MINNEAPOLIS — Somehow, some way, the streak continues.

Sloppy ball handling couldn't stop it. Neither could an inability to close the door at the end.

Despite enduring its share of problems, the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team managed to grind out a 59-57 win over Minnesota Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten Conference game in front of a crowd of 9,368 at Williams Arena.

With their fourth straight victory and seventh in nine games, the Badgers (15-11, 8-8 Big Ten) moved into sole possession of eighth place in the conference standings. They're just a half-game back of Michigan and Indiana, who are tied for sixth, and a game back of Michigan State and the Golden Gophers, who are tied for fourth.

"We are playing great basketball at the right time of the year," said UW coach Lisa Stone, whose team rallied from a 51-44 deficit. "Down the stretch, we've played very, very well."

The Badgers, who turned the ball over 22 times and struggled to find much of an offensive rhythm, could easily be in a more precarious situation, though. Minnesota (18-10, 9-7) had two chances to tie the game in the final 15.4 seconds, but came up empty.

Freshman forward Tara Steinbauer hit a pair of free throws to put UW up 59-55 with 46 seconds left, but Gophers junior guard Emily Fox answered with a pair at the foul line to cut the gap to two with 34.6 to go.

The Badgers had a shot to extend the lead, but senior guard Jolene Anderson, an 86.7-percent free throw shooter entering the game, missed the front end of the one-and-one with 18.2 seconds remaining and then fouled Minnesota sophomore center Ashley Ellis-Milan on the rebound.

Ellis-Milan, though, missed both foul shots, and the Gophers fouled UW freshman guard Alyssa Karel with 12.9 seconds left. Karel again gave Minnesota a final chance by missing the first bonus free throw.

And despite a pretty good look for Fox, who scored a game-high 28 points but left her final shot — a pull-up jumper from the right side — short, the Badgers got their first win at Minnesota since Feb. 22, 2001.

It was thanks to a stingy defense that held the Gophers without a field goal for the final 12:18, too. UW limited Minnesota senior forward Leslie Knight, who was averaging 17.3 points per game in Big Ten play, to seven on 2-for-13 shooting.

"Our team is staying together," said Anderson, who scored 21 points on 7-for-18 shooting, "and it starts with the coaching staff, whether we're up by 20 or down 20."