Indiana Women's Basketball: Big Ten Power Rankings Ahead of Conference Play

No. 10-7

10. Penn State Lady Lions 10-4, 1-2

Don't look past the Lady Lions because of the two early conference losses. They took care of business this afternoon against Northwestern for their first conference win. Penn State took #8 USC to the wire and played #4 Iowa tough. If Makenna Marisa and Shay Ciezki can continue to score at a high level, they could pull some upsets in conference play.

9. Purdue Boilermakers 8-5, 1-1

Purdue is intriguing because they are talented, but like Wisconsin, they must rely on young talent to score and defend. Also, like Wisconsin, they are a year away from contending in the Big Ten. Fellow freshmen Rashunda Jones and Mary Ashley Stevenson are tremendous building blocks for the future.

8. Maryland Terrapins 9-4, 1-1

Although the non-conference did not go precisely how Brenda Frese and the Terps wanted it to, they will be among the more formidable teams in the Big Ten. Maryland went 15-3 in the conference and made it to the Elite 8 last year. Frese has an experienced squad with Shyanne Sellars leading the way and should find their way to March Madness again this year.

7. #20 Ohio State Buckeyes 10-3, 1-1

The Buckeyes eliminated the Hoosiers from the Big Ten Tournament last year. Guard Jacy Sheldon has filled in nicely for Taylor Mikesell, the previous year's leading scorer. Ohio State's only two losses this year are to #21 USC and #2 UCLA. Ohio State has two winnable games against Northwestern and Rutgers before hosting Michigan State on January 14th.