Big Ten women: Buckeyes shoot for six in a row

Preseason polls say the Buckeyes will repeat as conference champions.

By MYRON P. MEDCALF, Star Tribune

Last update: October 30, 2009 - 12:18 AM

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CHICAGO - Ohio State has won the past five Big Ten women's basketball regular-season titles. With four starters returning this season, the Buckeyes were picked to win their sixth in a row by both coaches and media in the league's preseason polls, released Thursday at Big Ten women's basketball media day.

But the Buckeyes aren't content. They're hoping to make a serious run at a national title. All-America junior forward Jantel Lavender, the top rebounder (9.9 per game) and scorer (20.0 ppg) in the Big Ten last year, is the league's preseason player of the year for the second time.

"It's extremely high expectations for our team," Lavender said. "I think it just takes competitiveness every day. It takes hard work every day. We love the fact that everybody wants to beat us."

• The Gophers were picked to finish third in the Big Ten by coaches and fourth by media members. Minnesota earned a surprising 79-71 victory at Notre Dame in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament and sustained a lopsided 73-42 loss against Texas A&M in the second round. Standout guard Emily Fox is the only Gophers starter missing from last year's team.

"I don't think I was surprised by it," Gophers coach Pam Borton said of the predictions. "We're returning a veteran team. ... I think a lot of people have a lot of respect for our program and the four returners from our team, and basically how we finished last year."

• Beginning with the 2010-11 season, Big Ten women's teams will play a 16-game conference schedule, the league's coaches confirmed Thursday. "Well, I think we as women's basketball coaches wanted to get it down to a more manageable conference schedule instead of us beating each other up," Borton said. "... I think it's a very positive thing."

• Michigan State, picked in both conference preseason polls to finish second, used its Sweet 16 loss against Iowa State last season as motivation during the offseason, coach Suzy Merchant said. The Spartans led the Cyclones by seven points with 1:26 to play before Iowa State made a late run and won 69-68.

"I think our complacency issues that maybe came up were answered in the last 64 seconds of the Iowa State game," Merchant said. "I think losing the way we did when we had control of that game, I think our kids kind of took that negative experience and frustration and carried it over into the offseason, had a little bit different swagger."

• Former Bloomington Kennedy star and Illinois senior forward Jenna Smith was selected as a member of the league's preseason All-Big Ten team. She's joined by Lavender, Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan, Ohio State's Samantha Prahalis and Penn State's Tyra Grant.

• Lavender said she's beginning to see a "fire" from 2009 Minnesota Ms. Basketball Tayler Hill in practice, and that the former Minneapolis South star is beginning to realize how tough she'll have to play to contribute at the Division I level.

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