Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Dec. 16-22

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Big Ten Weekly Release - Dec. 16

Big Ten. Big News.

• For the third time in the history of the Big Ten Conference and second week in a row, nine women’s basketball teams were ranked in the Associated Press (AP) poll. The Big Ten is the only conference to have nine programs ranked in the AP poll since 1996 and first achieved the feat on Dec. 2, 2024. UCLA came in at No. 4, followed by No. 6 Michigan, No. 7 Maryland, No. 11 Iowa, No. 19 USC, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 22 Washington, No. 23 Nebraska and No. 24 Michigan State. Illinois received votes.
• The final full week of non-conference play features 26 games, concluding on Monday as programs take time off for the holidays. Action starts Tuesday when No. 4 UCLA hosts Cal Poly on the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App) at 10 p.m. ET. A top-15 battle is slated for Saturday when No. 11/12 Iowa and top-ranked UConn meet in Brooklyn, N.Y. in the Shark Beauty Women’s Champions Classic. Tipoff is set for 1:30 p.m. ET on FOX. Sunday features a 6 p.m. ET tilt between NR/RV Oregon and Stanford on ESPN and will be followed by No. 19 USC and Cal on ESPN2 at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Ducks and Trojans are competing in the Invisalign Bay Area Women’s Classic in San Francisco.
• The Big Ten has posted a 149-26 (.851) combined record in non-conference play, which includes a 111-4 (.965) mark in non-conference home games, the highest winning percentage of any conference.
• The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in field goal percentage (.468), assists (17.7 apg) and three-point field goal percentage (.343) while ranking second in scoring (79.2 ppg) and free throw percentage (.729).
• Through games on Dec. 15, the Big Ten boasts nine teams in the top 25 and 13 in the top 50 of the NCAA’s NET Rankings, the top marks among Division I conferences. UCLA paces the Big Ten contingent at No. 3, followed by No. 4 Michigan, No. 9 Maryland, No. 10 Michigan State, No. 11 Nebraska, No. 12 Iowa, No. 16 Minnesota, No. 21 Oregon and No. 23 USC.
• Nine programs made an appearance in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll – No. 4 UCLA, No. 6 Maryland, No. 9 Michigan, No. 12 Iowa, No. 19 USC, No. 21 Ohio State, No. 22 Washington, No. 23 Michigan State and No. 25 Nebraska. Oregon garnered votes.
• The Big Ten has multiple individuals leading the country in statistical categories, including Northwestern’s Carolina Lau with 9.5 assists per game and Penn State’s Gracie Merkle in field goal percentage (.742).
• Offensive production continues to be the calling card of the Big Ten Conference. The league has nine teams ranked in the top 20 in field goal percentage – Nebraska (2nd – .529), Michigan State (5th – .522), Iowa (8th – .505), Michigan (10th – .501), UCLA (11th – .500), Maryland (13th – .490), Penn State (16th – .483), Indiana (17th – .483) and Oregon (19th – .482).
• Sharing the rock comes naturally for the Big Ten with 10 teams featured in the top 25 rankings for assists per game, including four in the top 10 – Michigan State (3rd – 22.9), Iowa (4th – 22.1), Nebraska (5th – 21.9), UCLA (7th – 21.0), Minnesota (16th – 19.3), Northwestern (17th – 19.2), Oregon (18th – 18.8), Michigan (22nd – 18.5), Ohio State (T24th – 18.3) and Penn State (T24th – 18.3).
• Indiana swept the Big Ten’s weekly honors on Monday. Senior Shay Ciezki was named Big Ten Player of the Week for a second time this season after dropping 31 points while shooting 70.6 percent from the field versus ULM. She had a team-high 25 points, two rebounds, two assists and two steals against Eastern Michigan and was a perfect 8-for-8 at the charity stripe through two games. Fellow Hoosier Maya Makalusky earned her first Big Ten Freshman of the Week recognition after making her first career start and notching a season-high 22 points against ULM. She shot 66.7 percent from the floor and 60 percent from beyond the arc against the Warhawks with four rebounds, three assists and two steals. Makalusky also added nine points and six rebounds versus Eastern Michigan.
• With an 81-69 win over North Texas, Illinois improved to 10-1 on the season. The Fighting Illini are off to their best start in over 40 years and tied their best start in program history.
• Jerni Kiaku notched her 1,000th career collegiate point in Indiana’s matchup with Eastern Michigan.
• Maryland held Delaware State to just 11 first-half points, marking the fifth time in this century that an opponent has been limited to less than a dozen points in a first half. The Terps went on to win the game, 91-21, the fewest points allowed in program history.
• Mara Braun and Grace Grocholski became the 29th and 30th Golden Gophers, respectively, to reach 1,000 career points.
• Nebraska scored at least 80 points for a school-record 11th consecutive game by defeating Illinois State, 85-44.
• Northwestern’s Caroline Lau became the seventh player in program history to reach 500 career assists with 10 helpers against Utah.
• Ohio State broke its single-game record with 27 steals versus Northern Kentucky. Kennedy Cambridge contributed 10 steals, which tied for third in program history, and was only the sixth time a player had recorded 10 or more steals in a game. K. Cambridge is just the second Buckeye in the last 23 years with 10 or more takeaways in an outing.
• The 2025-26 season will be the final ride for storied Northwestern head coach Joe McKeown, who announced on March 24 that he intends to retire at the conclusion of season. McKeown is the longest-tenured and winningest head women’s basketball coach in Northwestern history. This is his 18th season in Evanston and his 40th season overall as a head coach.
• Each Big Ten institution will play an 18-game conference schedule for the seventh time in eight seasons. The conference season tipped off on Saturday, Dec. 6, with three games, while the remaining 12 teams opened conference action on Sunday, Dec. 7. The league slate pauses for the holidays and resumes on Sunday, Dec. 28 with a four-game lineup. During the conference season, each program will play one school both home and away, while facing 16 teams once. Of the single-play opponents, institutions will face eight at home and eight on the road.
• The 2026 Allstate Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament is set for March 4-8 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, marking the 27th time the tournament will be played in Circle City. Fifteen teams will qualify for the tournament, with three first-round games slated for Wednesday, March 4 on Peacock. The second-round, quarterfinal and semifinal contests on Thursday, Friday and Saturday will be carried on the Big Ten Network. CBS will broadcast the championship game for the third year in a row on Sunday.