Turns out all of it was too good to be true for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team.

The first-half performance that made it appear the Badgers weren't just going to beat Ohio State, but they were going to cruise past the 19th-ranked Buckeyes.

The sloppiness exhibited by Ohio State which led to 12 first-half turnovers.

The shooting clinic UW senior guard Janese Banks put on, nailing all four 3-pointers she attempted on her way to 18 points as the Badgers built an 11-point halftime lead.

It was all negated by what transpired after halftime.

And, in the end, UW was left to digest its 12th straight loss to Ohio State, an 80-77 defeat in a Big Ten Conference game Sunday afternoon in front of a season-high crowd of 9,746 at the Kohl Center.

And this one will probably hurt more than any other setback for the Badgers (11-11, 4-8 Big Ten) this season because despite all of the problems the Badgers encountered -- and created for themselves -- in the second half, they still had a chance at the end.

UW senior guard Jolene Anderson, the Big Ten's leading scorer, got two 3-pointers off in the final 5 seconds, but neither the first -- an off-balance shot from just left of the circle -- or the second -- a hurried shot from nearly the exact same spot after freshman guard Alyssa Karel rebounded the first miss -- could extend the game.

"I had two great looks, and so obviously I just should have made it," said Anderson, who finished with 20 points, but shot just 5-for-17 and didn't make any of her six 3-point tries. "That's what it comes down to."

But those misses weren't what left the Badgers in a tie for ninth place in the conference standings.

They were doomed by a horrendous start to the second half. A basket by Anderson on the first possession pushed the lead to 13, but a rash of turnovers -- UW committed four in a 2-minute, 32-second span -- helped Ohio State string together a 15-2 run to tie it at 46 that included a four-point play by senior guard Marscilla Packer.

Packer, senior forward Tamarah Riley and freshman center Jantel Lavender then powered a 20-9 surge to break the deadlock and give Ohio State (18-6, 9-4) a 66-55 lead with 9:05 to go.

"We turned the ball over, didn't get rebounds and took some crazy shots, which allowed a good team, a very good team, to go on a run," said Badgers coach Lisa Stone, whose team fell to 1-7 in games decided by 10 points or less this season. "And then instead of being in charge, we were in catch up."

Still, UW fought back and pulled within one on senior forward Danielle Ward's layup with 16 seconds left. The Badgers then fouled Buckeyes sophomore guard Shavelle Little, a 46.7 percent free throw shooter entering the game. But she made both shots, setting the stage for Anderson.

"Nervous," Ohio State coach Jim Foster said when asked how he felt about Anderson getting two looks at the tying basket. "I've seen her make shots like that in her sleep."