Ohio State Tabbed Big Ten Women's Basketball Preseason Favorite By Coaches And Media
Buckeyes' Jessica Davenport Selected Preseason Player of the Year
Oct. 30, 2005
PARK RIDGE , Ill. –
The Big Ten women’s basketball coaches and a 22-member media panel have selected 2004-05 co-conference champion Ohio State as the preseason favorite for the upcoming season, it was announced at the league’s media day Sunday. Jessica Davenport, the defending Big Ten Player of the Year, earned the preseason honor by the coaches and was a unanimous selection by the media. The Buckeyes reached the NCAA regional semifinals last year with a 30-5 mark, including 14-2 in the Big Ten.
Michigan State , which is coming off its best season in school history, ranks second in both the coaches and media poll. The Spartans shared the league title with Ohio State and reached the 2005 national championship final with a 33-4 record, marking the first time in Big Ten history two conference teams eclipsed the 30-win mark in a season. Spartan head coach
Joanne P. McCallie, the reigning Associated Press National Coach of the Year, led her squad to both the regular season conference title and the Big Ten Tournament championship last season, which had not been accomplished since Purdue in 1999.
The coaches and media differed on the third-ranked team as the league mentors selected
Minnesota, while the media voted for
Purdue. Minnesota finished fourth in the conference last year at 12-4 and concluded the season at the NCAA regional semifinals with a record of 26-8. The Golden Gophers lost two-time All-American and WNBA No. 1 overall pick Janel McCarville, but return a deep and veteran roster, including junior
Jamie Broback. The Boilermakers were fifth in league play in 2005 at 9-7 and advanced to the NCAA second round before ending their season with a record of 17-13. Purdue will be guided by a strong junior class in
Katie Gearlds and
Erin Lawless, who each averaged over 14 points per game last year.
Leading the five-member Preseason All-Big Ten Team was Davenport, who was picked unanimously by both the coaches and media. Last season, Davenport became just the fourth sophomore to ever earn Big Ten Player of the Year honors. She led the league in scoring (19.3) and blocks (3.3) and was second in rebounding (9.3) and field goal percentage (.587). The National Player of the Year finalist was named a first-team All-American by the Associated Press, USBWA and Kodak/WBCA, as well as being tabbed a Wooden Award All-American.
Spartan senior
Liz Shimek was also a unanimous pick by the league coaches. With a 14.8 points-per-game average last year, Shimek led all Spartans en route to the national championship game. The Associated Press honorable mention All-American was 12th in the league in scoring and third in rebounding (9.1).
Shimek’s teammate, senior
Lindsay Bowen, and Purdue’s Gearlds were also selected Preseason All-Big Ten by the coaches and media. Like Shimek, Bowen was named AP honorable-mention All-America after ranking 16th in the league in scoring (13.8) and first in the conference in three-pointers per game (2.24) and second in three-point field goal percentage (.430). Gearlds, the coaches’ Big Ten Freshman of the Year in 2004, raised her scoring average by 3.5 points to 14.1 during her sophomore season and was third in the Big Ten last year at the free-throw line, connecting on 81-of-91 (.890) shots.
Rounding out the coaches preseason squad is Minnesota’s Broback, while 2005 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
Jolene Anderson of Wisconsin was picked by the media. Anderson, who finished fourth last year in scoring (17.8), became the first freshman in the league since the 2000-01 season to average 17.0 points or better. Broback was second on the team in scoring (14.4) and helped the Gophers to their first-ever Big Ten Tournament final last season after averaging a tournament-leading 23.3 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.
2005-06 BIG TEN WOMEN’S BASKETBALL PRESEASON HONORS
TEAM RANKINGS – COACHES
TEAM RANKINGS – MEDIA
1. Ohio State 1. Ohio State 2. Michigan State 2. Michigan State 3. Minnesota 3. Purdue 4. Purdue 4. Minnesota 5. Iowa 5. Iowa 6. Wisconsin 6. Penn State 7. Penn State 7. Wisconsin 8 .Indiana 8. Indiana 9. Illinois 9. Illinois 10. Michigan 10. Michigan 11. Northwestern 11. Northwestern
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN – COACHES
PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN – MEDIA
Lindsay Bowen, MSU, SR, G
Jolene Anderson, WIS, SO, G
Jamie Broback, MINN, JR, F
Lindsay Bowen, MSU, SR, G
JESSICA DAVENPORT, OSU, JR, C
JESSICA DAVENPORT, OSU, JR, C
Katie Gearlds, PUR, JR, G
Katie Gearlds, PUR, JR, G
LIZ SHIMEK, MSU, SR, F
Liz Shimek, MSU, SR, F
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – COACHES
PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR – MEDIA
Jessica Davenport, OSU, JR, C
JESSICA DAVENPORT, OSU, JR, C
