Recently in Women's Basketball Category
Illinois 66, Ohio State 65 Champaign, Ill. - Alexis Burke's driving lay-up with 3.2 seconds remaining capped a 12-point comeback and a 66-65 victory for Illinois over No. 10 Ohio State at the Assembly Hall. The win marked the first for Illinois against a ranked team since defeating the Buckeyes in the 2008 Big Ten Tournament and the first over a top-10 team since defeating No. 10 Minnesota in 2003. That also marked just the third loss for Ohio State (21-3, 8-3) in the 2011-12 season. For Illinois, the victory was a long-time coming. After some tough losses down the stretch earlier in the season, the Illini have now won three straight games that have come down to the end, none bigger than Thursday night. RECAP
Iowa 75, Minnesota 58
IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Earlier this week when asked what her team needed to do to replace the game-night contributions of Jamie Printy, Samantha Logic suggested quietly that everyone else on the women's basketball team at the University of Iowa needed to do just a little more than they would have before the Hawkeyes' all-Big Ten guard was lost for the season. Thursday night on Mediacom Court in Carver-Hawkeye Arena, the multi-talented freshman guard from Racine, Wis., did exactly that and a little more for good measure to lead Bluder's Bunch to a convincing 75-58 victory over Minnesota in the Hawkeyes' annual "Pink Game" in support of the Holden Comprehensive Cancer Center. RECAP
Michigan 63, Nebraska 52
Four Wolverines scored in double digits -- Carmen Reynolds (16), Courtney Boylan (14), Rachel Sheffer (13) and Nya Jordan (11) -- in a 63-52 upset victory at No. 13 Nebraska. The Wolverines won their 18th game of the season on Thursday, surpassing their 2010-11 win total of 17. RECAP
Michigan State 72, Northwestern 58
EAST LANSING, Mich. - The Michigan State women's basketball team used a 12-0 run late in the first half to pull away from Northwestern, and cruise to a 72-58 win at Breslin Center on Thursday night. Senior Porsche Poole surpassed 20 points for the fourth-straight game, leading MSU with 20 points and a career high seven assists. Poole is the first Spartan since Liz Shimek at the end of the 2005-06 season to score at least 20 points in four straight games. The Spartans (15-9, 7-4), who have now won three straight games, had four players in double-figures. Senior Lykendra Johnson added 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds, while classmate Taylor Alton had 11 points and freshman Kiana Johnson posted 10. Alton also added a career high tying seven rebounds and three steals. RECAP
Penn State 69, Wisconsin 54
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 18/21 Penn State Lady Lions (19-5, 9-3) connected on 48.3% of their shots and landed four players in double figures on the way to a 69-54 win over Wisconsin (8-16, 4-8) Thursday evening at the Bryce Jordan Center. Sophomore Maggie Lucas, who was honored for surpassing the 1,000-point mark prior to the game, led the Lady Lions with 16 points via a 7-for-11 shooting performance. Junior Alex Bentley had 14 points to go along with three assists, while sophomore Ariel Edwards was a spark off of the bench with 14 points thanks to a 6-for-10 night from the field. Redshirt junior Mia Nickson rounded out Penn State's top scorers with 11 tallies to go with seven rebounds and three assists. In addition, senior Zhaque Gray reached the 800-point milestone with five points. Junior Nikki Greene led the team in rebounds with 10. RECAP
Northwestern at Michigan State, 6 p.m., BTN Wisconsin at #18/21 Penn State, 7 p.m., BTN.com#10/10 Ohio State at Illinois, 8 p.m., BTN.comMinnesota at Iowa, 8 p.m., BTN.comMichigan at #13/15 Nebraska, 8 p.m., BTN.com
Ohio State's Tayler Hill and Samantha Prahalis were named to the USBWA National Player of the Year Midseason Watch List on Thursday, two of 20 players from around the country to earn the distinction. The two are in the running to win the national honor, which will be announced on April 3.
USBWA Release
Ohio State 72, Wisconsin 58 COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Samantha Prahalis scored a career-high 34 points and Ohio State (No. 11 ESPN/USA Today, No. 10 AP) made the most of an eight-day layoff to beat Wisconsin 72-58 on Monday night, the Buckeyes' 20th consecutive victory over the Badgers. Tayler Hill, the Big Ten's leading scorer, added 18 points for the Buckeyes (21-2, 8-2), who had lots of time to mull a disappointing 76-65 loss at Minnesota on Jan. 29. Ohio State broke the game open with a 16-3 second-half run. Taylor Wurtz had 20 points and Morgan Paige 14 for Wisconsin (8-15, 4-7), which hit a school-record 12 3-pointers. RECAP
The Big Ten is one of only two conferences in the nation to have four or more teams ranked in the top 20 of the Associated Press (AP) poll that was released on Monday, behind only the Big East's five top-20 squads. Ohio State climbs one spot to No. 10 this week, while Nebraska moves up three spots and is now No. 13 in the week's media poll. Purdue checks in at No. 15, while Penn State moves up one place to No. 18 in the AP poll. The ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll will be released on Tuesday.
Iowa 83, Indiana 64 IOWA CITY, Iowa -- Freshman Melissa Dixon shined in her first career start, scoring a career-high 19 points to lead the University of Iowa women's basketball team to an 83-64 victory over Indiana on Sunday afternoon inside Assembly Hall. "It has been emotionally draining for us the last two days to prepare for this game without Jaime (Printy)," said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. "Coming on the road to get this victory after losing Jaime really shows a lot for the leadership of this team, especially Kamille Wahlin." Dixon started in place of leading scorer Jaime Printy, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury Thursday at Wisconsin. Dixon finished with career highs in points (19), 3-pointers made (five), field goals (seven), steals (3) and minutes played (28). RECAP
Michigan State 65, Michigan 63
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Porsche Poole was again the star for the Michigan State women's basketball team, this time hitting the game-winning shot with 3.9 seconds left and scoring a game-high 23 points, helping the Spartans win 65-63 at Michigan on Sunday. The win was the 11th straight by the Spartans over the Wolverines. The Spartans begin the game with the first 11 points, behind three different players hitting a 3-pointer. Michigan responded with a 21-4 run to open up its largest lead of the game at 21-15 with 7:44 to go in the first half. MSU bounced back with a 11-2 spurt of its own to regain the lead and eventually take a 30-28 advantage into the break. Michigan scored the first six points of the second half, to begin a half that included 10 ties and nine lead changes. The Wolverines led by four (63-59) with 1:58 left, but the Spartans held them scoreless from that point on. Two free throws by Poole and a layup by Lykendra Johnson with 53 seconds left tied that game at 63. A defensive stop by MSU, set up Poole's heroics. As the game clock and shot clock wound down, Poole dribbled right off a high ball screen, stopping at the foul line and hitting a pull-up jumper with 3.9 seconds left. Michigan missed a halfcourt heave at the buzzer, giving MSU the win. RECAP
Penn State 68, Minnesota 65
MINNEAPOLIS, MINN. - Junior guard Alex Bentley (Indianapolis, Ind.) connected on a three-pointer with 38.9 seconds left to lift the No. 19/21 Penn State Lady Lions (18-5, 8-3) to a 68-65 win at Minnesota (12-12, 4-6) Sunday afternoon. The win snaps a seven-game losing streak in Minneapolis, dating back to Dec. 28, 2001. Additionally, sophomore guard Maggie Lucas (Narberth, Pa.) became the third sophomore and 34th player overall in Penn State history to reach 1,000 career points. Lucas connected on a three-pointer in the second half to reach the milestone and is believed to be the 11th-fastest player in Big Ten history to reach the mark. She also dished out four assists. Junior forward Mia Nickson (Asburn, Va.) was 5-for-9 from the field and 10-for-12 from the free throw line en route to a season-high 20 points. She narrowly missed out on a double-double with nine rebounds and three assists. RECAP
Purdue 77, Illinois 66
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) - Sam Ostarello scored a career-high 21 points and matched her season-high with 13 rebounds to help No. 15 Purdue remain on top of the Big Ten with a 77-66 victory over Illinois on Sunday. Courtney Moses also had 21 points and a career-high five steals for the Boilermakers (19-5, 9-2 Big Ten), who were coming off a thrilling triple overtime loss to Nebraska on Thursday. They moved a half-game in front of the Cornhuskers in the conference standings. Trailing 26-25 late in the first half, Purdue scored eight of the final 10 points before break to take a five-point halftime advantage. The Boilermakers continued the push to start the second half, expanding their lead to 44-30 on Brittany Rayburn's three-pointer. Illinois rallied to within 62-58 with seven minutes left before Moses scored four quick points to put Purdue comfortable back in front. RECAP
Penn State 76, Indiana 44 UNIVERSITY PARK, PA. - The No. 19/21 Penn State Lady Lions (17-5, 7-3) secured a convincing 76-44 victory against Indiana (5-18, 0-10) Thursday evening in the Bryce Jordan Center. Three Lady Lions posted double-digit points, lead by sophomore guard Maggie Lucas' 24 points for her 13th 20-point performance of the season. Penn State is now 5-0 on the season after a loss, topping its opponents by an average of 26.6 points per game. Lucas was 4-for-7 from deep and is now just eight points shy of becoming just the third sophomore in Penn State history to reach 1,000 career points and 34th player overall. Lucas also added two rebounds, two steals and tied her career high with a pair of blocks. Junior Nikki Greene was 7-for-12 from the field to finish with 17 points and six rebounds, while junior Gizelle Studevent tied her career-high with 10 after hitting five of her six shot attempts. RECAP
Michigan 79, Northwestern 68
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- The University of Michigan women's basketball team capitalized on balanced team scoring to withstand a second-half comeback attempt from the Wildcats, en route to a 79-68 victory over Northwestern on Thursday night inside Crisler Center. A 19-5 first-half run helped U-M improve to 9-1 at home this season. Four Michigan starters scored in double figures to help preserve the win. Junior Rachel Sheffer led the Wolverines with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting while adding five rebounds. Senior Carmen Reynolds nailed three shots from behind the arc, scoring 13 total points. Additionally, senior Courtney Boylan contributed 12 points and junior Jenny Ryan recorded 11 points, a game-high eight rebounds and a team-high five assists. RECAP
Nebraska 93, Purdue 89
West Lafayette, Ind. - No. 16 Nebraska produced one of the most thrilling women's basketball victories in school history with a 93-89 win over No. 15 Purdue at Mackey Arena on Thursday night. With the first road triple-overtime win in school history, the Huskers pulled into a tie for first place with the Boilermakers at 8-2 in the Big Ten, while improving to 19-3 overall. Purdue slipped to 18-5 overall and 8-2 in the conference with its second straight loss. Nebraska notched its fourth straight win while earning its fifth Big Ten road win of the year. It was also NU's first-ever win in its first meeting in history against Purdue. Sophomore Jordan Hooper led Nebraska with a game-high 27 points to go along with seven rebounds and a career-high matching three blocked shots in a career-high 51 minutes for the Huskers. Hooper connected on five of Nebraska's 13 three-pointers on the night, as NU outscored the Boilermakers 39-12 from long range. RECAP
Iowa 85, Wisconsin 79
MADISON, Wis. -- University of Iowa freshman and Wisconsin native Samantha Logic returned home Thursday night in phenomenal fashion, leading the Hawkeyes past the host Badgers, 85-79, in overtime at the Kohl Center in Madison. Logic posted her best performance of the season, scoring 20 points while grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out eight assists; all while committing only one turnover. And she did all of that in front of about 100 friends and family from her hometown, Racine, Wis. "Sam, it's nice to see," said UI head coach Lisa Bluder. "For her to come home and be able to play like that -- I'm really happy for her." The Hawkeyes needed much more than just a great outing from Logic to knock off the Badgers; it was a total team effort. Freshman guard Melissa Dixon returned to action for the first time since being injured in the Jan. 2 contest at Ohio State. Dixon jumpstarted the Iowa offense when she returned to the court. RECAP
Illinois 72, Minnesota 67
Champaign, Ill. - Illinois used a balanced attack with four players in double figures, but down the stretch, the Illini went to their go-to player to pull out a 72-67 victory over Minnesota. The win was the fifth straight for the Illini over the Gophers and seventh in the last nine meetings between the two teams. Illinois (8-15, 2-8 Big Ten) also won for the second time in its last three games. With the game tied at 67-67 and the shot clock winding down, sophomore Alexis Burke found preseason All-Big Ten selection Karisma Penn, who went aggressively to the basket, scored, was fouled and converted the subsequent free throw to give the Illini the lead for good with 39 seconds remaining. Penn got a rebound on the defensive end and hit another free throw to help ice the game. Penn scored seven of her 13 points in the final seven minutes of the game, tallying 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two blocks and a steal for the contest. RECAP
Eight Big Ten men's and women's basketball players were named to Capital One Academic All-District teams, the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) announced on Thursday.
Michigan's Zack Novak, Northwestern's Drew Crawford, Ohio State's Aaron Craft and Wisconsin's Jared Berggren were recognized on men's All-District teams, while Iowa's Jaime Printy, Michigan's Jenny Ryan, Northwestern's Kendall Hackney and Purdue's Brittany Rayburn were honored on women's teams.
All eight players will advance to Capital One All-America Team ballots, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected later this month.
COMPLETE MEN'S RELEASE
COMPLETE WOMEN'S RELEASE
|
