Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, January 23, 2014
There were four Big Ten women's hoops games tonight, highlighted by Purdue's impressive win over Northwestern. In other action, Ohio State topped Michigan, Illinois upset Michigan State and Minnesota got the best of Wisconsin.
Catch up on all the action in this post.
OHIO STATE 61, MICHIGAN 50 | RECAP
Ohio State picked up a much-needed victory on the road Thursday night and helped shake up the Big Ten standings with a 61-50 win over Michigan at Crisler Arena. Michigan entered the game in a three-way tie for first place in the Big Ten and now fall to 4-2 in conference play and 13-6 overall. The Buckeyes evened their Big Ten mark at 3-3 and improved to 13-9 overall.
ILLINOIS 61, MICHIGAN STATE 51 | RECAP
Illinois scored 15 of the game's final 20 points to pull away for a 61-51 win in front of 5,360 at Michigan State on Thursday, as the Fighting Illini earned their second road win in their last three attempts and their second-straight win at the Breslin Center. Ivory Crawford led the way with 14 points and Jacqui Grant posted a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Illinois held MSU, which entered the game averaging 75.9 points per game, to its lowest point total of the season. Sarah Hartwell was the third Illini with 12 points, and Alexis Smith stuffed the stat sheet with nine points, seven rebounds and six assists. Illinois improved to 9-10 overall, 2-4 in the Big Ten, while MSU fell to 12-7, 4-2.
PURDUE 90, NORTHWESTERN 65 | RECAP
(AP) Liza Clemons scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as No. 22 Purdue handled Northwestern 90-65 on Thursday night. Purdue (14-5, 4-3 Big Ten) closed the first half on a 13-4 run to take a 45-34 lead into halftime. The Boilermakers continued to pull away after the break, opening the half on an 11-3 run, and Northwestern (12-7, 2-4) was unable to cut the deficit to single digits during the second half.
MINNESOTA 64, WISCONSIN 53 | RECAP
The Minnesota (13-7, 2-4) women's basketball team used a second-half rally to defeat Big Ten rival Wisconsin (9-9, 2-4), 64-53, Thursday night at Williams Arena. Micaëlla Riché secured a double-doublethe sixth of her career, with 15 points and a season-high 10 rebounds, while Rachel Banham added a game-high 19 points for the Golden Gophers.