University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
GOPHER WOMEN DEFEAT NORTHWESTERN IN OVERTIME
2/17/2000 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Cassie VanderHeyden scored seven of her career high 26 points in the extra stanza. She opened the overtime with a three-point field goal, then drove for a 15-foot jumper in the lane to give the Gophers a 69-64 lead a minute into overtime. The Wildcats could get no closer. VanderHeyden put an exclamation point on the victory with a home run pass layup as time expired.
"We needed this win," said Minnesota head coach Cheryl Littlejohn. " We had so many players step it up at different times of the game. This win truly was a team effort."
A player Littlejohn is referring to is senior guard Erin Olson. After a disappointing first half in which she shot just 1-of-6 from the field and scored four points, Olson scored the last eight Gopher points in regulation to force the overtime. Olson's reverse layup with 22 seconds left in regulation brought the team's to a 64-64 tie. After a Wildcat turnover, Olson, who finished with 19 points and seven assists, had a chance to win the game in regulation, but her shot from 12 feet at the buzzer rimmed out.
First-year forward Kim Prince also contributed big minutes off the bench for the Gophers. Prince scored 12 of her 16 points in the first half to help Minnesota take a 32-31 lead at halftime. The Gophers had trailed by as many as 10 points in the half, the latest at 25-15 with 7:51 to play.
Guard Lindsay Lieser jumpstarted the Gophers in the start of the second half hitting her first two three-point shots. She was the fourth Gopher to finish in double figures with 11 points. Lieser now has 62 three-point field goals this season, one shy of the Minnesota single-season record of 63, set by Shannon Loeblein in the 1994-95 season.
Minnesota (9-15, 2-11) shot an impressive 51 percent from the field in the victory. Northwestern shot 38 percent for the game and did not score a field goal in the overtime period.
The Gophers' next action is Sunday, Feb. 20, when they host Iowa at 2 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion.
