Spotting the Big Ten Conference co-leader a 20-point lead is never a good idea, but the University of Wisconsin women's basketball players can't say they didn't have their opportunities in the second half against Iowa Sunday at the Kohl Center.

The Badgers closed to within one, two or three points eight times in the final 12 minutes against the Hawkeyes, but never could get over the hump in an 87-78 loss that cost UW its status as the hottest team in the Big Ten and gave Iowa a share of the regular-season title with Ohio State.

"(We) had some chances," UW coach Lisa Stone said, "and some good looks just didn't go in."

Yes, the Badgers had opportunities. And, yes, they failed to capitalize on them.

Which, come to think of it, sums up their Big Ten season.

Despite showing tenacity and courage in bouncing back from a seemingly hopeless situation, the Badgers kicked away a golden opportunity in a year when everything was in their favor.

UW was picked in the preseason poll to finish second. Stone finally had some talented seniors with Jolene Anderson, Janese Banks and Danielle Ward. And, as luck would have it, the quality of the Big Ten was at an all-time low, leaving it without a single great team.

But even with that perfect storm brewing, UW started off 1-6 in the conference, all but blowing its best opportunity to turn a corner in the Big Ten and secure its first NCAA bid since 2002.

As they did against Iowa, the Badgers showed great toughness in rallying from that 1-6 start. They entered Sunday's game with a five-game winning streak and eight wins in their previous 10 games. They had beaten good teams, won on the road and overcome huge deficits — all things they'd been unable to do.

After Sunday's loss, however, the Badgers are down to one final chance to make their mark this season.

They'll go to the Big Ten tournament with a 9-9 conference record (16-12 overall) and the knowledge that they need to win four straight games to make the NCAA field.

"The Big Ten tournament's just another season, really," Anderson said. "Everybody's going to start off from square one. It's just that we have a lot of work to do, obviously. ... But I think our team right now is determined (against) anybody who we play. We've just got to put our mind to it."

UW's improvement coincides with the improvement of freshmen Lin Zastrow, Alyssa Karel and Tara Steinbauer. They were UW's top three scorers against Iowa, combining for 43 points.

At least UW will tackle its final chance of the season with confidence. Hanging with Iowa on a day when Anderson and Banks shot poorly is a sign of progress.

"I don't think there's any team in the Big Ten that we can't compete with; that's what Coach Stone keeps telling us," Banks said. "It doesn't matter what their rank or seed they're going to be in, we can compete. We don't want to keep fighting back from 20 down, but we've just got to know that the Big Ten title is anybody's to win and our name is very well in the mix. There's no team that we fear playing in the tournament."

That's good news, because for desperate teams the Big Ten remains the land of opportunity this season.