March 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
The Big Ten will send nine women's basketball teams into the postseason with four squads competing in the NCAA Championship and another five in the Postseason WNIT. Purdue will host NCAA first- and second-round action at Mackey Arena on Sunday and Tuesday, while Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin will all play home to WNIT second-round competition on either Saturday or Monday.
NINE TEAMS ADVANCE TO POSTSEASON
For the second time in Big Ten history, nine women's basketball teams will advance to the postseason. Four squads will vie for the national title at the 2008 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Championship, while five will battle for the Postseason WNIT crown. The Big Ten has sent nine squads to the postseason on just one other occasion, in 2002, when six teams earned bids to the NCAA bracket and three were selected to the WNIT. The Big Ten has never had more than nine teams earn postseason berths.
BIG TEN IN THE NCAA - STREAKS AND STATS
The Big Ten has sent at least four teams to the NCAA Championship on 18 occasions in the 27-year history of the event, including in 15 of the last 16 years. Ohio State and Purdue are both making back-to-back trips into the bracket, while Iowa and Minnesota are each returning after a one-year hiatus. The Big Ten has advanced at least one team into the NCAA Sweet 16 in each of the past 23 years. Big Ten squads have made 14 Elite Eight appearances and eight Final Four trips. Purdue won the Big Ten's only NCAA title in 1999, while the conference has recorded runner-up finishes in 2005 (Michigan State), 2001 (Purdue) and 1993 (Ohio State). Big Ten teams have faced off in the Final Four on one occasion, when Ohio State defeated Iowa, 73-72, in overtime in the 1993 national semifinals.
PURDUE EARNS BIG TEN AUTOMATIC BID
With its second consecutive and seventh overall Big Ten Tournament title, Purdue grabbed the Big Ten's automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, marking the team's 15th consecutive appearance in the title bracket. The Boilermakers advanced through the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 3 seed, marking the third time Purdue has won the tournament at the No. 3 slot. The Boilermakers will host first and second rounds at Mackey Arena in West Lafayette, and will welcome No. 8 Utah in their first game. A win would pit the Boilers against either No. 1 Tennessee (30-2) or No. 16 Oral Roberts (19-13). Last year, Purdue extended the Big Ten's Sweet 16 streak to 23 consecutive seasons by advancing to the regional finals.
OSU MAKES SIXTH STRAIGHT NCAA APPEARANCE
Ohio State is making its sixth consecutive and 17th overall appearance in the NCAA Championship. The Buckeyes amassed a conference-best 22-8 overall record and finished as Big Ten Co-Champions with Iowa. Ohio State owns an NCAA record of 18-16 and has won at least its first round game in four of the last five seasons. The Buckeyes last advanced to the Sweet 16 in 2005. Ohio State has earned a spot at the NCAA Championship in each of the team's six seasons under head coach Jim Foster. The No. 6 seed, OSU takes on No. 11 Florida State in Des Moines, Iowa. A win would match the Buckeyes with No. 3 Oklahoma State or No. 14 East Tennessee State.
BLUDER'S BUNCH BACK IN BRACKET
After a one-year hiatus, Iowa returns to the NCAA Championship for the 17th time overall. The Hawkeyes finished as Big Ten Co-Champions and recorded their first 20-win season since 2004-05. The conference title was the squad's first since 1998. In her eighth year with Iowa, head coach Lisa Bluder is making her fifth NCAA trip with the squad. Bluder was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by the coaches and the media this season. The No. 9 seed in the New Orleans Regional, Iowa will play No. 8 Georgia and would advance to take on either No. 1 North Carolina or No. 16 Bucknell in Norfolk, Va.
GOPHERS RETURN TO NCAAS
Minnesota is making its seventh overall trip to the NCAA Championship and its fifth under sixth-year head coach Pam Borton. The Golden Gophers are one of three Big Ten teams with 20 wins on the season and finished the conference schedule tied for third with Purdue. The Gophers are 10-6 in NCAA competition and advanced to the Sweet 16 three straight years, from 2003-05, including a Final Four appearance in 2004. Minnesota is the No. 9 seed in the Greensboro Regional and travels to Bridgeport, Conn., to face No. 8 Texas. With a win, the Gophers would play either No. 1 Connecticut or No. 16 Cornell.
BIG TEN TOURNEY WINS BREED NCAA SUCCESS
Winning in the Big Ten Tournament has translated into NCAA Championship success for several conference teams in recent history. Since 1995, the teams that have won the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament have combined to post a 29-12 (.707) record in the NCAA Championship. Purdue captured the conference's first-ever NCAA women's title in 1999 after winning the Big Ten Tournament as the No. 1 seed. Penn State appeared in the 2000 Final Four after finishing as the runner-up in that year's conference tournament, while Purdue made an appearance in the 2001 NCAA Championship title game after finishing second in that year's Big Ten Tournament. Michigan State, the 2005 conference tournament champion, entered NCAA play as the No. 1 seed and finished 5-1 after falling to Baylor in the national championship game. Last year, Purdue extended the Big Ten's Sweet 16 appearances streak to 23 years with the conference's 14th Elite Eight bid.
UW'S ANDERSON REPEATS AS SCORING CHAMP
Wisconsin senior Jolene Anderson earned the Big Ten scoring title for the second consecutive season, averaging 19.6 points per conference game. Anderson is the only Wisconsin player to have earned the statistical crown and took home the first scoring title of her career last season, finishing the conference slate with a 19.3 points-per-game average. Anderson became Wisconsin's all-time leading scorer, male or female, earlier this year, and currently ranks sixth on the Big Ten's women's career scoring chart with a total of 2,291 points. Anderson is one of just six players in Big Ten history to be named the conference's scoring champion in back-to-back seasons. The Badger joins Northwestern's Anucha Brown (1984-85), Ohio State's Nikita Lowry (1988-89), Katie Smith (1994-95) and Jessica Davenport (2005-06) and Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, who is the only three-time scoring champion (2001-03).
LAVENDER EARNS REBOUNDING TITLE
Ohio State's Jantel Lavender finished her freshman season by becoming the Big Ten's rebounding champion, finishing the 18-game schedule with 9.7 boards per game. Lavender is the first freshman in Big Ten history to capture the conference's rebounding title. The Cleveland, Ohio, native is the first Buckeye since Tracey Hall and Nikita Lowry in 1987-88 to be named the conference's rebounding champion.
RILEY CONTINUES OSU FG% STREAK
Ohio State senior Tamarah Riley became the third different Buckeye in as many years to be named the conference's field-goal percentage champion, shooting at a .637 clip during the Big Ten season. Last season, Star Allen earned the title, shooting at a conference-record .694 clip, while Jessica Davenport earned the honor in each of the previous three seasons. Buckeyes have combined to take home the field-goal percentage title in 13 of the 26 seasons of Big Ten women's basketball.
BIG TEN COACHES REACH MAJOR MILESTONES
Several Big Ten coaches reached major career milestones this season, including Ohio State's Jim Foster, who became just the 13th head coach in NCAA Division I history to reach 650 career wins on Jan. 28. Foster joined C. Vivian Stringer (Iowa, 1984-95), Rene Portland (Penn State, 1981-07), Tara VanDerveer (Ohio State, 1981-85) and Theresa Grentz (Illinois, 1996-07) as coaches with 650 or more wins that have spent time on a Big Ten campus. On Feb. 10, Iowa's Lisa Bluder became the third active Big Ten head coach to reach 500 career wins, joining Foster and Michigan's Kevin Borseth. Minnesota's Pam Borton became the sixth active conference mentor to reach 200 career victories on Feb. 28, joining Bluder, Borseth, Foster, Michigan State's Suzy Merchant and Wisconsin's Lisa Stone.
