Women’s BiG Ten News

McLAUGHLIN, HARRIS PICKED FOR PRESEASON BIG TEN TEAMS

The Boilermakers also selected to finish fifth by the league’s coaches.

Big Ten Women’s Basketball Week Central

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – For the straight year, the Purdue women’s basketball team placed a pair of Boilermakers on Preseason All-Big Ten teams. On Monday, Ae’Rianna Harris and Karissa McLaughlin were tabbed to the 2019-20 preseason squads selected by the conference’s coaches and media members.

Also announced Monday, Purdue was selected to finish fifth by the conference coaches. It was the Boilermakers’ first preseason poll appearance since 2012-13, when they were tabbed third. The Big Ten previously announced the preseason top-three teams, but the league expanded its poll list to five for this season.

“It’s great to see two of our student-athletes make the Big Ten preseason teams,” head coach Sharon Versyp said. “They had remarkable years for us last season. These selections and where we were picked to finish highlights the anticipation that everyone has for our season. We’re ready to get started.”

Purdue joined Maryland as the only other Big Ten program with two players on both preseason teams.

McLaughlin and Harris return after earning First and Second Team All-Big Ten honors in 2018-19, respectively. McLaughlin led the Boilermakers with 15 points per game and tied the program record for 3-pointers with 88 behind a 37.6% clip from downtown. The junior also dished out 129 assists, the third-highest total by a sophomore in Purdue history.

Harris was a 2019 Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American and a Naismith Defensive Player of the Year Finalist as a junior. The Indianapolis native became just the fourth student-athlete in league history to win Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors in back-to-back campaigns. Harris broke the school record for career blocks midway through her junior season. Entering her senior year, she is on the verge of becoming the first Boilermaker to join the 1,000-point, 1,000-rebound and 300-block club.

Purdue’s roster features significant veteran experience with the entire starting lineup back from a year ago and 100% of its points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals totals returning. The Boilermakers open the 2019-20 season with an exhibition at Mackey Arena against Southern Indiana on Nov. 3, before the regular-season tipoff against Milwaukee on Nov. 10 at home.

2019-20 COACHES BIG TEN PRESEASON RANKINGS
1. MARYLAND
2. Michigan State
3. Indiana
4. Michigan
5. Purdue

2019-20 COACHES PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM*
Ali Patberg, Jr., G, Indiana
KATHLEEN DOYLE, Sr., G, Iowa
KAILA CHARLES, Sr., G, Maryland
Taylor Mikesell, So., G, Maryland
NAZ HILLMON, So., F, Michigan
Shay Colley, Sr., G, Michigan State
Destiny Pitts, Jr., G/F, Minnesota
LINDSEY PULLIAM, Jr., G, Northwestern
Dorka Juhász, So., F, Ohio State
Ae’Rianna Harris, Sr., F, Purdue
Karissa McLaughlin, Jr., G, Purdue

2019-20 COACHES BIG TEN PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kaila Charles, Sr., G, Maryland

2019-20 MEDIA BIG TEN PRESEASON RANKINGS
1. Maryland
2. Michigan
3. Michigan State
4. Indiana
5. Minnesota

2019-20 MEDIA PRESEASON ALL-BIG TEN TEAM
Ali Patberg, Jr., G, Indiana
Kathleen Doyle, Sr., G, Iowa
KAILA CHARLES, Sr., G, Maryland
Taylor Mikesell, So., G, Maryland
NAZ HILLMON, So., F, Michigan
Shay Colley, Sr., G, Michigan State
Destiny Pitts, Jr., G/F, Minnesota
Lindsey Pulliam, Jr., G, Northwestern
Ae’Rianna Harris, Sr., F, Purdue
Karissa McLaughlin, Jr., G, Purdue

2019-20 MEDIA BIG TEN PRESEASON PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Kaila Charles, Sr., G, Maryland
Unanimous selections listed in ALL CAPS
* – additional honoree due to tie in voting

 

Ali Patberg Named To Nancy Lieberman Preseason Award Watch List

 

SPRINGFIELD, Mass.  – Indiana redshirt junior guard Ali Patberg has been named one of 20 candidates for the Nancy Lieberman Award watch list.

 

Patberg returns as the program’s leader in assists last season with 4.8 per game while also returning as the team’s leading scorer from the 2018-19 season. She played and started in 31 games in her first season at IU, as she helped guide Indiana to a NCAA Tournament Second Round appearance in Eugene that featured a win over Texas. The All-Big Ten Second Team selection averaged 15.8 points per game as she scored in double figures 24 times.

 

The Columbus, Ind. native also averaged 5.0 rebounds per game as she also shot 80.4 percent from the free throw line. She set a career-high 13 assists against Missouri State last season and dished out multiple assists in 29 games. Patberg is the only representative from the Big Ten Conference.

 

The Selection Committee for the Nancy Lieberman Award is composed of top women’s college basketball personnel including media members, head coaches, sports information directors and Hall of Famers. New to the award this season is Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies in each of the three rounds. By mid-February, the watch list of 20 players for the 2020 Lieberman Award will be narrowed to just 10. In March, five finalists will be presented to Ms. Lieberman and the Hall of Fame’s selection committee.

 

New to this year’s program is the Fan Voting presented by Dell Technologies. Starting on Friday, October 25, fans will have the opportunity to vote for their favorite players in each of the three rounds. Please help promote the fan voting to your fan base through your social media channels. The top 10 player selections from the fan vote will get an additional vote towards making the next round.

This list will be narrowed down to 10 in mid-February and then 5 finalists will be selected in March that will be presented to Nancy Lieberman and the selection committee. New to this program, the winner of this award will be presented at the 6th annual ESPN College Basketball Awards Show live from Los Angeles, CA on Friday, April 10th.

 

2020 Nancy Lieberman Point Guard of the Year Award Candidates*

Te’a Cooper	Baylor
Crystal Dangerfield	Connecticut
Kelly Campbell	DePaul
Nicole Cardano-Hillary	George Mason
Ali Patberg	Indiana
Lauren Dickerson	Miami-Ohio
Cierra Hooks	Ohio
Sabrina Ionescu	Oregon
Destiny Slocum	Oregon State
Stella Johnson	Rider
Tyasha Harris	South Carolina
Tiana England	St. John’s
Sug Sutton	Texas
Chennedy Carter	Texas A&M
Rachael Childress	UAB
Kornelia Wright	UCF
Japreece Dean	UCLA
Dru Gylten	Utah
Taja Cole	Virginia Tech
Chloe Wanink	Wofford

*Players can play their way onto and off of the list at any point in the 2019-20 season