PHOTO: Colin Gillette/Collegian
Penn State guard Helen Darling, the rest of the Lady Lions and the entire Big Ten are fighting to earn respect as one of the elite conferences in the country.

By Gwenn Miller
Collegian Staff Writer

Make no mistake, the Big Ten conference plans on being a force in women's basketball this year. And its coaches are sick and tired of hearing otherwise.

"You know, I'm getting tired of hearing about every other conference and then the Big Ten," Illinois women's basketball coach Theresa Grentz said. "The Big Ten's always been known as a big, physical league. What we're trying to do is make it a big, strong, athletic league."

And there is no shortage of players who have the potential to transform the Big Ten into Grentz's ideal, sleeker league. There are talented guards and forwards with All-American potential, such as Purdue's Katie Douglas and Penn State's Andrea Garner, and several teams have an opportunity to be selected for the NCAA Tournament.

Now that the season is underway, it's becoming clearer as to which teams are living up to or exceeding the expectations.

"We've got great teams in this league," Ohio State coach Beth Burns said. "I would be shocked if anyone didn't get a win and I'd be shocked if anyone went undefeated."

The favorites

The way coaches were talking in the preseason, Penn State was going to dominate the conference and, if they were lucky, Illinois and Purdue would have a shot at the title.

But four games into the schedule, the No. 12 Fighting Illini have not stumbled and are 4-0 along with the No. 5 Lady Lions. Illinois is led by a talented senior frontcourt of Susan Blauser and Tauja Catchings who are averaging 14.6 points apiece. In addition to their forwards, sophomore guard Allison Curtin leads the team in scoring with 18.4 points per game.

The Lions have won nine straight games and moved from No. 6 to No. 5 in the polls this week with a 12-2 record. Center and current Co-Big Ten Player of the Week Andrea Garner is averaging 14.9 points and 9.5 rebounds in her senior campaign. Penn State's guards have also been instrumental the team's wins with Chrissy Falcone and Lisa Shepherd averaging 9.7 and 12.4 points, respectively.

"Rene has been there (at Penn State) forever and done such great things," Burns said. "She does her schedule to a science. But I'm telling you, Illinois, Wisconsin, the two Michigans — I don't think they're that far behind."

While Wisconsin hasn't been living up to Burns' preseason expectations, Michigan hasn't disappointed. With a 3-1 Big Ten record, the Wolverines beat defending-national champions Purdue and received votes in the AP poll.

Senior guard Stacey Thomas broke the Big Ten conference record for steals when she recorded three against the Boilermakers and now has 329. Thomas also leads the Wolverines in scoring with 14.7 points and guard Alayne Ingram averages 12.7.

Potentia l contenders

Despite a 114-49 loss to Penn State, Northwestern is 2-1 in the Big Ten. The Wildcats could finish in the upper half of the conference, mostly because it doesn't matter what the margin of defeat is, and also because they face 0-3 Wisconsin and Minnesota in the next two weeks.

"This year rebuilding is a big factor,"

Wildcats coach June Olkowski said. "We have six kids who have not played Div. I-collegiate ball. We have to worry about playing fundamental basketball."

One team not expected to have a rebuilding season was No. 18 Purdue. However, the Boilermakers are 1-2 in the conference with losses to Penn State and Michigan.

Nonetheless, they have a 9-4 record and talented guards in Katie Douglas and Kelly Komara. Center Camille Cooper is averaging 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game.

Michigan State entered the season with promising players such as Maxann Reese, who surprisingly, was not selected for the preseason All-Big Ten team. Reese averaged 17.6 per game last season and was slighted nonetheless.

But coach Karen Langeland is optimistic about her team, which is 2-2 in the Big Ten.

"We have three seniors who won a Big Ten championship as freshmen and they want to end their careers the same way they started them," she said.

The black sheep

For Wisconsin, the season has been off to a bleak start. Although the Badgers are 0-3 in conference play, they have a 6-6 overall record. They have more wins than Iowa, which is 4-9 overall, but 1-3 in Big Ten play.

Indiana is faring no better in conference competition, also posting a 1-3 record. But the Hoosiers are young and include four freshmen.

"We are looking forward to a fresh start," Indiana coach Jim Izard said. "We are a young team, but it will be a fun bunch to coach."

Minnesota has been the victim of injuries, with both point guards out of commission with knee injuries. The Golden Gophers have a 1-3 Big Ten record and recently fell to Penn State, 82-30.

Iowa's season motto is "Back in the Groove" because the Hawkeyes want to get back into the top five in the Big Ten. But a 1-3 conference record isn't helping the cause. Iowa is also relying on younger players, mostly sophomores, to lead the team.