Big Ten conference play began last night. Surprising no one, Ohio State spanked Penn State in Columbus; the Buckeyes led by 18 at the half.

Purdue canned Wisconsin. The Boilermakers dominated the free throw line, landing six players in double figures, and holding Wisconsin scorers Anderson and Banks to a combined 8-for-26 from the field.

Frosh guard Jodi Howell broke out of a shooting slump. Purdue's coach Curry: ""If you're going to zone us, I'm going to come at you with a couple of shooters. It's nice to see Jodi get some confidence."

In a mild upset, Indiana overcame an injury-frazzled Iowa squad. Cyndi Valentin scored 20, and went 9-9 from the line, which isn't even unusual: she's a 96.9% (62-64) free-throw shooter this year.

Minnesota beat Northwestern in the Loyola-Chicago gym, which became a home away from home for the Wildcats after a wrestling tourney came to Evanston. Schonrock hit 4 of 7 trey attempts (she's approaching the Gophs' all-time record), but Minnesota overcame a disorienting start (and 21 turnovers) to win the game in the paint and from the line.

Gopher fans outnumbered Wildcat supporters in the near-empty gym. Coach Borton: "It's important to play in an environment like this. We usually play in front of 8,000 people at home. On the road in the Big Ten, sometimes you get that atmosphere, sometimes you won't. The players have got to motivate themselves. We had a slow start, but they did that well tonight."