Nothing can skyrocket a basketball team to the top of the standings like a hot-shooting player. One huge reason for the emergence of the Minnesota women's basketball team as a Big Ten powerhouse this season is the outstanding play of guard Lindsay Whalen.

The sophomore was recently named the Big Ten's Player of the Week for the fourth time this season as she has led the No. 18 Golden Gophers to the second spot in the conference standings.

Minnesota has won three straight, culminating with a 94-83 win over Iowa on Sunday in which Whalen contributed a career-high 34 points on 72 percent shooting from the floor.

She also had 26 points and seven rebounds last Thursday as the Gophers completed a season sweep of Illinois.

That win marked the first time they have beaten a Big Ten opponent twice in a season since 1993-94. With seven wins thus far in conference play, the Gophers have already equaled their victory total for the last four seasons -- combined. Gophers' coach Brenda Oldfield attributes her team's revival to the leadership of Whalen, whom she called the best player in the Big

"I think the thing that makes her so special is that she understands what she has to do to be successful," Oldfield said. "She could average 30-plus points a game, but she understands the team concept of having to include all of her teammates in order to be successful."

Whalen says that her outstanding play this season can be chalked up to her renewed focus on three-point shooting.

"It's definitely another element of my game that I feel is a strength," Whalen said, "and I'll continue to work on it and just take the open looks when I get them."

Trading spaces

The Gophers' rise to success has been helped by the dramatic decline of Wisconsin, who just a few weeks ago were ranked as high as No. 5 in the nation and stood atop the Big Ten.

Times have changed.

The Badgers had a 15-game winning streak snapped in a home loss to Minnesota on January 20. Since then, they have dropped four straight and have plummeted to fifth in the conference and No. 21 in the Associated Press poll.

Wisconsin head coach Jane Albright said that her squad is still optimistic about their chances in the postseason even though things have been tough in recent weeks. The seven-year coach also gave an explanation of why the Badgers have fallen so far so fast.

"When we were winning, we were making more free throws than our opponents were taking," Albright said. "It's a very, very big factor."

Meder is all-time leader

Iowa senior guard Lindsey Meder became the Big Ten's all-time leader in three-point field goals in the Hawkeyes' loss to Minnesota on Sunday.

"We're very proud of Lindsey in accomplishing the three-point record," Iowa head coach Lisa Bluder said. "We just wish we could have given her a win against Minnesota to remember it by."

Meder has notched 254 three-pointers in her career, surpassing Northwestern's Michele Ratay on the all-time list.