The 2010 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament is in the books and congratulations to the Ohio State Buckeyes on successfully defending their conference tournament title.  A heartfelt congratulations also goes out to the Iowa Hawkeyes, who took to the court poised to take down the champions, which they almost did.

Here are a few final pictures from this evening's celebration:

The Buckeyes celebrate their second consecutive Big Ten Tournament title.

Big Ten Commissioner Jim Delany addresses the crowd at Conseco Fieldhouse tonight, prior to presenting Ohio State with the Big Ten Tournament trophy.

Ohio State head coach Jim Foster thanked the Iowa Hawkeyes on a hard fought contest as well as all the fans for attending the event in Indianapolis.

Champions Crowned... once again!

BigTen.org thanks you for following along this week. 

Stay tuned to BigTen.org as the 2010 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament Blog will begin soon!

Déjà vu - The illusion of having already experienced something actually being experienced for the first time.

This was no illusion this year.  For Ohio State's Jantel Lavender, it actually happened again.

In last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship, Lavender hit one free throw with 6.2 seconds remaining to give Ohio State a 67-66 victory over Purdue.

As for this year?  Lavender once again sealed the victory for the Buckeyes hitting the winning two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to give the Buckeyes a 66-64 win over Iowa.

Lavender finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds and earned Most Outstanding Player honors for her efforts.

2010 Big Ten Tournament All-Tournament Team
Kachine Alexander, Iowa
Kelley Krei, Iowa
Kamille Wahlin, Iowa
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State
Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State

Most Outstanding Player
Jantel Lavender, Ohio State

Ohio State is playing like a Big Ten Tournament Champion right now.  Will the Buckeyes be one this year?  Will the Hawkeyes fight back?

We are tied 62-62 with 2:45 left.

Ohio State has been rallying here in the second half, looking to fight back from a double-digit deficit to Iowa.

The Buckeyes have a little extra help in their cheering section today.  After wrapping up a share of the Big Ten Championship this week, Ohio State men's basketball players P.J. Hill (left), Dallas Lauderdale (center) and Evan Turner (right) are in attendance.

Turner, a National Player of the Year candidate, has been a fan favorite today, signing several autographs for Buckeye fans.

Lauderdale also auditioned for big screen fame, playing air guitar during one of the media timeouts.

Next week the Ohio State's men's team will return to Conseco Fieldhouse as the No. 1 seed for the 2010 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.  

It's halftime of the 2010 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Championship.

No. 3 seed Iowa leads No. 1 seed Ohio State, 41-33.

Iowa's Kelly Krei and Ohio State's Jantel Lavender pace all players with 12 points at intermission.  The Hawkeyes' Kachine Alexander has 11 points at half, while the Buckeyes' Tayler Hill has 10.

Twenty minutes to play... who will walk away with the 2010 Big Ten Tournament trophy???

By far one of the best moments of the Big Ten Tournament Pre-Game Championship Pep Rally was the Mascot Challenge.

Ohio State's Brutus absolutely rocked the dance competition as MC Hammer's "U Can't Touch This" played in the background.  Following that performance, it was safe to say that Herky Hawkeye faced an uphill climb.

Herky redeemed himself, however, knocking off Brutus in the toilet paper showdown.  Both mascots were challenged to unroll a full roll of toilet paper the quickest and Herky came away the spirited winner.

BigTen.org just got back from the Pre-Championship Game Pep Rally in the Entry Pavilion of Conseco Fieldhouse.

What a scene!

Fans were busy playing cornhole, getting team-specific tattoos, and enjoying complementary popcorn and drinks near the entrance, while Radio Disney 98.3 FM held court near the grand staircase to raise the energy level of the hundreds of spectators that began filing into Conseco Fieldhouse two hours before tip-off of today's final.

Brutus,

We are an hour away from tip-off of the 2010 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Championship final.

Your Ohio State Buckeyes are not only the top seed in the event, but they are also the defending champion and the current regular season conference champ.

Iowa will certainly present a challenge today, but there is no time for nerves! 

Keep your head up!

OK, here are the "Need to Knows" about Sunday's Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament Championship final.

The top-seeded Ohio State Buckeyes will face the No. 3 seed Iowa Hawkeyes at 4:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Ohio State is in the tournament final for the sixth time (1995, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009), having won in both 2006 and 2009.  Iowa makes its third appearance in the finals and has captured both the 1997 and 2001 titles.

Iowa and Ohio State have met twice in Big Ten Tournament play with each team sharing a win.  The No. 1 Hawkeyes captured a 72-54 victory over the eighth-seeded Buckeyes in the 1998 quarterfinals, while top-seeded OSU scored a 72-56 win over No. 4 Iowa in last year's semifinal round.

As for the 2009-10 regular season, Ohio State earned an 86-82 home victory over Iowa in its lone meeting on Feb. 4.