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w om en's ba sketba ll: ne ws a nd note s Double vertime Link t purdu o 2012-1e's seaso 3 statsn Boilers Trending Upward BY KYLE CHARTERS KCharters@GoldandBlack.com HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill. — The Boilermakers are trending upward in NCAA Tournament projections, a good place to be at this point of the season. A four-game winning streak, including three in three days to win the Big Ten Tournament championship Sunday, is a boost Purdue's NCAA Tournament résumé. And it was in need of a jolt, after a month of February that had seen the Boilers drop from a top-12 Tom Campbell team nationally to being out of the rankings. Conference commissioner Jim Delany presented Drey Mingo her Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player plaque. Big Ten Standings Team 1. Penn State 2.Nebraska 3. Michigan State PURDUE 5.Michigan Illinois 7.Iowa 8.Minnesota Ohio State 10.Northwestern 11.Wisconsin 12.Indiana (Through March 10) Big Ten/Pct. 14-2/.875 12-4/.750 10-6/.625 10-6/.625 9-7/.562 9-7/.562 8-8/.500 7-9/.438 7-9/.438 5-11/.312 3-13/.188 2-14/.125 Overall/Pct 25-5/.833 23-8/.742 24-8/.750 24-8/.750 21-10/.677 16-13/.552 20-12/.625 18-13/.581 18-13/.581 13-17/.433 11-19/.387 11-19/.367 Last week, ESPN bracketologist Charlie Creme had the Boilermakers as an 8 seed, an unenviable place to be, considering 8/9 winners in the women's tournament very often are forced to play a No. 1 seed on its home court in Round 2. But as a No. 7 seed, where Creme has Purdue now, the Boilermakers could face a 2 seed in the second round, an easier task, although that might still be on the opponent's home court. In his latest bracket, Creme has Purdue as a 7, playing No. 10 seed South Florida in Durham, N.C. The winner would likely get sure I let them know how much I appreciatsecond-seeded Duke in Round 2. ed their commitment, their effort and their But getting up the 6 spot is also possible. love for me. It was a very special moment." Purdue, which has a 24-8 record, has quality wins this season over Marist, Central During the speech, Kix reminded the Michigan and Tennessee-Martin in the non- Boilermakers of their trip to the Virgin Isconference, and vs. Nebraska (twice) and Michigan State (twice) in the Big 2012-13 WOMEN'S BASKETBALL SCHEDULE Ten. It's only glaringly bad loss came Time/ResultTV at Indiana in the midst of its February Date Game Nov. 4 LINDSEY WILSON (exh.) W, 89-33 — swoon. Nov. 10 USC UPSTATE W, 82-47 PurdueSports.com Nov. 17 at SIU-Edwardsville W, 66-51 — Selection Monday is March 18. Kix Provides Inspiration When Terry Kix spoke before Sunday's championship game, she had the full attention of her Boilermakers. Kix, Purdue's director of operations, has been the inspirational leader of the Boilermakers this season, as she's spent the last few months receiving chemotherapy to help her fight against stomach cancer. The speech she delivered must have been rousing, as the Boilermakers responded by jumping all over Michigan State in the opening minutes on their way to a 62-47 win in the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament. "It was really important to me to keep my illness out of the spotlight," Kix said after the victory. "It's always been about the girls, but they wanted to do something special for me and that means more than anything. Coach gave me the opportunity to give a pep talk today before the game and I made Nov. 19 BOWLING GREEN W, 59-45 BTN Nov. 22 vs. Marist^ W, 71-50— Nov. 23 vs. Wake Forest^ W, 67-53 — Nov. 24 vs. No. 2 Connecticut^ L, 57-91 Nov. 28 GEORGIA TECH* W, 85-73 BTDN Dec. 2 CENTRAL MICHIGAN W, 87-71 BTN Dec. 6 at IPFW W, 69-54 — Dec. 9 at Tennessee-Martin W, 68-60— Dec. 16 at Oakland W, 77-46 — Dec. 21 IUPUI W, 78-53 BTDN Dec. 29 at No. 5 Notre Dame L, 47-74 — Jan. 2 at Illinois W, 67-66 (OT) BTDN Jan. 5 at No. 25 Nebraska W, 69-66 (OT) CBS Jan. 14 OHIO STATE W, 82-75 (3OT) BTN Jan. 17 MINNESOTA W, 75-67 BTDN Jan. 20 at Iowa L, 46-62 BTN Jan. 24 NORTHWESTERN W, 77-73 BTN Jan. 27 at No. 25 Michigan State W, 67-62 (OT) ESPN2 Jan. 31 INDIANA W, 59-42 BTN Feb. 4 at No. 8 Penn State L, 61-69 ESPN2 Feb. 10 MICHIGAN L, 56-67 BTN Feb. 14 at Wisconsin W, 58-48 BTDN Feb. 17 IOWA L, 52-72 ESPN2 Feb. 20 at Indiana L, 61-62 BTDN Feb. 24 at Minnesota W, 75-63 ESPN2 Feb. 28 MICHIGAN STATE L, 61-68 BTN/BTN.com March 3 ILLINOIS W, 76-65 BTN/BTN.com Big Ten Tournament (Hoffman Estates, Ill.) March 8 No. 11 Wisconsin W, 74-62 BTN March 9 No. 2 Nebraska W, 77-64 BTN March 10 No. 4 Michigan State W, 62-47 ESPN2 ^ Paradise Jam (University of Virgin Islands) * ACC/Big Ten Challenge GoldanDBlack express • volume 23, express 25 • 11