WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
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Big Ten CommunicationsPublished: 2/16/2024, Last updated: 3/15/2024
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Big Ten Weekly Women's Basketball Central - Feb. 16-19

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BIG TEN WOMEN'S BASKETBALL  |  BIG TEN STANDINGS  |  BIG TEN SCHEDULE & RESULTS

2023-24 BIG TEN STATISTICS (XML)  |  2023-24 BIG TEN STATISTICS (PDF) |  2023-24 BIG TEN MEDIA GUIDE

NCAA STATISTICS  |  NATIONAL TOP 25 POLLS (FEB. 12-13)

BIG TEN WEEKLY RELEASE - FEB. 16

  • Five games remain for the Big Ten Conference this weekend. The lone television matchup belongs to the Big Ten Network (and the FOX Sports App) as in-state rivals Michigan and Michigan State face off in Ann Arbor at noon ET on Sunday. Four contests will be streamed live on B1G+ (visit bigtenplus.com for more information).

  • Caitlin Clark netted a career-high 49 points against Michigan on Thursday night to pass Kelsey Plum and become the NCAA’s all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball history with 3,569 career points. Clark passed Plum’s record with a logo three-pointer at the 7:48 mark of the first quarter. Plum, who played four seasons at Washington, set the previous mark of 3,527 points in 2017. Her 49 points set an Iowa single-game record and tied for fifth in the Big Ten Conference’s record book. Clark scored or assisted on 79 points, which is the most by any Division I women’s basketball player over the last 25 seasons. With one NCAA scoring record set, Clark is getting closer to catching Pete Maravich, the all-time scoring leader in college basketball history at 3,667 points.

  • Illinois topped Penn State, 86-71, for its first road win over the Lady Lions since Jan. 4, 2015.

  • Michigan had six double-figure scorers for just the second time in school history – Jordan Hobbs (16), Lauren Hansen (14), Taylor Woodson (13), Chyra Evans (13), Laila Phelia (12) and Cameron Williams (10) – as the Wolverines took on Iowa.

  • Makenna Marisa played in her 135th contest for Penn State on Thursday, the most of any Lady Lion in program history.

  • Rutgers earned its first conference home win of the season after defeating Minnesota, 81-73. The Scarlet Knights shot a season-high 92.9 percent (26-of-28) from the free throw line.

  • Sara Scalia moved ahead of Amanda Cahill (2017-18) to set the new single-season record for three-pointers made (79) at Indiana after knocking down four long-range shots against Wisconsin.  

  • No. 2 Ohio State picked up its 12th consecutive Big Ten victory after beating RV/NR Nebraska, 80-47, the most conference wins for the Buckeyes since the 2006-07 season.

  • Four Big Ten student-athletes were named to the 2024 Jersey Mike’s Naismith Trophy Women’s Player of the Year Midseason Team, the Atlanta Tipoff Club/Naismith Awards announced on Tuesday. Mackenzie Holmes (IND), Caitlin Clark (IOWA), Cotie McMahon (OSU) and Jacy Sheldon (OSU) are being considered for the award that recognizes the best player in college basketball. 

  • The Big Ten is tied for the top spot among Division I conferences with a remarkable nine schools in the top 50 of the latest NET rankings (including four in the top 20, second behind the Pac-12) – No. 5 Iowa, No. 8 Ohio State, No. 12 Indiana, No. 23 Michigan State, No. 26 Penn State, No. 32 Nebraska, No. 33 Maryland, No. 47 Minnesota and No. 48 Michigan. The NCAA Evaluation Tool (NET) is the primary sorting tool used by the NCAA Division I Women’s Basketball Committee for determining NCAA Tournament teams.

  • The Big Ten has three teams ranked, including two in the top five of this week’s Associated Press (AP) Top 25 poll. Ohio State jumped three places to No. 2, tying its highest ranking in program history. Iowa dropped two spots to No. 4 while Indiana is holding steady at No. 14. Michigan State and Nebraska are receiving votes.

  • The Big Ten has three programs featured in the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA)/USA Today Top 25 poll. Ohio State climbed three spots to No. 2, its highest ranking this season. Iowa fell to No. 5 and Indiana gained a spot to check in at No. 12. Michigan State continues to receive votes.

  • In the latest Massey Ratings, the Big Ten owns the country’s top offensive power rating, while coming in second in the nation in strength of schedule for games played and third in strength of schedule for future games.

  • Offensive production continues to be the story for the Big Ten Conference as 10 different schools (Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State and Penn State) have scored 100 points in at least one game this season. Five Big Ten teams are averaging more than 80 points per game to ensure multiple national top 20 scoring offenses reside in the Big Ten, led by Iowa (1st – 92.7), Michigan State (5th – 85.6), Penn State (6th – 85.4), Indiana (15th – 80.9) and Ohio State (16th – 80.9).

  • The Big Ten currently leads all Division I conferences in scoring (75.0 ppg), three-point percentage (.349), free throw percentage (.740), field goal percentage (.452) and assists (16.4 apg).

  • With a 1.74 assist/turnover ratio, Michigan State sits at No. 1 in the NCAA’s national statistical rankings. Iowa (6th – 1.54), Indiana (11th –1.43) and Ohio State (19th – 1.30) are also included in the top 20. Individually, DeeDee Hagemann (MSU) comes in seventh at 2.90.

  • The Big Ten features some of the best shooting teams in the country with five programs among the top 20, including four in the top 10, in field goal percentage. Indiana has the best mark in the country at 51.9 percent, followed by Iowa (4th – .506), Penn State (7th – .492), Michigan State (10th – .482) and Ohio State (16th – .469). Indiana and Penn State are also efficient from beyond the arc. The Hoosiers lead the nation with a 41.4 three-point percentage while the Lady Lions check in fourth at 39.3 percent.

  • Big Ten teams have been passing the rock quite well this season as six programs rank in the top 25 in the country in assists, led by Iowa (1st – 21.2), Michigan State (7th – 19.4), Indiana (13th – 18.8), Northwestern (21st – 17.8), Penn State (23rd – 17.6) and Ohio State (25th – 17.5). A quartet of Big Ten players rank among the top 25 nationally in assists – Iowa’s Caitlin Clark (1st – 8.5 apg), Purdue’s Jeanae Terry (13th – 6.0 apg), Minnesota’s Amaya Battle (15th –5.8 apg) and Northwestern’s Caroline Lau (22nd – 5.5 apg).

  • Individually, Caitlin Clark (IOWA) leads the country in points (852), points per game (32.8) and assists (220). Serah Williams (WIS) is averaging 2.9 blocks per game, which is good enough for seventh. Mackenzie Holmes (IND) is shooting 65.1 percent from the floor to rank third in field goal percentage, followed by Hannah Stuelke (IOWA) at 63.9 percent for seventh and Kendall Bostic (ILL) with a 61.7 clip to stand 11th. Mara Braun (MINN) has the best free throw percentage (95.0) in the nation.

  • The Big Ten has consistently ranked among the top three conferences in women’s basketball attendance for the past three decades and that trend has continued into the 2023-24 season. Currently, 11 Big Ten schools rank among the top 50 in the nation in average attendance, including six in the top 16, with both figures leading all Division I conferences. Iowa is second nationally in attendance (14,998 fans per game), followed by Indiana (6th – 9,303), Maryland (9th – 7,662), Ohio State (11th – 7,090), Purdue (12th – 6,364) and Nebraska (16th – 6,148).

  • The Big Ten closed its non-conference slate with a combined 114-41 (.735) record. Big Ten teams dominated on their home courts with an 82-11 (.882) record. Among the 114 victories, five were over AP Top 25 opponents.

  • The 2023-24 schedule marks the most coverage on nationally distributed platforms in Big Ten women’s basketball history. Six Big Ten regular-season games will be televised on a broadcast platform, the most in conference history. NBC televised its first-ever Big Ten women’s basketball game on Jan. 21 when Ohio State upset Iowa and Peacock carried its first Big Ten women’s basketball broadcast on Jan. 2, a thriller between Michigan State and Iowa. The Ohio State-Iowa matchup on NBC and Peacock was the most-watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since 2010. Viewership peaked at 3.9 million viewers and the broadcast averaged 1.93 million viewers.

  • The Jan. 27 outing between Nebraska and Iowa drew 421,000 viewers, making it the most watched women’s basketball broadcast in Big Ten Network history.

  • The primetime battle on Feb. 3 between Iowa and Maryland averaged 1,578,000 viewers, the most watched women’s college basketball game ever on FOX.

  • No. 16/13 Ohio State claimed a landmark non-conference 78-58 win at No. 20/22 Tennessee. It was just the second time in Tennessee’s history that the Lady Vols have lost in Thompson-Boling Arena by at least 20 points. Ohio State is only the second Big Ten Conference program to defeat Tennessee in Knoxville, joining Indiana. It was the first time in conference history that the Big Ten has posted multiple wins over Tennessee in back-to-back years – Ohio State and Indiana both claimed victories over the Lady Vols during the 2022-23 season – and has won five of its last six matchups with Tennessee.

  • No. 21/19 Indiana secured an impressive non-conference 71-57 victory over No. 19/21 Tennessee on Nov. 23. It was the second time in as many years that the Hoosiers have bested the Lady Vols and the largest margin of victory (14) in the four-game all-time series. Last year’s Hoosier win was the first time a Big Ten Conference school defeated Tennessee in Thompson-Boling Arena. The matchup scored 1,118,000 viewers to rank as FOX’s most-watched women’s college basketball game ever and the most watched regular season women’s college basketball game on any network since last season’s 1,466,000 viewers for LSU vs. South Carolina on ESPN.