University of Minnesota Athletics
GOPHERS TO PLAY INDIANA IN BIG TEN TOURNAMENT FIRST ROUND
2/27/2001 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Minnesota Golden Gopher women's basketball team (8-19, 1-15 Big Ten) earned the 10th seed in the Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament field and will face Indiana in first-round action on Thursday at 6 p.m. (EST). The Hoosiers are the No. 7 seed with a 18-9 overall record, 9-7 in Big Ten play.
Gophers Carried on WDGY Radio
The Gophers' games at the Big Ten Tournament will be broadcast by WDGY Radio 630 AM. Providing the play-by-play is Chris Tubbs. Handling the color commentary duties is sports information director Becky Bohm. Thursday game versus Indiana will be broadcast on a tape-delayed basis, beginning at approximately 9 p.m.
Grand Rapids Hosts the Big Ten Tournament
The city of Grand Rapids, Mich., will play host to the 2001 Big Ten Women's Basketball Tournament, March 1-4, in Van Andel Arena.
The Big Ten Tournament Schedule
Following is the game schedule for the 2001 Big Ten Women's Basketball "Grand Tournament" set for March 1-4, in Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich. All times are eastern.
Thursday, March 1 Game 1 #8 Ohio State vs. #9 Michigan State 4 p.m. Game 2 #7 Indiana vs. #10 Minnesota 6 p.m. Game 3 #6 Illinois vs. #11 Northwestern 8 p.m. Friday, March 2 Game 4 #4 Penn State vs. #5 Michigan 12 Noon Fox Sports Chicago Game 5 Game 1 winner vs. #1 Purdue 2:30 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago Game 6 Game 2 winner vs. #2 Iowa 6 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago Game 7 Game 3 winner vs. #3 Wisconsin 8:30 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago Saturday, March 3 Game 8 Semifinal, Winner of Game 4/5 4 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago Game 9 Semifinal, Winner of Game 6/7 6:30 p.m. Fox Sports Chicago Sunday, March 4 Game 10 Championship, Winner of Game 8/9 8 p.m. ESPN2 The Big Ten Tournament Champions
Purdue is the three-time defending Big Ten Tournament champion. The Boilermakers are one of four teams to capture the crown in the seven- year history of the tournament. Purdue defeated Penn State, 71-63, to win the 2000 tournament title but the Lady Lion point guard Helen Darling was name the tournament most valuable player. Here's a list of the tournament champions and years they won:
School Championships Iowa 1997 Ohio State 1992 Purdue 1998, 1999, 2000 Penn State 1995, 1996 Minnesota in the Big Ten Tournament
Minnesota and Indiana will meet in the Big Ten Tournament for the first time. The Gophers are 1-7 in Big Ten Tournament play, their only win coming over Wisconsin in 1997. Following is Minnesota's Big Ten Tournament history:
Year Result Round 1982 Ohio State 68, Minnesota 66 First Round 1995 (9) Iowa 57, (8) Minnesota 44 First Round 1996 (6) Ohio State 78, (11) Minnesota 64 First Round 1997 (11) Minnesota 80, (6) Wisconsin 75 First Round (3) Illinois 98, Minnesota 76 Quarterfinal 1998 (6) Wisconsin 65, (11) Minnesota 47 First Round 1999 (6) Michigan 74, (11) Minnesota 55 First Round 2000 (7) Wisconsin 56, (10) Minnesota 49 First Round Combinations, Combinations and More Combinations
The Gophers have started a whopping 11 different starting lineups. Comparatively, Minnesota started four different lineups during the 1999-2000 season.
2000-01 Minnesota Starting Lineup Records (Gilbert, Andersson, Bell, Piroglu, Whalen) 2-1 (Kane, Andersson, Bell, Piroglu, Whalen) 1-0 (Gilbert, Andersson, Prince, Piroglu, Lieser) 1-2 (Gilbert, Andersson, Prince, Piroglu, Whalen) 3-2 (Andersson, Prince, Pickens, Whalen, Gilbert) 0-2 The Gopher Seniors
The Gophers were honored their two seniors prior to their final home game, Feb. 22, center Brandy Pickens (Flint, Mich./Powers Catholic) and guard Alana Glass (Pontiac, Mich./Roeper). Pickens has captained the Gopher team the last two seasons and has started 40 games in her career. Last season, she was voted the Gophers' most improved player. Glass made the varsity roster after spending her first three seasons as a team manager. She has played in four games this season.
Rookies Among Big Ten Leading Scorers
Two of the top three leading scorers in the Big Ten are rookies, Penn State's Kelly Mazzante and Minnesota's Lindsay Whalen (Hutchinson, Minn./Hutchinson). Mazzante has a solid lead in the Big Ten scoring race and is averaging 18.8 points per game. Whalen scored 12 points against Michigan State and checks in at third, averaging 16.8 points per game. Iowa junior Lindsey Meder ranks second, averaging 17.2 points per game.
The Streak Snapped at Purdue
Lindsay Whalen had scored in double figures in every game she had played in her young Gopher career until she was held to nine points by a stingy Purdue defense on Feb. 18. The streak stood at 21 since Whalen missed three early-season games with an illness. Whalen returned to high scoring ways by scoring in double figures in each of the Gophers' last two games, so the tally stands at 23-of-24 games. Whalen has captured game scoring honors only nine times despite being Minnesota's leading scorer on the season.
Whalen's Rookie Season Listed Among Some Gopher Greats
The future for the Gopher rookie Lindsay Whalen is a bright one if the 5-8 guard continues along the path of the Gopher greats before her. Whalen has scored 403 in the first 24 games of her career and already among the first-year scoring totals of several of the best players to ever don the maroon and gold. All-Americans Shudlick and Coenen completed stellar Minnesota careers as the only Gophers to score over 2,000 points, scoring 2,097 and 2,044, respectively.
First-year Gopher Scoring 1.Linda Roberts (1977-78) 475 points 33 games 14.4 ppg. 2.Laura Coenen (1981-82) 456 points 28 games 16.3 ppg. 3.Laura Gardner (1978-79) 453 points 32 games 14.1 ppg. 4.Lindsay Whalen (2000-01) 403 points 24 games 16.8 ppg. 5.Molly Tadich (1983-84) 305 points 27 games 11.3 ppg. 6.Carol Ann Shudlick (1990-91) 285 points 24 games 11.9 ppg. The Cold, Cold Minnesota Winters
Over the last five years, Minnesota has posted an ice-cold 5-37 record in the month of January. February is even colder at 4-31. The Gophers have played in March, during Big Ten tournament play, just twice, going 0-2. Combining the months of January, February and March, and the Gophers have won just 11.4 percent of their games over the last five years.
January, 2001 1-6 February, 2001 0-8 January, 2000 1-8 February, 2000 2-5 January, 1999 2-7 February, 1999 0-6 January, 1998 1-7 February, 1998 0-7 January, 1997 0-9 February, 1997 2-5 The Scouting Report on Indiana
Indiana is the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten field after an impressive turn-around season directed by first-year Hoosier coach Kathi Bennett. The Hoosiers were tied with Minnesota last year with a 10-18 record but have posted a 18-9 mark in 2000-01. Center Jill Chapman leads the team in scoring (14.9), rebounds (7.1), blocks (44) and field goal percentage (55.4). Guard Heather Cassidy, who tops the team in assists with 108, also scores in double figures a 11.7 points per game.
Head coach Kathi Bennett is in her first season with the Hoosiers. Overall, Bennett owns a 242-115 record in 13 years of coaching.
The Series - Indiana owns a 20-19 edge in the series after sweeping both game from the Gophers this season.
Game One Versus Indiana - Jan. 4
The Golden Gophers lost its second game to open the Big Ten season, dropping a 79-76 decision to Indiana in the Sports Pavilion on Jan. 4.
Hoosier center Jill Chapman scored all 17 of her points in the second half to rally Indiana from a 34-32 halftime deficit. Chapman was held scoreless on 0-for-7 from the field in the first half, but then came alive making 6-of-6 in the second half. The 6-5 junior, who was last week's Big Ten Player of the Week, also pulled down 10 rebounds for her third consecutive double-double.
Five of Chapman's points came during a 7-0 Hoosier run that gave Indiana its biggest lead at 63-54 with 6:19 remaining. During the stretch, Minnesota missed the front ends of three one-and-one opportunities from the free throw line.
Minnesota fought back to get within two points at 67-65 on a pair of Lindsay Whalen free throws with 4:04 left. After an Indiana miss, the Gophers had a chance to tie the game but Kim Prince was whistled for travelling. The game was never a one-possession contest after that point. Indiana's Rachael Honegger iced the game with a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds left.
Four Gophers finished in double figures scoring, led by Whalen's 21 points, including a 9-for-9 performance from the free throw line. Tanisha Gilbert added 15, while Trish McGhee chipped in 11 and Prince 10. The Gophers were playing without starting point guard Ozlem Piroglu, who suffered a sprained right knee in practice the day before the game.
Game Two Versus Indiana - Jan. 11
Indiana guard Heather Cassidy blitzed the Golden Gopher defense for a career-high 27 points, while her Hoosiers teamed to shoot over 57 percent from the field as Indiana drilled Minnesota, 92-64, in Bloomington on Jan. 11.
Lindsay Whalen scored the first basket of the game but it would turn out to be one of only two leads the Gophers would have in the game. The other Minnesota advantage was when a Trish McGhee (Memphis, Tenn./Central) jumper made the score 16-14.
The game's momentum swung after Lindsay Lieser hit her only three- pointer of the game to tie the score at 23 with 9:33 left in the first half. The Hoosier hit 7-of-11 field goal attempts to finish the half with a 67 percent field goal percentage, while the Gophers turned over the ball 11 times during the same span. The result was a 45-35 Hoosier lead at intermission.
The Gophers' scoring drought continued into the second half as they managed just five points in the first five minutes helping Indiana built a lead of 62-40.
Kim Prince led the Gophers in scoring with 13 points. Whalen added 11 and Tanisha Gilbert 10. Cassidy captured game honors by hitting 9- of-13 from the field for 27 points, while also chipping in seven assists, four rebounds and three steals. Hoosier center Jill Chapman added 19 points.
Minnesota finished the game shooting 42 percent from the field and hit just 57 percent from the free throw line, making 17-of-30 from the line.
