March 6, 2025
Big Ten Tournament notebook Day 1: Higher seeds advance
Washington, Iowa and Nebraska all advance to play again on Thursday
The Big Ten Tournament tipped-off on Wednesday with No. 10 Nebraska, No. 11 Iowa and No. 12 Washington all advancing to the second round. The conference is among the country’s best with more than half of the Big Ten’s 18 teams potentially vying for an NCAA Tournament berth.
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Here’s a look at some of the top storylines that emerged from day one of the Big Ten Tournament:
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Elle Ladine powers Washington past Minnesota
The Washington Huskies ended the regular season as one of the hottest teams in the conference with a four-game win streak. That continued into the opening game of the conference tournament as the Huskies dispatched the Golden Gophers, 79-65.
Junior Elle Ladine, who has been a standout guard all season for Washington, shined on the national stage with 21 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Last week, Ladine had a 26-point game against the Golden Gophers in the penultimate game of the regular season.
Following Washington’s first round win, Ladine spoke about preparing for Minnesota again and her big game.
”I feel like preparing the same way as I prepared last time gave me confidence in this game, and doing the same thing we always do,” Ladine told assembled media during her postgame press conference. “When you start off just making open shots, you kind of get a little feel for it. My teammates finding me, setting good screens, so I was able to shoot my open pull-up. That helped me get a really good feel.”
Washington head coach Tina Langley attributed her team’s hot shooting to simply being prepared and ready to work. The Huskies shot 54.5 percent from the field and 41.7 percent from the 3-point line.
“They’re excited for what we’re building at Washington, and I just think they own that and that responsibility. They’re an incredibly talented and connected young group of women, and just work,” Langley said during the postgame press conference. “They’re excited to work. So I attribute that to the work they put in.”
On the other side, Minnesota will await their NCAA Tournament fate once the selection committee reveals the brackets in a little over a week.
Golden Gophers’ head coach Dawn Plitzuweit spoke about the team’s mindset going into the upcoming week amid their postseason uncertainty.
”The good thing for us is we have young ladies that understand — they understand what it takes in terms of an effort standpoint, from a fundamental standpoint and now we have a chance to go grow in some of those fundamental areas while we focus on us for the next, whatever the course of time is,” Plitzuweit said during her postgame press conference. “It’s a good stretch of time. So we can spend this time really focusing on us and improving us individually.”
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Alexis Markowski’s stellar senior season continues
A big reason for the success the Nebraska Cornhuskers have had this season has been due to the contributions of senior center Alexis Markowski.
With the Cornhuskers eliminating Rutgers to advance to the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, it was Markowski who shined once again with 19 points and 10 rebounds while shooting 7-of-10 from the field.
Following the game, Markowski spoke about her early-season conversations with Nebraska head coach Amy Williams and how that set the tone for this year.
”I think early on in this season I met with Coach Williams, and we kind of just talked about living in the moment,” Markowski said during her postgame press conference. “I think I was kind of just struggling with that maybe, or just the grind of the season was kind of getting to me.”
This season, Markowski has averaged a career-best 16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 1.6 assists while shooting 48.3 percent from the field.
Nebraska advances to face Illinois on Thursday, but even if they lose, they appear to have a good resume for an NCAA Tournament appearance. Markowski knows that no matter what, her time as a Cornhusker is limited, and that’s helped fuel her strong year.
”Knowing that my time is kind of coming to an end, I feel like I really am living in the moment and enjoying every second I have out there on the court with these girls,” Markowski said. “I just want to give everything I have out there on the court, leave it all out there. I just think that’s kind of where my mindset has shifted.”
For Rutgers, it’s been a tough season that was marred by the absence of talented freshman guard Kiyomi McMiller for the Scarlet Knights’ final seven games of the season including their first round loss to Nebraska in the Big Ten Tournament.
Following Rutgers’ loss, head coach Coquese Washington reflected on the past season while putting everything into context.
”My perspective is always, having been in the game of women’s basketball for a long time … every season is its own journey,” Washington said during her postgame press conference. “It’s been a magnificent season … because of the journey that it is and what we learn about ourselves, what we learn about each other, what we learn about the university, how you put yourself in position moving forward to be impactful in people’s lives.
“So in some ways, it doesn’t matter how it ends,” Washington continued. “It’s what was the journey. And what was it that was meaningful in so many ways. That’s the space that I’m in right now.”
Lucy Olsen’s impact for Iowa carries over to postseason
The Iowa Hawkeyes struck gold when Lucy Olsen committed to the program last offseason. Olsen was considered one of the top players available in the transfer portal after three seasons at Villanova.
Olsen had a strong first season with the Hawkeyes to the tune of 18.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.1 steals. As Iowa knocked off Wisconsin, 81-54, it was Olsen who led the way with a team-high 19 points, while shooting 8-of-12 from the field.
She also reached the 2,000 career points mark, and after the game she reflected on this past season and her scoring outburst carrying over into the tournament.
”I’m just happy to be playing basketball still, and I wouldn’t be doing it without these great teammates. They gave me a lot of nice passes,” Olsen said. “I just don’t want to lose. I want to keep playing. This team is so good and so special that I’m just trying to do whatever I can to let us keep playing some more basketball.”
Although Wisconsin was eliminated, junior forward Serah Williams continued to show why she is among the Big Ten’s elite players. Williams finished with a game-high 22 points while blocking five shots.
Williams has expanded her game to where she can consistently shoot from midrange, and that was on display against Iowa. During her postgame press conference, she spoke about the work she’s put into her shot.
”I know a lot of people tried to make it difficult for me to catch it in the post and stay limited in the post. I just always want myself to expand and grow as a player,” Williams said. “So I really got in the gym this summer and worked on my shot, and always made sure that I wanted people to respect me outside of the paint.”
The Big Ten Tournament continues on Thursday with the second round matchups of No. 5 Michigan/No. 12 Iowa, No. 6 Michigan State/No. 11 Iowa, No. 7 Illinois/No. 10 Nebraska and No. 8 Oregon/No. 9 Indiana.
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Written by David Mendez-Yapkowitz
David has been with The Next team since the High Post Hoops days when he joined the staff in 2018. He is based in Los Angeles and covers the LA Sparks, Pac-12 Conference, Big West Conference and some high school as well.
