Jan. 21, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
Ohio State leads the conference standings with a 6-1 record, while Indiana and Purdue are close behind, each at 5-2. Five Big Ten women's basketball games will be featured on the Big Ten Network this week, including three matchups on Sunday.
Big Ten on TV
Five women's basketball contests will be featured on the Big Ten Network this week, including three matchups on Sunday. Coverage begins on Monday as Illinois hosts Iowa at 7 p.m. CT. Televised action continues on Thursday when conference-leading Ohio State travels to Minnesota to take on the Golden Gophers at 7 p.m. CT. The week's action concludes on Sunday as Minnesota hosts Michigan State at Noon CT, Iowa welcomes Michigan at 2 p.m. CT and Northwestern travels to Wisconsin for a 4:30 p.m. CT tip.
Big Ten Mentors On Track For Coaching Records
Ohio State head coach Jim Foster picked up his 649th career victory with the Buckeyes' 79-74 win against Wisconsin on Sunday. Foster is just one win shy of becoming the 13th head coach in Division I history to reach the 650 career wins mark. Foster will join 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 career wins that have spent time on a Big Ten campus. Iowa's Lisa Bluder is just seven wins shy of 500 career victories. Bluder would become the third active Big Ten head coach in the 500 wins club, joining Foster and Michigan's Kevin Borseth.
Packing the House
Big Ten teams are drawing some of the largest crowds in the nation, with five teams in the top 20 of average national attendance, according to a weekly unofficial report issued by the University of Wisconsin. Purdue ranks fourth with an average of 9,534 fans per contest, while Michigan State is 10th (6,902), Minnesota is 14th (5,717), Wisconsin is 15th (5,408) and Penn State is 19th (4,911). Purdue welcomed the largest Big Ten crowd of the season on Sunday when 12,592 fans packed Mackey Arena to see the Boilermakers take on Northwestern.
Underclassmen are Overachievers
Freshmen and sophomores are at or near the top in several statistical categories including rebounds, blocks and steals per games. Ohio State freshman Jantel Lavender leads the conference with 10.3 boards per contest, while Illinois sophomore Jenna Smith is second at 9.8. Smith is also second in scoring with 18.3 points per contest and first with a .563 field-goal percentage. Michigan State sophomore Allyssa DeHaan is first in the conference and among the nation's leaders with 4.40 blocks per game. Ohio State sophomore Shavelle Little leads the conference with 3.06 steals per game, while Illinois sophomore Lacey Simpson is second with 2.82 swipes per contest.
No Place Like Home
Big Ten teams have combined to go 24-14 (.632) at home in conference competition. Three teams are undefeated on their home courts in Big Ten games as Ohio State is 4-0, Michigan is 3-0 and Illinois is 2-0. Five other squads -- Indiana, Purdue, Minnesota, Penn State and Iowa -- have just one home loss in Big Ten competition.
Big Ten Clutch From Charity Stripe
The Big Ten is among the nation's best at the line with four individuals and four teams ranked in the NCAA's top 50 in free-throw shooting percentage. Illinois is fourth at an .801 clip, while Penn State is 10th at .782. Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan leads the conference and is 15th in the nation at an .886 percentage, and PSU's Kamela Gissendanner is 17th at .883. A complete list of NCAA leaders can be found on Page 5 of this release.
OSU's Packer Joins Elite Company
Ohio State's Marscilla Packer became just the third player in Buckeye history to reach 1,000 career points and 200 career three-pointers last week. The senior also became just the fourth Big Ten player this season to score 30 points in a game when she tied her career high with 32 against Wisconsin on Sunday, including a season-high six three-pointers. Packer joins Penn State's Kamela Gissendanner and Wisconsin's Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks as the only active conference players with 1,000 or more career points. She also joins Anderson, Illinois' Jenna Smith and Minnesota's Emily Fox as the only players to have scored 30 or more points in at least one game this season.
Double Trouble
Ohio State freshman Jantel Lavender leads the Big Ten with 10 double-doubles this season and has also scored in double digits in each of her 18 career games. Lavender is the only Big Ten player averaging a double-double in all games with 16.5 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest. In conference action, she averages 15.1 points and 10.9 boards per game and is joined by Indiana's Whitney Thomas as the only other player averaging a double-double in Big Ten action (12.6 points, 11.3 rebounds). Thomas is tied with Lavender for most double-doubles in conference play with four.
IU's Braun Making a Buzz
Indiana sophomore Jamie Braun is one of 23 players listed as "Making a Buzz" and in contention for the 2008 Nancy Lieberman Award. The award is a project of the Rotary Club of Detroit which honors the women's college basketball point guard of the year. Braun is averaging 14.6 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.58 assists per game overall, and 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.71 assists in Big Ten play.
Movin' On Up
Wisconsin senior Jolene Anderson became the 12th player in Big Ten history to crack the 2,000 career points mark last week, and is continuing to climb the conference's all-time scoring list. The senior is currently 11th with 2,052 tallies to her name and is 37 points away from cracking the Big Ten's top 10 list.
Triple Threat
Illinois junior Lori Bjork sunk four shots from beyond the arc in Illinois' narrow 43-42 loss to Ohio State on Thursday, moving into sole possession of second place on Illinois' career three-point field goals list with 172. Bjork is 22 treys shy of tying the Illini record of 194, which was set by Krista Reinking. Bjork is 54 threes away from cracking the Big Ten's top 10 list for three-pointers made in a career.
