The 2009–10 Big Ten Conference women's basketball season marked the continuation of the annual tradition of competitive basketball among Big Ten Conference members.
Offseason On July 30, the Women's Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA), on behalf of the Wade Coalition, announced the 2009-2010 preseason "Wade Watch" list for The State Farm Wade Trophy Division I Player of the Year. The nominees are made up of top NCAA Division I student-athletes who best embody the spirit of Lily Margaret Wade. This is based on the following criteria: game and season statistics, leadership, character, effect on their team and overall playing ability. The list of Big Ten athletes are as follows: Jantel Lavender, Ohio State Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State Jenna Smith, Illinois
Season outlook
Preseason October 29: Ohio State junior Jantel Lavender was selected as the Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year by the conference coaches and a panel of media members.
Preseason polls Coaches Polls 1. Ohio State 2. Michigan State 3. Minnesota 4. Purdue 5. Iowa 6. Illinois 7. Penn State 8. Northwestern 9. Indiana 10. Wisconsin 11. Michigan
Preseason All-Big Ten Coaches Team JENNA SMITH, Sr., F, ILL Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU JANTEL LAVENDER, Jr., C, OSU Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU
Preseason All-Big Ten Media Team Jenna Smith, Sr., F, ILL Allyssa DeHaan, Sr., C, MSU JANTEL LAVENDER, Jr., C, OSU Samantha Prahalis, So., G, OSU Tyra Grant, Sr., F, PSU
Regular season
November Nov. 11: The Big Ten and Big 12 Conferences announced the formation of an annual inter-conference challenge for women's basketball. The challenge will span at least two years and will begin in the fall of 2010. The series will feature a home-and-home format over the initial two-year agreement, and each of the Big 12's teams will play in each Challenge, while one Big Ten team, Wisconsin, will play two Challenge games each year.
2009 Big Ten/ACC Challenge Schedule
Date Visiting Team Home Team Score Leading Scorer Attendance Dec. 2/09 Georgia Tech Penn State G Tech 64-60 Tyra Grant, PSU (20) TBD Dec. 2/09 Illinois Wake Forest Illinois, 65-50 Jenna Smith, Illinois (27) TBD Dec. 2/09 Boston College Iowa BC, 72-67 Kamilee Wahlin, Iowa (23)TBD Dec. 3/09 Michigan Virginia Tech Mich, 71-51 Veronica Hicks, Michigan (19)TBD Dec. 3/09 Clemson Northwestern CLEM, 69-68 Kirstyn Wright, Clemson (22)TBD Dec. 3/09 Minnesota Maryland MD, 66-45 Kim Rodgers, Maryland (14)TBD Dec. 3/09 North Carolina Michigan State MSU, 72-66 Italee Lucas, North Carolina (29)TBD Dec. 3/09 Ohio State Duke Duke, 83-67 Jasmine Thomas, Duke (29)TBD Dec. 3/09 Purdue Virginia VA, 56-49 Brittany Rayburn, Purdue (19)TBD Dec. 3/09 Florida State Indiana FSU, 82-74 Jori Davis, Indiana (23)TBD Dec. 3/09 Wisconsin NC State Wisc, 53-48 Taylor Wurtz, Wisconsin (13) TBD
Rankings The rankings are based on the ESPN/USA Today poll. AP Poll Pre Wk1 Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 Wk16 Wk17 Wk18 Final^ Illinois NR Indiana NR Iowa Michigan Michigan State 10 25 22 20 Minnesota Northwestern Ohio State 3 3 3 7 Purdue 23 Wisconsin ^Final Poll = ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll
In season honors Players of the week Throughout the conference regular season, the Big Ten offices named a player of the week each Monday. Week Player of the week 11/16/09 11/23/09 11/30/09 12/7/09 12/14/09 12/21/09 12/28/08 1/4/10 1/11/10 1/18/10 1/25/10 2/1/10 2/8/10 2/15/10 2/22/10 3/1/10 3/8/10
Midseason watch lists
Conference honors Honor Coaches Media Player of the Year Coach of the Year Freshman of the Year Defensive Player of the Year Sixth Woman of the Year All Big Ten First Team All Big Ten Second Team All Big Ten Third Team All-Freshman Team All Defensive Team
National awards and honors
Statistical leaders
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Postseason
NCAA Tournament
# of BidsRecordWin %R32S16E8F4CG 0–0
National Invitation Tournament
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See also 2009–10 NCAA Division I women's basketball season
References