The Faces of Big Ten Women's Basketball

The college basketball season is well underway, but conference play is just a couple of weeks old.

Fans know that on the men's side of the Big Ten Conference, the front runners are Purdue, Michigan State and Wisconsin, but overall, the conference is a two month brawl.

Women's college basketball doesn't get a lot of attention, but if the right two teams are pitted against each other it can be just as exciting to watch.

For the women, the two months of Big Ten play is filled with as many brawls as the men.

Ohio State is the team to chase early on while the rest of the women have formed a pack behind them.

So let's see some of the faces to go along with the physical style of play that is the Big Ten.

Big Life. Big Stage. Big Ten.

Samantha Prahalis, Ohio State

Prahalis (5-7) is in her sophomore season with the Buckeyes, but made an impression her very first year.

She was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by averaging 10.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 5.8 apg and 1.9 spg in 35 games last year.

Prahalis' 203 assists her freshman year was an OSU record.

This season, she is avergaing 15.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 8.1 apg in 32 minutes per game. Prahalis is a big reason why the Buckeyes are 5-0 in the Big Ten and 17-1 overall.

Allison Jackson, OSU

Jackson has appeared in 59 games over her two and a half years in Columbus.

She is a career 29 percent field goal shooter coming off the bench, while averaging only 1.7 ppg and 1 rpg.

This season, Jackson (5-11) has seen action in all 18 games, shooting 43 percent from the field, and averaging 2.7 ppg (49 points) and 1.8 rpg.

Aleksandra Dobranic, OSU

Dobranic is a freshman in Columbus, by way of Novi Sad, Serbia.

She has played for the Serbian National Team, but has seen very little action for the Buckeyes this year.

Dobranic has played in just 11 of the 18 games, seeing just 43 total minutes, getting only eight points, 11 rebounds and four assists so far.

Seeing as how she's just a freshman, and that she's 6-4, people should expect to see plenty more of Dobranic.

Brianna and Nicole Mastey, Minnesota

Nicole, left and Brianna Mastey (sophomores) are actually not the only set of twins in the Big Ten, as we'll meet the duo from Northwestern later.

Brianna, who is one minute older than Nicole, has appeared in 32 total games in her career, averaging just 1.7 ppg and 1.5 rpg and shooting only 28 percent from the field.

Nicole has seen action in just 13 total games, and has yet to attempt a shot in her Golden Gophers career.

Granted, the Mastey's (6-1) may not be the faces of the Minnesota program, but in a slide show like this, you can't go wrong with twins.

Jenna Smith, Illinois

From what I've seen, Smith has been Illinois basketball for the past three and a half years.

She has played in 111 games, including 103 starts, averaging more than 16 ppg and around 9 rpg.

Smith has scored over 1,800 points in Champaign, and is having one of her best seasons this year as a senior, averaging 20.5 ppg and 11.4 rpg.

She was named Ms. Minnesota Basketball in 2006, and at 6-3 she is shooting 52 percent from the floor and 85 percent from the free throw line.

Smith is without a doubt why the Fighting Illini are 11-4, 3-2 and are in the hunt early for tops in the Big Ten.

Julia Trogele, Penn State

Trogele (6-2) averaged 18 ppg and 11 rpg her senior season at Villa Marie Academy (Pa.).

This season with the Nittany Lions, she is averaging 7 ppg and 6.8 rpg while playing 22.6 mpg.

Last season Trogele averaged 6.3 rpg and has a career average of 5.4.

During her summer breaks, she has spent them playing for the U20 German National Team.

Gizelle Studevent, PSU

Studevent was named the California High School Division 4 Player of the Year during her senior year last year.

She averaged 18.2 ppg to earn that distinction.

A freshman this season, Studevent (5-11) has played in 12 games, averaging 8.3 mpg.

She is a 28 percent shooter from the field, and averaging just 1.4 ppg and .8 rpg.

Like Dobranic at OSU, you should be seeing more of Studevent at PSU in the coming years.

Laura Garriga, Purdue

A senior from Barcelona, Spain, Garriga isn't the face of the program, but she's the face that makes my list.

She has played 13 games this year, with one start, and is averaging just 1 ppg and 1 rpg, while seeing seven minutes per contest.

Garriga (6-0) has just 12 points this year, off 6-for-10 shooting.

What you won't see from Garriga on the court, she appears to make up for it off the court, as she has been named a two-time Academic All-Big Ten.

Lindsay Enterline, Indiana

Enterline (6-0) is in her second season with the Hoosiers, but has yet to see any action this year.

Last year, she played in 26 games, with one start, averaging 1.5 ppg and shooting 46 percent from the field.

In high school, Enterline averaged 19.5 ppg and 6.5 rpg, where she also played volleyball and set school records in kills, blocks and digs.

Enterline also had a sister, Leah, that played basketball for Indiana as well.

Taylor Wurtz, Wisconsin

Wurtz (6-0) is just a freshman for the Badgers, but is already making an impact in Madison.

Through 17 games, she is averaging 7.6 ppg and 3.8 rpg, while shooting 44 percent from the field, including 43 percent on three-pointers, all in 18 mpg.

As a senior at Ripon (Wis.) high school, Wurtz averaged 25.4 ppg (best in the state) and 9.4 rpg. Her team went 78-13 in four years.

Wurtz finished her Ripon career first in points (1,910; 20.9), assists (354; 3.8), steals (357; 3.9) and three-pointers (240).

Allyssa DeHaan, Michigan State

DeHaan made history as soon as she stepped on the campus in East Lansing. She is 6-9 (yes, that's correct) and is the tallest player in Spartans history, as well as women's college basketball.

She is in her final season at MSU, where she already has 118 games played, with 111 starts, averaging 12.6 ppg and 7 rpg in 27.6 mpg.

DeHaan has shattered the school's and Big Ten's block record with 449 and counting. This season DeHaan is right on the mark with 12.8 ppg and 6.9 rpg, adding 3.1 bpg.

In high school, she averaged 24 ppg, 9 rpg and 9 bpg, and has reached the nine-block mark three times for the Spartans.

DeHaan is quickly becoming my favorite player and the women's side (secretly, I think all guys have a favorite), not just because of her height, but because she is perfectly fine being a 6-9 woman.

Mandy Piechowski, MSU

Piechowski (5-9) has played in 74 total games, with 20 starts, in her fourth season in East Lansing.

She averages just 10.7 mpg, scoring just 162 career points (2.2 ppg), to go along with her 1 rpg.

Piechowski's best season was her sophomore campaign, when she started half of her 32 games, in which she saw 15.6 mpg with averages of 2.5 ppg and 1.3 rpg.

Courtney Schiffauer, MSU

Schiffauer has played just two games in her sophomore season this year with the Spartans, due to an injury.

In those two games, she saw 60 minutes on the floor, averaging 16.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg and 4 apg, and shot 53 percent from the field and was 62 percent on three-pointers.

In her Spartans career, Schiffauer (6-1) has played 34 games with 14 starts and averages 15.9 mpg.

She shoots 46 percent from the floor and averages 4.9 ppg and 2.8 rpg.

Allison and Maggie Mocchi, Northwestern

Allison, left and Maggie are the other set of sophomore twins in the Big Ten, but have a little more productivity than the Mastey's in Minnesota.

Allison (5-10) has played in just 23 total games, missing most of last season with an injury. She is averaging 2.2 ppg, 1 rpg and 2 apg in 11.1 mpg.

In high school, she 1,085 points and set a school record with 11 steals in one game.

Maggie (5-11) has seen action in 37 total games, and is averaging 4 ppg and 2.6 rpg this season.

She bettered Allison by scoring 1,693 points in high school and was an All-State, All-Conference and All-Area for three years (2005-08).

We love the pick and role, the mid-range jump shot ...and twins.

Sam Arnold, Michigan

Arnold (6-3) is in her first season with the Wolverines after a very good high school career.

She is the all-time leading scorer at Lake Park (Ill.) high school with over 2,000 points, and also is the leader in free throw percentage.

This season in Ann Arbor, Arnold has played in 12 games, averaging 3.8 ppg and 1.3 rpg, while shooting 47 percent from the field.

Courtney Boylan, Michigan

Boylan (5-8) is in her second season with the Wolverines has has played in 45 games thus far.

This season, she has appeared in 15 games, averaging 12.6 mpg, with 4 ppg and 1.4 rpg.

At Chaska (Minn.) High School, Boylan scored 2,148 points and has a record 212 three-pointers.

Rachel Sheffer, Michigan

In her freshman year in Ann Arbor, Sheffer (6-1) has played in 12 games, seeing eight minutes per game.

She is averaging 1.9 ppg and 1.2 rpg, while shooting 50 percent from the field.

In high school, Sheffer was the only player to have 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds. For her career, she averaged 20 ppg, 13.2 rpg, 6.3 bpg, 5.1 apg and 3.1 spg.

Her 1,490 points, 1,074 rebounds and 479 blocks are Watervliet High School records.

Trisha Nesbitt, Iowa

Also a freshman, Nesbitt (5-6) has played in 16 games for the Hawkeyes and is shooting 32 percent from the floor.

She is averaging 2.7 ppg and 1 rpg in 15 mpg this season.

At Ames High School, Nesbitt scored 1,075 points, and averaged 15.6 ppg and 5.4 apg last season. Her 424 career assists is second all-time.

Nesbitt also showed her brains, as she graduated from high school with a 3.9 GPA.

Jaime Printy, Iowa

Printy became the youngest player, male or female, to commit to Iowa when she did so at age 15.

She has started all 16 games her freshman year, and plays 32.5 mpg, averaging 13.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg and 3.4 apg.

Printy (5-11) has shot 43 percent from the field, 37 percent on three-pointers and 89 percent from the free throw.

At Linn-Mar High School, Printy broke 14 school records including points (1,392), assists (374), steals (232) free throws made (319) and three-pointers (168). Her team had a 70-9 record while Printy was a member.

With 15 of the 19 ladies being underclassmen, these are the faces that you will be seeing for quite some time in the Big Ten Conference.

Let the brawling continue.