Big Ten Women’s Basketball Preview – Part 1

24-25 record: 10-19 (1-17 Big-10/18th place)

Head coach Carolyn Kieger was in the unenviable position of having to almost completely rebuild her team last season. PSU had lost all of their starters from 23-24. and there really were too many holes and not enough plugs to maintain their positive progress of the past few seasons.

As I had anticipated ahead of last season, PSU’s upward trend not only stalled, but fell in the bottom of a B1G ditch. It was, after all, a rebuilding season.

The Lady Lions return two of their three leading scorers, including 6-6 R-Jr. C Gracie Merkle, who delivered 15.5 PPG on the season, and led the team in rebounds. Their best 3-pt shooter, Moriah Murray, also returns. They lose PG Alli Campbell but have other options at the guard position.

Transfers into the PSU program include 6-2 Sr. F Amiya Evans (Georgia), 6-5 Sr. C Maggie Mendelson (Nebraska), and 5-8 So. G Kiyomi McMiller (Rutgers).

If Penn State is to show improvement, they need to win more than two or three conference games. They lost four conference games last season by five points or less, and another by seven points. Turning games like that around is the first step the Nittany Lions need to make in order to progress over the 24-25 season.

24-25 record: 9-18 (2-16 Big-10/17th place)

Ahead of the 2024-25 season, I had noted the parallels between Northwestern coach Joe McKeown and Kelly Graves; specifically, that both had very good teams before and immediately after the pandemic, but the wheels had come off with both programs.

Oregon has rebounded sufficiently from their death spiral. Northwestern has not. Regardless of this season’s result, McKeown has announced his retirement after he has finished his 19th season leading the Wildcats.

The most curious development in last season’s schedule was NU’s forfeit of their road games at USC and UCLA. They chose not to travel due to LA wildfires, and the Big Ten awarded them with losses while giving the LA schools the win. In all reality, that was probably a smart move by NU – they were going to lose those games anyway, so there was no sense in incurring travel expenses and putting player health at risk.

The Wildcats’ only conference wins were against Penn State and Rutgers.

NU had four players that averaged double-digit PPG, and lose the top three to graduation. Returning is 6-4 Sr. F Grace Sullivan, who averaged 10.1 PPG. They also keep their PG, 5-9 Sr. Caroline Lau.

A glaring issue from last season was Northwestern’s lack of 3-point shooting. As a team, they shot 28.6% to 34.5% from the opposition.

NU’s portal transfers into the program include 6-3 R-Sr. F Daija Turner (TCU). 5-6 Gr. G Sammy White enters the roster from the Wildcats’ lacrosse team. Also coming on board is 5-9 Gr, G Tate Walters (Furman).

It’s difficult to project how much this team can improve in the upcoming season. With a coach that is on his way out and a lack of improvement in talent, I don’t foresee Northwestern rising appreciably in the B1G rankings this season.

24-25 record: 13-20 (3-15 Big-10/T-15th place)

2023-24 was head coach Coquese Washington’s third season at Rutgers. In that season, Rutgers was not able to overcome the injury bug and finished 14th in the B1G standings. They did advance to the Great 8 in the WNIT, but last season was not the improvement that Rutgers was looking for. The biggest hit was the loss of 5* freshman PG Kiyomi McMiller (Penn State), but 5-9 PG Lisa Thompson (Missouri) and 5-9 PG Mya Petticord (Auburn) also moved on from the program.

McMiller was Rutgers’ leading scorer, and the other two players that scored double-digit PPG graduated.

Rutgers women’s basketball was in trouble, needed a reboot, and coach Washington took bold steps in an attempt to address the program issues. She replaced 4 of her 5 assistant coaches. She leaned heavily on the portal and brought in the following players:

Last season, Rutgers was a team that was outscored from beyond the arc, outrebounded on the defensive boards, and only shot 66.8% from the line. They won against Penn State (x2) and Purdue, and other than a close loss to Illinois they found themselves getting blown out in nearly every other conference game. It remains to be seen whether sweeping change will translate to a rise in the Big-10 rankings for the Scarlet Knights.

24-25 record: 10-19 (3-15 Big-10/T-15th place)

Head coach Katie Gearlds came into her fourth season in 2024-25 having been in the postseason the previous three seasons. After sliding in 23-24 and the loss of all their starters, the Boilermakers were forced into a position of rebuilding the team. They dropped from a T-11th place to last season’s T-15th place. Their conference wins came against Wisconsin, Northwestern, and Penn State.

An exodus of players ensued, with six players entering the portal. Coach Gearlds is on the hot seat and has another year to turn things around.

Purdue had no players that scored 10 PPG or more. They lost their top three scorers, and the only starter returning is 6-4 So. F Lana McCarthy.

Coming to the team from the transfer portal are:

Purdue also brings in significant height with 6-7 Fr. C Avery Gordon.

The Boilermakers will be a team to watch in terms of whether their portal additions can translate into an improved record this coming season.

24-25 record: 13-17 (4-14 Big-10/14th place)

Head coach Marisa Moseley resigned at the end of the 2024-25 season, having posted four losing seasons in a row and an overall record of 47-75. The new coach for the Badgers is Robin Pingeton, who led the University of Missouri for 15 seasons.

Wisconsin’s two leading scorers, and the only two scoring double-digit PPG, have transferred out. Their only returning starter is 5-1 Sr. G Ronnie Porter.

Coming into the program with the hopes of revitalizing Women’s hoops are:

The Badgers have dwelled in the bottom of the B1G rankings since 2011, so coach Pingeton has some cushion to turn the program around. She has a lot of coaching experience and it will be interesting to see how Wisconsin’s season plays out.

24-25 record: 25-11 (8-10 Big-10/13th place)

Dawn Plitzuweit is entering her third season leading the Golden Gophers. 2023-24 ended with a record of 20-16 (5-13 Big-10/T-11th place), so Minnesota made some modest progress after her inaugural season. They did not defeat anyone in the conference ranked higher than them other than a home win against Indiana. The Gophers did enter the WBIT tournament and went all the way, defeating Toledo, Missouri State, Gonzaga, Florida, and Belmont in the process.

Minnesota returns all of their five starters from last season: 6-5 Sr. C Sophie Hart, 5-10 Jr. G Grace Grocholski, 5-11 Sr, G Amaya Battle, 6-1 So. G Tori McKinney, and 6-1 Sr. F Mallory Heyer.

Given the roster stability, a couple of seldom-used players entered the transfer portal, and the Gophers brought in three players from the portal:

Minnesota’s starters were solid last season, and we’ve seen time and again how a veteran lineup can make an impact on a team’s season. My hunch is that Minnesota will improve this coming season and find their way into postseason play.

24-25 record: 19-14 (9-9 Big-10/12th place)

Head coach Tina Langley is entering her fifth season leading the Huskies. After taking UW to the first round of the WBIT in 2023-24, Langley saw last season’s squad reach the NCAA tournament First Four, where they lost a close game to Columbia, 60-63. They did not defeat any ranked teams, and their best conference win was over Nebraska, in an 83-62 blowout (they also defeated Oregon 64-56).

It’s not possible to preview the Huskies at this point. They have not posted a 2025-26 roster, and there is no news on incoming or outgoing transfers. The only certainty is that Washington loses three players to graduation: 6-4 F Dalayah Daniels, 6-3 F Breanna McDonald, and 6-3 F Tayra Eke.

24-25 record: 20-12 (10-8 Big-10/T-8th place)

The Ducks improved over their horrendous 2023-24 season, but it would have been virtually impossible not to have improved upon that season. We’ll be previewing Oregon specifically ahead of the season opener on November 3rd.