Women's College Hoops: Big 10 Basketball Preview 2007-08

2006-07 record: 19-12

Key Additions: Illinois will be adding two very talented guards. Chelsea Buher is 5-11 and will have the ability to help move the ball, while the 5-9 Lydia McCully will have the ability to drive, dish, and run the offense as well.

Returning Starters: Illinois is coming back rather strong returning many of their top scorers that include the 5-11 talented star, Lori Bjork, and the Jenna Smith who made the Big 10 All Frosh team, and lead the Big 10 in offensive rebounds. Other notable starters include: Guard: Chelsea Gordon, Forward: Lacey Simpson, and Forward: Danyel Crutcher

Players Lost: Erin Wigley and Danielle Graton will be the most missed from the Illinoise Women's Basketball team. Wigley tied for 18 on IU's total scoring list with 1,023 points, and Danielle Graton transferred to Ball State University.

Projected: NCAA Tournament

07-08 Indiana Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 Record: 19-14

Key Additions:
5-10 Forward, Ebony Jackson from Arlington High school, Andrea McGuirt, the 5-9 Guard out of Marist High School, Whitney Lindsay the 5-7 Guard Freshman St. Peter's, Haylie Linn the 5-11 Guard from Edgewood High School, Jori Davis the 5-9 Freshman from Greece-Athena, and Georgia Follmer the 6-4 Center from Santa Margarita Catholid.

Returning Starters:
Nikki Smith, the 5-9 senior guard, will lead this team with her team high 12.0 points per game to go along with her 34.9 percent from the three point line. She will receive help from the 6-0 Forward Whitney Thomas who averaged 8.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game.

Players Lost:
The most notable loss will be Sarah McKay who averaged just under 11.8 points per game along with 5.8 rebounds a game to help the Indiana squad find the success they did last year.

Projected: WNIT tournament

07-08 Iowa Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 record: 14-16

Key Additions:
Kachine Alexander, Kelsey Cermak, and JoAnn Hamlin will be the newcomers for the Iowa women's squad. Kachine Alexander will be able to use her extreme quickness to get to the basket and give dish out opportunities on the perimeters for her teammates. Cermak and Hamlin who are 6-1 and 6-3 respectively, will be able to use their height to get the boards on the basket.

Returning Starters:
Kristi Smith, Megan Skouby, and Johanna Solverson who lead the team with 13.4, 13.2, and 10.9 PPG will all be returning to support the team as they try to make a run at the NCAA tournament this year.

Key Players Lost:
No notables to report

Projected: WNIT

07-08 Michigan Women's Basketball
2006-07 Record: 10-20

Key Additions
The Michigan Wolverines will be receiving the player Veronica Hicks who averaged 18.2 points and 7 rebounds in high school. She will be able to dramitcally help Michigan who struggled last year in the scoring department.

Returning Starters
The most notable returning starters are the sophomore Krista Phillips who averaged 8 points per game and helped Michigan with 4.3 rebounds a game. The forward, Carly Benson will also help by improving on her 7.7 points per game from last year.

Key Players Lost
Kelly Helvey gave Michigan some additional points and hustle plays on the court. She averaged 1 still per game, which helped in some of Michigan's victories last year.

Projected: No Tournament

07-08 Michigan State Women's Basketball
2006-07 Record: 24-9

Key Additions
Michigan State will be improving on their frontcourt by adding Lykendra Johnson, Kalisha Keane, Cetera Washington, and Taja Wilson. They will also add a great guard by the name of Brittney Thomas, who stands at 5-10 and will be able to dish, drive, and consistently hit the mid-range jump shot.

Returning Starters
The most notable returning starters are Allyssa DeHaan. The sophomore averaged more than 12 points a game, 7 rebounds, and 4.4 swats per game. Aisha Jefferson and Mia Johnson who averaged 10.4 ppg and 8.3 ppg respectively, will also make a run at the NCAA tournament this year.

Key Losses
The Michigan State basketball team will suffer big holes to feel as Victoria Lucas-Perry and Rene Haynes averaged almost 24 points and 10 rebounds combined. This will be a huge task for Michigan State to recover from.

Projected: NCAA tournament

07-08 Minnesota Golden Gophers Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 Record:17-16

Key Additions
The Golden Gophers will receive a great defensive, rebounding, and blocking presence with the addition of the freshman Kristen Dockery, who stands at 6-4.

Returning Starters
Emily Fox will be the main starter to help her team as she averaged 12.9 points last year and hopes to improve on those numbers. Brittany McCoy and Ashley Ellis-Milan both averaged around 9 points last year and hope to improve on those numbers. Milan will help in the rebounding department this year as well.

Key Losses
Kelly Roysland was a starter who helped the Minnesota Golden Gophers get some wins last year. She averaged 13.2 points per game as well as a 77% free throw shooting percentage.

Projected: No tournament

07-08 NorthWestern University WildCats Basketball Preview
2006-07 Overall Record: 8-22

Key Additions
Amy Jaeschke will be the NorthWestern center for the future years to come. With her 6-5 presence, and ability to serve as a defensive presence, she will be able to help her teammates get open looks on the perimeter. Meshia Reed, Jenny Eckhart, and Shantina Boyd will all help with the smaller things such as transition defense, perimeter defense, and outside shooting as well.

Returning Starters
Sara Stutz will be the main returning starter who averaged 11 points per game and grabbed 4 boards a game last year. She will also have great support with Kaitlin McInemey who averaged just over 7 points and 5.5 rebounds a game last year.

Key Losses
A.J Glasauer will probably be the biggest lost as she averaged nearly 13 points a game for her team.

Projected: No Tournament

07-08 Ohio State Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 record:28-4

Key Additions
Key additions include Allison Jackson, Brittany Johnson, Jantel Lavender, and Sarah Schulze. Jackson and Johnson will add depth to the backcourt, while Jantel Lavender will be a hybrid center/forward. Sarah Schulze will help the Ohio State basketball team with her great play at forward.

Returning Starters
Marscilla Packer is among the starters coming back as she averaged 10.4 points a game, and pulled down 2.3 rebounds a game as well. Star Allen was not far behind with 10.1 points and 6.3 rebounds a game.

Key Losses
Jessica Davenport, one of the Big 10 superstars last year, will probably be the hugest lost as she averaged 18.7 points and nearly 9 rebounds a game. She will be sorely missed, as she was able to dominate on both the offensive and defensive end. Brandie Hoskins was a great force as well as she was able to average 12.3 points per game. One of Ohio State's biggest questions is if they will be able to fill these huge shoes that were left.

Projection: Although not nearly as strong last year, they will still make the NCAA tournament.

07-08 Penn State Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 record: 15-16

Key Additions
Penn State's basketball will add three players by the names of Evelyn Lewis, Juila Trogele, and Jannessa Wolff. All of these positions will add a great amount of depth to the frontcourt of Penn State.

Returning Starters
Kam Gissendanner will want to improve on her decent numbers of 12.8 points per game. She gave the team a great needed boost with her 84% percentage from the foul-line last year. She will also receive help from O'rouke, and Williams

Key Losses
Amanda Brown will average 14.2 points per game, and 10.2 rebounds per game. She will be one of the biggest losses in the Big 10, only Jessica Davenport for Ohio State and Katie Gealrds for Purdue

Projection: No Tournament.

07-08 Purdue Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 record: 31-6

Key Additions
Purdue had a great year last year, and will add Michelle Clark to their backcourt. They will also add Keshia Mosley and Samantha Woods to their backcourt and help with the defensive, post-scoring, and rebounding presence. It seems as if Purdue will be great for more years to come with this class of additions

Returning Starters
Some returning starters are Jodi Howell and FahKara Malone. Altough shorter than the average basketball player, Fahkara will be able to add to the assist and shooting department. What she lacks in height, she makes up for hustle and quickness. She averaged nearly 8.4 points and 4.0 assists last year and will hopefully improve even more on those numbers.

Key Losses
Purdue will be taking a huge hit with their losses this year as they lose players who gave them nearly 35 points per game. People may consider this a down year for Purdue, however, the underclassmen and returning starters are determined to step up. Katie Gearlds lead the team with 19.1 PPG and nearly 5 rebounds a game. She was also helped by Forwards Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton who redshirts this year due to an injury and Erin Lawless who averaged 10 points and over 5 boards last year.

Projected: NIT

07-08 Wisconsin Women's Basketball Preview
2006-07 record: 23-15

Key Additions
The Wisconsin Women's basketball team will have an incredible freshman class, adding Tara Steinbauer, Alyssa Karel, and Lin Zastrow. All three of these players were stars in their high schools, especially Lin Zastrow who averaged 20 PPG and 10.9 assists per game. Alyssa Karel will add to her team's backcourt.

Returning Starters
Jolene Anderson, the Sr. guard averaged nearly 20 points per game, and grabbed nearly 7.1 rebounds last season. She will be able to get Wisconsin into the NCAA tournament. Janese Banks, who averaged 14.6 points per game, and grabbed 6.1 boards will also give the Wisconsin that sorely needed support.

Key Losses
No Notable losses

Projected: NCAA tournament

The big 10 has proven to be an incredible conference, with height and speed alike. They will continue to follow that path and tradition as there are many strong teams coming back that include Ohio State, Wisconsin, Purdue, and Michigan State. There are also other teams who are starting to come up from the depths of the standings. This is going to be an exciting season!