Big Ten front runners run for cover; Badger fans flocking

No Big Ten women's basketball team is safe.

After beating Big Ten leader No. 12 Illinois 82-71 last Friday, Iowa (10-9, 7-3 Big Ten) moved into a first-place tie and appeared on its way to turning a disappointing season around.

Then ninth-place Michigan State got in the way.

Sunday in East Lansing, Mich., the Spartans (9-11, 3-7) stunned the Hawkeyes 66-62 and in the process threw the Big Ten race into greater confusion.

Iowa could not find a way to stop Spartan guard Maxann Reese. The Big Ten Player of the Week smoked the Hawkeyes for 27 points and hit the 3-pointer that put Michigan State ahead to stay 62-60 late in the game. Reese's 27-point outburst marked the fourth straight game the sophomore has scored 20 or more points.

"You have to give it to Maxann Reese. Twenty-seven points -- that is a valiant effort," Iowa coach Angie Lee said. "She is a great player."

After winning just two of its first nine games, the defending Big Ten champion Spartans were left for dead. Reese, fellow guard Jamie Wesley and center Kristen Rasmussen, though, have stepped up their performances and given the rest of the Big Ten reason to worry. Although it is too late for Michigan State to move into the upper half of the conference, it could be a factor three weeks from now in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament.

If No. 16 Wisconsin fails to win the Big Ten, do not blame its fans. The Badger faithful have come out in large numbers for every game to support the team. Only No. 1 Tennessee and No. 2 Connecticut have drawn more fans this year.

Last Sunday, Wisconsin broke its own Big Ten attendance record when 16,329 spectators converged on The Kohl Center to watch the Badgers (17-6, 6-5) destroy Northwestern 95-64. Senior guard Katie Voigt gave the crowd something to cheer about with her 23-point, seven-rebound, six-assist day.

The win was the Badgers' fourth straight and put them back in the Big Ten title picture. With three of its final five games at home, Wisconsin could secure itself a high seed for the Big Ten Tournament.

"Our history has been very good when we attack teams at home. The top three teams are coming to us," Badger coach Jane Albright-Dieterle said. "The really great thing is that our fate is in our hands."

Fans at Crisler Arena Sunday were treated to a matchup between the Big Ten's top centers. Indiana's Quacy Barnes and Michigan's Pollyanna Johns battled each other to a draw in the Hoosiers' 67-58 victory.

Johns did everything she could to give the Wolverines the win, scoring 16 points and grabbing 14 rebounds. Not to be outdone, Barnes helped the Hoosier cause by pouring in 19 points and snaring 10 rebounds. Her clutch foul shooting in the closing minutes sealed Michigan's fate.

Indiana's win made a murky Big Ten race even darker, creating a four-way tie for fifth-place.