Wisconsin’s Jolene Anderson (20.3 points per game, 7.7 rebounds per game) and Illinois’ Jenna Smith (19 ppg, 9.8 rpg) sit atop the conference in scoring, and both players are on the inside track to be named Big Ten Player of the Year.

“I think Jenna is one of the top players in the Big Ten and I think she is definitely one of the best day in and day out,” Illinois head coach Jolette Law said.

“I just think she definitely ranks one or two in the league.”

While Smith’s coach ranked her near the top, Wisconsin head coach Lisa Stone left no doubt where she sees Anderson among the conference’s elite.

“She put the team on her back and she is, in my opinion, the best player in the league in terms of her stats,” Stone said.

“You look at what she’s done right now and we’re riding her out. She’s doing great things — she’s rebounding, she’s assisting, she’s making big shots, making big plays down the stretch and we need her to continue that the rest of the way.”

Staying focused

With the regular season nearly finished, it’s now time for Big Ten teams to focus on the Big Ten Tournament, and for some, the NCAA Tournament.

Stone said one of the keys to sound tournament play is to keep the players fresh and focused on the task at hand.

“As pressure starts to, in some people’s eyes, mount near the Big Ten Tournament we’re playing good basketball right now,” said Stone of her Badgers, who entered Thursday’s game with a 15-11 overall record.

Stone also said it’s important for the coaches to help players remember what they did to get to the brink of postseason play.

“It’s urgency, not panic, and that’s the part that we as coaches have to instill in our players — it’s not time to panic. We’ve done so many good things we’re healthy right now and we need to focus on those things.

“If you’re playing well at this time of year, you’ve got a shot at a lot of good things.”

Celebrating heritage

Entering the final week of Black History Month, Law took the opportunity to thank the Big Ten Conference for taking a chance on her and the two other black head coaches in the league — Penn State’s Coquese Washington and Indiana’s Felisha Legette-Jack.

“Black History Month is a very important month for me and being in this league I thank the Big Ten for just talking the chance on me and Coquese and Felisha Jack and every opportunity we get,” said Law, whose Illini have a 7-9 conference record.

“It just really feels good to have other African Americans in this league that I can talk to and they can understand what we’re going though,” she said.

“I’m just blessed to be in this conference, and I’m grateful to be African American.”