get the stops it needed down the stretch to pull off the upset.

It didn't help, either, that the Buckeyes made nine of the 11 free throws they attempted after Zastrow's basket.

Lavender added 21 points and 13 rebounds for Ohio State, which won its sixth straight. Senior guard Janese Banks led UW with 18 points, and senior guard Jolene Anderson had 16.

But Anderson, the Big Ten's leading scorer, shot just 7-for-22 and didn't make any of her five 3-point attempts.

"We just wanted to make it difficult on her and not give her any open looks," Packer said. "She's a great player and she can hurt you if you don't know where she is at all times."

Now the Badgers must produce a similar performance Thursday, when they host Penn State at the Kohl Center — and try to actually pull off a win.

"I think there's some satisfaction in that locker room," Stone said. "They really laid it on the line and felt that they could win. You're in an environment that's on the road and we battled.''