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Patricia Babcock McGraw's Bio: Patricia Babcock McGraw is a women's basketball analyst for the Big Ten Network. Submit your comments below or e-mail her at the right, then come back all season for her views on all Big Ten women's hoops. |
| Dec 1 2008, 9:41 AM | Topic: Women's basketball |
| You know how the old adage goes, "Sometimes it's better to be lucky than good." Of course, it's better yet to be lucky AND good. Wisconsin was both on Sunday in a monster 59-58 upset victory over No. 7 Baylor at the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands. The Badgers were down by five points with less than three minutes remaining and went on a 6-0 run to end the game. Alyssa Karel nailed a jumper with seven seconds left to seal the deal. That was the good part. The lucky part was that Baylor had a golden opportunity to win or at least tie the game when Melissa Jones was fouled at the buzzer as she grabbed an offensive rebound. Wisconsin coach Lisa Stone called time out and apparently the "icing" left Jones stone cold. She missed both free throws. Amazing. What a great win for the Badgers, who are looking to prove that there is indeed life after the great Jolene Anderson. GOOD SHOWING: Michigan State also had a nice week. Sure, the Spartans lost to Notre Dame on Saturday, despite a career-high 34 points by Aisha Jefferson. But a six-point (78-72) loss in South Bend is hardly anything to be ashamed of. Notre Dame is a tough team and is ranked 14th in the country by the Associated Press. If any loss is a good loss, that's it. But Michigan State also got a good win. A very good win. A few days prior to the Notre Dame game, the Spartans destroyed Old Dominion, 74-48. And Old Dominion is ranked No. 23 in the country. Jefferson scored only 5 points (which motivated her to be more offensive-minded against Notre Dame), but Michigan State had plenty of others – including reserve Lauren Aitch, who scored a game-high 14 points - step up in a big way. LOOKING AHEAD: There are some great games in the Big Ten this week starting with a doozy on Wednesday between North Carolina and Ohio State. I've been voting North Carolina No. 2 in the Associated Press poll with no hesitation. The Tar Heels are for real: 8-0 and beating teams by an average of 22.7 points per game. Their biggest coup of the season so far came in an 80-79 victory over Oklahoma and all-American center Courtney Paris about a week ago. Let's see how Carolina handles the likes of a very similar player in Ohio State center Jantel Lavender. Meanwhile, Purdue has a brutal week ahead. The Boilers, who hung tough against No. 5 Stanford this week before succumbing 67-65 in overtime, are hosting No. 10 Maryland on Thursday and will visit No. 14 Notre Dame on Sunday. And getting a full serving of the Big Ten will be No. 12 Duke, led by former Michigan State coach Joanne McCallie. The Blue Devils will host Iowa on Thursday and Michigan on Sunday. Finally, Illinois will host No. 16 Virginia on Thursday. |
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