Robin Pingeton has picked up a signature win for Wisconsin in her first year as the Badgers women's basketball head coach. Wisconsin toppled No. 20 Michigan State to open Big Ten play, and as a team, they've improved to 7-3 on the season. Yet, Pingeton isn't satisfied and didn't spend a whole lot of time dwelling on the big victory.
The tone of her press conference was all about laying the foundation. This is Pingeton's first season, and she knows it will probably have some ups and downs. The goal for this team is to make the tournament and go as far as they can. The goal for Pingeton is beyond just this year; it's building the foundation and the culture that will last for years.
Yet, it's starting with what she calls "this special group." The current team that rallies together and does something she loves to see celebrates each other. It's the following quote that helps show that Pingeton is not settling for a single top-ranked win but instead a culture that both wins and can be celebrated.
Robin Pingeton is laying a solid foundation that will help Wisconsin win for years to come
Related: The Robin Pingeton era for Wisconsin has started with a bang
"It's just the foundation that we're trying to lay here at the University of Wisconsin, and just that culture that we want to have in that locker room. And I'm just really proud of them for celebrating each other. It's hard [to do that]. Everyone's got individual goals, dreams, and hopes, and what they want to get accomplished, but to surrender that for the front of the jersey, I think that's really cool. To me, that's the most important thing that we get done this year is that we lay a really, really strong foundation."Robin Pingeton
The women's big win against Michigan State will be and can be celebrated by Wisconsin fans, but even more so, dwelling on the fact that the Badgers may have found a diamond in the rough for a coach. She's got things already looking way up in her first season as the head coach.
Similar to the men's schedule after the first Big Ten game, the women will also have two more non-conference games against San Diego and IU Indy at home before heading to Maryland to take on the Terrapins.