Before the tournament begins on Friday, all the teams will enjoy a Thanksgiving dinner tonight at the Waikiki Marriott with their families and fans.
Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue was the Big Ten tournament champion last season. They lost to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAAs. And that was without Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton, who missed the season with an ACL, and Jodi Howell, who was out with two shoulder surgeries.
In her junior year, Wisdom-Hylton was the Big Ten defensive player of the year and an honorable mention All-American. She led the team in rebounds and blocks and was their second leading scorer. She is a bit smaller than Jayne, 6-2 with a wingspan of 6-4.5.
ESPN's Charlie Creme evaluates them thus: Their nightmarish injury problems of a year ago might turn into a blessing this season. While Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton and Jodi Howell were out with injuries, Danielle Campbell and Lakisha Freeman established themselves inside. The 6-4 Campbell anchored a defense that ultimately carried the Boilermakers to their end-of-the-year success. FahKara Malone is probably the player most responsible for keeping Purdue alive last season, and the junior returns to anchor the backcourt.
Coach Sharon Versyp made practices more challenging this week, "We went very, very hard," to prepare her players for the trip to Hawaii.
So far this season, the Boilermakers are 3-0 against unranked teams. Their RPI is 44, and they're ranked 19/23. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.
Iowa State Cyclones
Iowa State finished eighth in the Big 12 last season. They lost to Rutgers in the second round of the NCAAs.
They return four double-digit scorers: Alison Lacey, Nicky Wieben, Heather Ezell and Kelsey Bolte. Charlie Creme says that Lacey is probably the best of that group. He expects that she will get more minutes at her more natural shooting guard spot after playing the point last season.
They have a 21.3 rebounding margin, but coach Bill Fennelly isn't sure they can keep that up. He says the one thing his team hasn't seen yet this season is size. "That will be the No. 1 thing our kids will have to adjust to. They’re going to be looking up to people when they haven’t had to look up in a while.” If they are to succeed in Hawaii, "...the rebounds must continue to fall into ISU’s hands."
So far this season, the Cyclones are 3-0 against unranked opponents. Their RPI is 28, and they're ranked 25/22. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.
Hawaii Rainbow Wahine
Hawaii finished sixth in the WAC last season.
They were led by their freshman phenom, point guard Keisha Kanekoa, who started 15 games and played in every one.
This is coach Jim Bolla's fifth season at Hawaii. He is the program's second winningest coach, known for recruiting talented players. This year's team is a deep, though young, squad with six freshmen added to the nine returners.
The Rainbow Wahine are 0-3 this season. Their RPI is 265. Here are their 2008-09 Team Statistics.
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