Persistence paid off Monday for the University of Wisconsin women's basketball team.

Badgers coach Lisa Stone landed an oral commitment from Ripon guard Taylor Wurtz, UW's first recruit for its 2009-10 class, according to her AAU coach.

And the 6-foot Wurtz made her decision in large part because of the commitment Stone showed in her recruitment. Paul Biddick, Wurtz's coach with Wisconsin Fastbreak Select, said Stone attended 15 of the team's 17 games during the recruiting period in July, traveling all over the country to watch Wurtz play.

"A lot of credit has to go to Lisa," Biddick said.

In Wurtz, the Badgers will get a talented scorer with an outside shooting stroke who projects as either a shooting guard or small forward at the college level. Wurtz, a first-team all-state pick by the Associated Press last season and a second-team choice as a sophomore, averaged 21.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 4 steals per game last year as Ripon went 22-1.

She drew interest from a host of schools, including Rutgers and nearly every Big Ten Conference team.

Michigan and Louisville were UW's main competitors in securing Wurtz's services, Biddick said, with Maine also in contention. He said Wurtz is the most heavily recruited player he's ever coached

"When you talk about Rutgers, that's like a half-step below UConn," Biddick said. "… So big time programs across the country were seriously recruiting her."

Wurtz knew Michigan coach Kevin Borseth from this time at UW-Green Bay, but UW made a strong push after adding two new assistant coaches

"That helped," said Biddick, who added UW's proximity to home was another selling point for Wurtz. "That definitely helped."