University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Weber State
GOPHERS DEFEAT WEBER STATE TO FINISH FIFTH IN HAWAII TOURNAMENT
11/25/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
"I'm proud of the way we kept our composure in a hard-fought game against a very good Weber State team and playing in our third game in three days," said Minnesota head coach Brenda Oldfield. "We are very excited to be coming home with a 4-1 record."
Sophomore point guard Lindsay Whalen led four Gophers in double figures scoring with 24 points. Whalen converted 10-of-17 field goal attempts, while adding five rebounds and four assists. The Gophers' leading scorer averaged 20.7 points per game for the Gophers in the Hawaii tournament.
Lindsay Lieser contributed another outstanding game, chipping in 15 points and hitting 4-of-7 attempts from three-point range. Corrin Von Wald added 14 points, while Kadidja Andersson scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high nine rebounds.
Lieser scored 11 points, including a trio of three-pointers, to give the Gophers a 17-8 lead, seven minutes into the ballgame. Weber State used three treys to fuel a 13-4 run and tie the score at 21-21, before Wildcats took their only lead of the game on a jumper by Crystal Howe.
Von Wald rattled off six straight points to recapture the lead, as the Gophers held a 38-31 advantage at halftime.
Minnesota started the second half by hitting six of its first seven shots to build a double-digit lead. The Gophers increased their lead to as many as 19 points, at 65-46, on another Lieser three-point field goal with 9:24 remaining. Weber State mounted a comeback and chipped the deficit to eight points at 72-64 with 48 seconds left but the Gophers hit 4-of-6 free throws in the final minute to ice the victory. The Gophers did not score a field goal in the final 3:40 of the game.
The Gophers shot over 51.7 percent from the floor, the fourth time in five games this season that Minnesota has posted better than a 50 percent field goal percentage. Weber State finished the game shooting 33 percent from the field.
Minnesota's next action is Wednesday, Nov. 28, when the Gophers play host to Northern Iowa at 7 p.m. in the Sports Pavilion.
