Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament, Quarterfinals

We are on to the semifinals at the Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament. Today had 3 of 4 games going to the underdog. Here’s how it went down:

The first game featured (8) Maryland and (1) Ohio State. Fresh off a Big Ten Regular Season Title, the Buckeyes were beat by the Terrapins 82-61.

Ohio State (25-5, 16-3) will head into March Madness on a 2-game losing streak. Cottie McMahon really struggled in this one as she went 3-17 from the field in the defeat.

For Maryland (19-12, 11-9), not only did they knock off the #1 seed, but they did it in dominating fashion. The Terrapins lead this game for over 30 minutes.

“You have to be able to have that consistency if you’re going to beat a great team like Ohio State,” Maryland head coach Brenda Frese said.

Another upset took place when (4) Michigan State was defeated by (5) Nebraska 73-61.

The Spartans (22-8, 12-7) solidified their spot in March Madness before this tournament started. Michigan State was led by Julia Ayrault who had 25 points in the loss.

Nebraska (21-10, 13-7) lives to fight another day behind the works of Alex Markowski, Natalie Potts and Jaz Shelley who all had 15+ points in the victory.

“I’m just so proud of this team right now,” Nebraska head coach Amy Williams said.

Now, the unlikely matchup of (8) Maryland (5) Nebraska will take place at 1 PM CT.

Then it was off to the late session where (7) Penn State was destroyed by (2) Iowa 95-62.

The Lady Lions (19-12, 10-10) now must wait and see if their name is called when “Selection Sunday” comes around in 9 days. Leilani Kapinus was excellent today as she had 19 points but especially against the NCAA’s all-time leader scorer Caitlin Clark who missed her first 11 three-point attempts.

“I think Leilani Kapinus is the best defender in the country,” Penn State head coach Carolyn Kieger said.

Clark has built a standard that tonight was an off game for her. However, for most it would be a career night.

“It’s funny, Caitlin has an off night, and how many people would say you have an off night when you have 24 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists, but it was an off night for Caitlin,” Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said.

The Hawkeyes are now (27-4, 16-3), the top seed remaining in the tournament and two wins away from a third consecutive Big Ten Tournament Title.

The Final game of the evening featured (6) Michigan and (3) Indiana with the Wolverines winning 69-56. It was a tale of two halves as Michigan outscored the Hoosiers 48-21 over the final 20 minutes.

Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes came in late but wasn’t much of a factor after being questionable coming into the game. Indiana (24-5, 15-4) was led by Sydney Parrish who had 13 points and 9 rebounds.

Michigan (20-12, 11-9) has now fully cemented themselves in March Madness. Laila Phelia was fantastic tonight scoring 30 points.

“I think Laila Phelia showed why she’s one of the best players in the country,” Michigan head coach Kim Barnes Arico said.

Michigan will face (2) Iowa roughly 25 minutes after the conclusion of Maryland / Nebraska.