Subscribe to Full Court PressThis Week in the Big Ten: Few Surprises on Opening Day of Conference Play
Photo Caption: Nebraska’s debut in Big Ten Conference play was one for the record books Friday, as Jordan Hooper netted 31 points and hauled down 12 rebounds to lead the Huskers from behind to a 71-63 comeback win over Penn State. It was the fourth 30-plus-point game of her career and the sixth double-double of the year for the sophomore forward who arrived on campus last year with little fanfare but has since breathed new life into the Cornhuskers’ women’s basketball program.
Photo Credit: Courtesy Nebraska Athletics Media Relations
By Mark Bradford
Correspondent
Full Court’s Mark Bradford was 5-1 in his picks for the opening day of Big Ten Conference play on Friday.
The biggest surprise was Iowa’s 86-55 blowout of Northwestern in Iowa City. The Hawkeyes ran off a 40-11 run that head coach Lisa Bluder credited to her team’s 24 assists and their ability to push the ball.
Nebraska prevailed in its Big Ten Conference debut, beating Penn State, 71-63 in Happy Valley, but had to come back from a 56-47 deficit with 13 minutes left to pull off the win. But the Huskers did what they had to, outscoring the Lady Lions 24-7 down the stretch and sending clear notice to the rest of the conference that the newcomers can never be taken for granted.
We’ll take a quick look at the rest of Sunday’s results, before turning to the current league standings and Monday’s line-up.
Summing Up Friday’s Results
Michigan State 63, Indiana 49
Michigan 70, Illinois 50
Iowa 86, Northwestern 55
Nebraska 71, Penn State 63
Purdue 57, Minnesota 53
Ohio State 77, Wisconsin 61
A Look Back at Friday’s Conference-Opening Games
Ohio State remained undefeated, improving to 14-0 with a 77-61 win over Wisconsin. The Buckeyes held only a one-point edge at halftime but opened the second half with a 13-0 run. Tayler Hill led the way for the Buckeyes with 21 points, while Samantha Prahalis, who leads the Big Ten in assists and ranks fourth in scoring, logged a double-double of 12 points and 11 dishes. Freshman Kalpana Beach pulled down a team-high eight rebounds, to go with six points.
Taylor Wurtz and Ashley Thomas tossed in ten points apiece for the Badgers.
Purdue narrowly defeated Minnesota, 57-53, in a game that was a battle from tip to closing buzzer. The Boilers got their first lead with about two minutes remaining as Antoinette Howard, who finished with 13 points dropped in the go-ahead basket. K.K. Houser led the way for the Boilers with 15 points and a team-high five boards. But the Boilers, who were out-rebounded by Minnesota, 37-50, are going to have to find some renewed commitment to hitting the glass if they are to contended with some of the league’s bigger squads.
Freshman Rachel Banham scored 15 points to lead Minnesota and will only improve Pam Borton’s squad. Leah Cotton added 11.
Michigan State had four players, led by Taylor Alton with 12 points on a career-high-tying four treys, notch double figures in their 63-49 rout Indiana. Courtney Schiffauer grabbed a team-highn nine rebounds, as the Spartans held the Hoosiers to 27 percent from the field.
Jamie McGhee notched a game-high 17 points for the Hoosiers, to go with seven boards. Linda Rubene notched 10 points, but they got little help from elsewhere, other than Quaneisha McCurty, who yanked down a game-high 10 boards, despite scoring only five points.
Michigan got off to a fast start, easily topping Illinois, 70-50, in Champaign. The Wolverines also saw four players score double digits, led by senior wing Carmen Reynolds, who registered 17 points on seven-of-11 shooting, surpassing the 1,000-point career mark in the process.
A game-high 22 points from Karisma Penn was clearly not enough for the Illini, even when coupled with 10 apiece from Kersten Magrum and Ivory Crawford.
Current Standings
| As of December 31, 2011 | ||||||
| Standing | Team | Conference | Pct. | Overall | Pct. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ohio State | 1-0 | 1.000 | 14-0 | 1.000 | |
| 2. | Nebraska | 1-0 | 1.000 | 12-1 | .923 | |
| 3. | Michigan | 1-0 | 1.000 | 12-2 | .857 | |
| 4 | Purdue | 1-0 | 1.000 | 11-3 | .786 | |
| 5. (tie) | Iowa | 1-0 | 1.000 | 9-5 | .643 | |
| 5. (tie) | Michigan State | 1-0 | 1.000 | 9-5 | .643 | |
| 6. | Penn State | 0-1 | .000 | 10-3 | .769 | |
| 7. | Northwestern | 0-1 | .000 | 10-4 | .714 | |
| 9. | Minnesota | 0-1 | .000 | 8-7 | .533 | |
| 10. | Illinois | 0-1 | .000 | 6-8 | .429 | |
| 11. | Indiana | 0-1 | .000 | 5-9 | .357 | |
| 12. | Wisconsin | 0-1 | .000 | 4-9 | .308 |
Source: BigTen.org/Women’s Basketball Standings
Coming Up Monday
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| INDIANA 0-1 5-9 |
MINNESOTA 0-1 8-7 |
Don’t expect white-hot shooting in this game. The Hoosiers have not shot well all season. Indiana had a 17-point performance by Jasmine McGhee on Sunday against the Spartans, but it took her 6-18 shots to accomplish the task.
Meanwhile, Minnesota battled Purdue hard in West Lafayette but it was a 31-percent shooting effort that doomed their potential upset.
Prediction: This may be one of the games the Hoosiers have a real shot to win until their shooting improves. Still, look for Minnesota to win this by five.
When: Monday, January 2, 2012, 3:00 p.m. EST/2:00 CST, Williams Arena, Minneapolis, Minn. (BTN TV, BTN.com)
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| PURDUE 1-0 11-3 |
ILLINOIS 0-1 6-8 |
Purdue’s system of in-your-shirt defense helped them overcome an upset effort by Minnesota and it should help them again in this match-up. The Boilers played nine players for more than 10 minutes each, and keeping multiple players both fresh and in the flow should pay dividends later in the season.
Illinois coach Jolette Law has the problem of getting someone in addition to her scoring star Karisma Penn to step up to the plate. Odds are that Purdue will lock down on Penn, challenging someone else on the Illinois team to beat them.
Prediction: Boilers by 10.
When: Monday, January 2, 2012, 2:00 p.m. EST/1:00 p.m. CST, Assembly Hall, Champaign, Ill. (BTN TV)
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| IOWA 1-0 9-5 |
OHIO STATE 1-0 14-0 |
Jim Foster’s team had a slow first half but in the end ran over Wisconsin. Iowa is coming off a great game against Northwestern. Four Hawkeyes scored double figures led by Jaime Printy’s 20-point, 8 assist effort. If Printy can handle Prahalis, on both ends of the court, Iowa will win.
Prediction: There’s little indication that she will. Ohio State wins by 10.
When: Monday, January 2, 2012, 12:00 p.m. EST, Value City Arena, Columbus, Ohio (BTN TV)
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| PENN STATE 0-1 10-3 |
WISCONSIN 0-1 4-9 |
Both these teams need to produce a 40-minute effort, and both will have seen lessons learned from Friday’s opening conference games. The Nittany Lions had a nine-point lead on Nebraska and let it slip away. “We have to communicate better on defense,” head coach Coquese Washington said. “We were too quiet. We have to rebound better. We have to get back to having better balance on offense. We just didn’t have good balance in our shots. We didn’t have good balance in our shot selection. We just need to get back to that.”
Meanwhile, Wisconsin gave Ohio State a battle for half the game as coach Bobbie Kelsey molds her team. Playing well for half a game is not a prescription for a win, but it is a start.
Prediction: Penn State will win this by 10.
When: Monday, January 2, 2012, 1:00 p.m. EST/12:00 p.m. CST, Kohl Center, Madison, Wisc. (BTN.com)
Originally published Sun, January 01, 2012
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