After another week of action, more movement takes place across the Big Ten as the conference tournament approaches.
Five teams extended their streaks of at least three straight wins or losses as Week 12 saw its fair share of big games and big moments.
Iowa earns 3rd straight top-15 win
After losing two of its first three ranked matchups, Iowa returned with four ranked victories.
The Hawkeyes began their march with a close, seven-point victory over Michigan State on Jan. 18 before defeating Maryland by seven points in overtime on Thursday. Iowa had its biggest conference win of the season on Sunday when it toppled No. 12 Ohio State by 21 points.
Sitting at No. 7 in the Big Ten with 80.9 points per game, the Hawkeyes have seen success from every athlete on their squad.
Over the past week, Iowa had three different athletes lead the team in scoring in each of the three games. Senior Hannah Stuelke led with 22 points against the Spartans, sophomore Ava Heiden dropped 20 against the Terrapins, and freshman Addie Deal scored a team-high 20 points against the Buckeyes on Sunday.
Purdue earns 2nd Big Ten win over conference winless Indiana
The lowest tier of the Big Ten continued to separate from the rest after another week of action.
The biggest reason for this came in Purdue’s second conference win of the season, a victory over an 11-9 Indiana despite a 42.6% chance of winning.
While the Boilermakers haven’t yet established a true leading scorer, they had three athletes in double figures, with another four players just one basket away from double-digit scoring.
For the Hoosiers, however, former Penn State star Shay Ciezki led the way in scoring. The senior guard scored 37 points, accounting for over 53% of her team’s points.
Penn State guard Shay Ciezki (4) dribbles the ball during the WBIT quarterfinal game against Mississippi State at the Bryce Jordan Center on Thursday, March 28, 2024 in University Park, Pa. The Lady Lions beat the Bulldogs 92-87.
Tyler Mantz
Purdue moved to No.13 in the Big Ten rankings — in control of the last seed for the conference tournament — while Indiana sits just one loss away from the Lady Lions’ last place.
Maryland suffers back-to-back ranked losses
After winning its first ranked matchup of the year, Maryland has lost its last three, including back-to-back top-10 losses last week.
Following a loss to UCLA, where the Terrapins allowed 97 points — the second-highest this season — they suffered an overtime loss to Iowa to fall to 17-4 on the year.
Maryland’s offense was successful on Jan. 18 as junior Oluchi Okananwa scored 25 points, followed by Saylor Poffenbarger and Addi Mack’s combined 27 points.
Their offense was even stronger on Thursday as the Terrapins scored 34 fourth-quarter points to send the game to overtime.
This time, redshirt junior Isimenme Ozzy-Momodu led the way with 18 points. However, Maryland was outscored 12-5 in the overtime period, ultimately losing their third straight ranked matchup.
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