Big Ten Tournament filled with drama

By DONNIE COLLINS
Collegian Staff Writer

With the Academy Awards ceremony, which honors the year's best movies, fast approaching, Purdue's Stephanie White-McCarty did her best impression of Titanic at last weekend's Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament.

The movie. Not the ship.

Neither White-McCarty nor her Purdue teammates sank on their quest for a Big Ten title, which they won 80-76 over Illinois Monday night. In fact, the Boilers took home all the hardware.

White-McCarty was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player after averaging 23.7 points per game, including 31 in the title contest. For her efforts, the senior swing player was also named to the all-tournament team.

But White-McCarty was not the only player deserving of honors after the tournament. Many award-worthy performances emanated from the tourney, which saw its share of laughter and tears, joy and agony.

All-unheralded team

The best players in the tournament weren't necessarily those who received the most regular-season recognition. Take Illinois' Allison Curtin, for instance.

After averaging a solid 11.7 points per game during her freshman season, Curtin looked like anything but a newcomer during the tournament. She posted a career-high 23 points against Penn State Sunday and bested that in the biggest game of her life by pouring in 24 against the Boilermakers.

"I just go out there and hustle. That's my main thing," Curtin said. "I love to play defense and I love to hustle. My offense just comes from that. I can't really say I was expecting too much."

Joining Curtin on the team of unsung heroes are Penn State guard Shawnta Vanzant, Michigan guard Anne Lemire, Indiana center Jill Chapman and Iowa guard Cara Consuegra. Combined these players averaged more than 23 points per game during the tournament.

Best performance in a losing role

Judging by the actions of Michigan State guard Maxann Reese following the Spartans' 79-74 loss to Penn State Saturday, one might have thought the jovial Reese played for the winning team.

Also nominated for best comedic performance, Reese brightened the spirits of the media during her postgame interview when asked about playing 40 minutes against the Lady Lions just one night after going 27 minutes against Indiana.

"It's more wear and tear on my mind than it is on my body. I feel like I can run all day," Reese said. "But I start thinking about all the people that come running out at me and how many picks I gotta get through. My mind is telling my body to stop. I get a time out, and I'm like, 'Thank you, God.' "

Play of the weekend

At the 15:46 mark of the first half during the Penn State-Illinois game Sunday, Illini forward Susan Blauser dribbled downcourt on a fast break. But Penn State forward Clara Carter hustled behind Blauser and unleashed a clean, but vicious, block of her opponent's attempted layup. The ball was sent sailing into the Penn State Pep Band, which was situated about 15 feet from where the block took place.

Most emotional moment

Without question, the tearful farewell of Northwestern coach Don Perrelli, who stepped down after 15 years at the helm of the Wildcats, was the tournament's most moving story.

After his team's second-round loss to Purdue, Perrelli attempted unsuccessfully to fight away tears when asked to recount the finer moments of his career, which included two Big Ten Championships.

"You always look at what's happened to you over the years and how many people touched your life in a certain way," Perrelli said. "You try to think of the good things and how much fun you had doing it. It certainly will be missed."

Quote of the tournament

"The last time we pressed was against Notre Dame. And we held them to 102 points."

--Illinois coach Theresa Grentz when asked about the effectiveness of her team's pressure defense against Penn State.