University of Minnesota Athletics
Gopher Women's Basketball Downs South Dakota State in Exhibition
11/15/2002 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Minnesota women's basketball team concluded their exhibition season with a 93-67 win over South Dakota State in front of a crowd of 3,608 in Williams Arena on Friday. All-American L indsay Whalen< /a> led five Golden Gophers in double figures with 28 points and 10 assists. Kim Prince and Corrin Von Wald each added 14 points to help the Gopher cause.
"We were very impressed with SDSU," said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. "The first half we were back on our heels, but I was extremely pleased with our defense in the second half. We kept the pace going as the defense helped create our offense. That type of basketball is exciting to watch. We still have a way to go, but it's nice to play a high caliber team like SDSU before the start of the season."
South Dakota State, the top ranked NCAA Division II team in the nation, gave Minnesota all it could handle in the first half as the teams traded baskets to start the game. The Jackrabbits pulled out to a 23-17 lead with 12 minutes left in the half on the strength four three-point field goals.
After a timeout, Minnesota responded with a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 24-23. The Gophers were able to grab the lead for good with 8:49 to play after a Von Wald layup made it 28-26. From there, the two teams battled back and forth with Minnesota clinging to a 47-42 halftime lead. SDSU's Stacie Cizek scored 16 of her team-high 19 points in the first half, making 4-of-5 three pointers. The Jackrabbits as a team hit 7-of-11 from long range to keep pace with the Gophers in the first half.
The second half began much like the first half had ended as both teams battled back and forth with Minnesota never leading by more then six points. After the Jackrabbits closed to within three at 53-50 on a Brooke Dickmeyer three pointer, a trio of defensive stops led to Minnesota layups on consecutive possessions by Whalen, Von Wald and Tanisha Gilbert and the Gophers took control of the game.
Another SDSU trey by Brenda Davis brought the Jackrabbits to within seven at 63-56 with 13:11 remaining but the Gophers responded with a 22-0 run over the next six minutes and the game was out of reach.
At the 7:33 mark of the half Minnesota had their biggest lead of the game at 85-58 and were able to close it out from there. Led by a stifling defense the Gopher defense held SDSU to only 25 second-half points while exploding for 46 of their own as they claimed the 93-67 victory.
"We did a great job at pressuring the ball which gave our offense a chance to score," said Whalen.
The other two Gophers in double-figures were L indsay Lieser< /a> who chipped in 12 points on a perfect 4-4 from behind the arc and Janel McCarville who earned a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Minnesota shot 60 percent from the field and controlled the boards, finishing with a 37-27 rebound advantage.
The Golden Gophers went 2-0 in their exhibition contests leading into the regular-season opener on Nov. 23. Minnesota plays host to the Subway Basketball Classic on Nov. 23-24, opening their season against Indiana-Purdue Fort Way
