University of Minnesota Athletics
2003-04 Golden Gopher Women's Basketball Season in Review
4/30/2004 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The experience was a blur, one that still somehow seems like a dream. The whole NCAA Tournament was a whirlwind that swept thousands of adoring maroon and gold fans along. The ride was more than memorable; it was stuff legends are made of.
The Golden Gophers' Final Four appearance ended too quickly. Eventual national champion Connecticut ended Minnesota's dream season defeating the Gophers by a score of 67-58 in the national semifinal game. While the outcome will be remembered, it was the journey that created memories of a lifetime.
Expectations heading into the 2003-04 campaign were higher than they'd ever been. The Gophers were coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and had four starters, including national player of the year candidate Lindsay Whalen, back to put together a run at bigger and better accomplishments. The national pollsters tagged the Gophers as the No. 13 team in the nation. Too low? Perhaps, but hey, No.13 was a pretty lucky number for the Gophers. The Big Ten predictions placed the Gophers to finish third.
From day one, head coach Pam Borton was aware of the talent her charges possessed. The Gophers, however, lacked depth. "We'll go as far as our freshmen will take us," said Borton, in a quote that would certainly take on different importance as the season wore on. When Borton first offered this insight, she was aware that the bulk of the Gophers' bench was made up of the rookie class of Jamie Broback, Liz Podominick and Kelly Roysland.
The first hurdle of the year came in the season-ending loss of senior guard Leslie Hill to an Achilles tendon injury two weeks before the opening game. Though Hill would spend her senior season on the bench, her spirit and team attitude played major roles in the Gophers' success throughout the season.
Borton's freshmen prophecy took on a new meaning after losing Hill. The Gophers' backcourt already thin on numbers had lost its veteran reserve. Roysland would see plenty of experience backing up Shannon Schonrock and Whalen at the guard position.
Trial under fire was easily the theme for the Gopher freshmen. Roysland wasn't the only one tested early. Podominick was initiated early on in the low post. In trying to learn a new position, Broback didn't see the early minutes but would blossom into the rookies' biggest success story in later portions of the season.
Several other storylines would play themselves out during the season. Whalen was chasing the all-time school scoring record and positioning herself to be the Gophers' first WNBA draft pick. Janel McCarville came off a summer of playing USA Basketball with a new attitude and a stronger, sleeker frame. How would Kadidja Andersson respond to the competition of some highly touted incoming freshmen? Schonrock was voted a team captain, but she was just a sophomore. Shannon Bolden was the newcomer to the starting lineup, would she be able to handle the role of the team's defensive stopper?
Frenzy like none other surrounded the opening of the season. Season ticket sales were up two-fold. The coaches had built a challenging schedule to test this team with such high aspirations. It was time to tip-off the season.
Minnesota hosted the Subway Basketball Classic to open the season. This tournament's history was traditionally two games played against lesser opponents. This year, nationally ranked Colorado was in the field. The Gophers easily defeated Southern and gained passage to the championship game against the No. 16 Buffaloes. The highly anticipated match-up was a rout. Minnesota crushed Colorado, 95-61, in a game that would turn out to be a sign of things to come for the Gophers this season.
After a non-conference win at Drake, Minnesota looked forward to games against teams from major conferences at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Gophers feasted on Texas A&M from the Big 12 and Southern California form the Pac-10 en route to their second tournament title of the young season.
The Gophers added three wins over Creighton, UMKC and Wisconsin-Green Bay before Christmas break.
Minnesota ended the 2003 calendar year with the Virginia Cavalier Classic. The Gophers first toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home, then captured their third tournament title with wins over Georgia State and Virginia. Whalen collected her third MVP honor of the season and left Virginia coach Debbie Ryan impressed. "Lindsay Whalen is just the most amazing point guard I've ever seen," Ryan said.
Minnesota stood at 10-0 and the polls reflected the Gophers' early season success. The Gophers moved to as high as No. 6, the highest in school history, in both the Associated Press and the EPSN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
A New Year's Day victory over Michigan opened the Big Ten season. The game was moved to Jan. 1 to allow Minnesota to play in its first CBS national broadcast two days later against South Carolina. The Gophers defeated the Gamecocks in a hard-fought 63-53 contest but it would be a game that people around the nation would remember. It sent a message
Three more wins over Northwestern, Iowa and Illinois followed, setting up Minnesota with a 15-0 record, the best start in school history, and made the Gophers the last remaining undefeated team in women's collegiate basketball. What followed for the Gophers, however, was the Big Ten's version of the gauntlet. Minnesota faced back-to-back games on the road versus Purdue and Penn State, then a third game at home but against an up-and-coming power in Michigan State. Three games in a row against nationally ranked teams and unfortunately it ended up in three losses. The one bright spot of the stretch was against Michigan State on Jan. 25, when Whalen surpassed Carol Ann Shudlick as Minnesota's all-time leading scorer. Whalen would finish her career with 2,285 points, a total that ranks fifth in Big Ten history.
The Gophers regrouped with three straight wins, over Indiana, Wisconsin, and the biggest, over No. 5 ranked Penn State. A packed record crowd of 14,363 fans filled Williams Arena to watch the Gophers defeat the Lady Lions by a 74-56 count. It turned out to be the last meeting of between Whalen and Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, two of the finest players in Big Ten history.
The next game is one few Minnesota fans will forget, not because Ohio State upset the Gophers in Columbus, but because this was the game in which Whalen suffered her broken right hand. With three minutes left in the first half, Whalen collided with a pair of Buckeyes and fell awkwardly to the floor. Word of Whalen's injury spread quickly throughout the state and was first-page news the following day.
With five weeks and two days until the first game of the NCAA Tournament, Whalen's prognosis was that recovery would take 4-6 weeks. The future of Minnesota's greatest player was in doubt. Would we ever see her play in a Gopher uniform again? Everyone certainly hoped so. The Gopher coaching staff had to rally the troops and coach the team as if Whalen was not going to be back.
"We thought we'd have all summer to prepare to not have Lindsay," Borton said at a press conference. "We will need every single player to step up."
The focus of the team was broken down to every player doing what she could to improve every time she stepped on the court. Schonrock became a vocal leader and willed her team not to give up. McCarville looked to shoulder more of the scoring load. Roysland stepped in without fear and took over Whalen's starting role.
The first game without Whalen was an emotional one. Bolden exerted herself offensively and scored a career high 18 points. Roysland added 14 points in her first start. The Gophers' spirits were lifted by the victory over Illinois but plenty of more work needed to be done. Minnesota went on to lose three of their last four games of the regular season. Senior night was a difficult one as two of the four seniors were in street clothes as they were honored. The Gophers lost at Michigan to end their regular season and fell to sixth place in the Big Ten standings.
As the regular season ended, Borton likened her club to one in November with everyone learning new roles and finding a new chemistry. Every day the Gophers worked hard. Every day, Whalen was healing. The Big Ten Tournament served notice that while Minnesota had one dominant player injured and unable to play, there was another Golden Gopher emerging as a dominant force in her own right. The Big Ten Tourney was the springboard for McCarville. In postseason play, the months of March and April, McCarville was unstoppable.
Minnesota met Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and easily handled the Wildcats, winning 73-46.
It was in the next game, the Big Ten quarterfinal against Ohio State that McCarville nearly single-handedly led the Gophers to victory. Her triple-double performance of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals, throwing in six assists for good measure, was labeled by Ohio State head coach Jim Foster as simply one of the finest individual performances he'd ever witnessed. McCarville was named to the all-tournament team.
Despite the 58-50 loss to the Buckeyes, the Golden Gophers left the Big Ten Tournament with a new sense of confidence. The Gophers, without Whalen, had made the transformation into a team to reckon with. Whatever Whalen could contribute in her anticipated return for the NCAA Tournament was a bonus and made Minnesota a dangerous draw no matter the seed.
As Selection Sunday drew near, Minnesota had put the NCAA in a bit of a bind. Here the Gophers stood, 21-8 overall, had lost five of their last eight games, and had an injured superstar who was expected, but not certain, to return for NCAA play. Minnesota had an ace in the hole regardless of what the NCAA decided to do with the seeding. Williams Arena was the host to the First and Second Rounds. With the Gophers playing at home, in reality, the seed was of little concern.
The NCAA awarded Minnesota the No. 7 seed, setting up a historical run to the Final Four. No. 2 Kansas State, No. 10 UCLA and No. 15 Valparaiso would join Minnesota in Minneapolis for the First and Second Rounds.
The tournament approached with great anticipation of Whalen's return. Closed practices only heightened the anticipation of her comeback. Meanwhile tickets were being sold in record numbers for the games. Something very special was about to happen.
The NCAA requires an open practice on the day preceding the First Round game. Hundreds of Gopher fans filed into Williams Arena for Minnesota's afternoon practice, wanting to see what they'd hoped to see for over five weeks - Whalen back in uniform. The crowd cheered her every made shot and went crazy when she hit a half-court shot to end the practice. UCLA was going to have their hands full facing an improved Gopher team that now had their leader back.
Game day came and thousands came early to watch the first game that featured Kansas State and Valparaiso. Valparaiso quickly garnered the support of the crowd, rallied for an upset, but fell short. That game only served as a warm-up for the Gopher faithful. The crowd waited anxiously for their Gophers to take the court. Over 12,000 fans had filled Williams. They came to cheer on their Gophers and to see history. Whalen was back and would be in the starting lineup. The crowd was ready to give her the thunderous and appreciative applause that they were unable to do on Senior Night.
Few moments, if any, this season could surpass the emotion in Williams Arena that night. The crowd was cheering wildly awaiting their beloved team and turned the decibels up several notches when Goldy Gopher and cheerleaders waving the huge Minnesota flags led the team onto the floor. The crowd cheered every made basket in warm-ups, and by tip-off had worked themselves into a boisterous sixth man.
To UCLA's credit, all the intensity and emotion of Williams Arena and the return of Whalen did not faze the Bruins. A young squad with a talented backcourt gave Minnesota its toughest battle of the tournament until the Final Four. Minnesota won the game, 92-81, but UCLA had earned our respect.
Whalen returned with an amazing performance of 31 points and nine assists. An urban legend was born after she made her first basket. She hit a three-pointer off the left wing and retreated on defense, waving her right hand (her injured hand). The crowd erupted, taking this as a sign that her hand was fine. In truth, she was signaling a call on defense. The moment was priceless and worthy of a player who has meant so much to this program.
Whalen's return only energized her teammates. These same teammates who first struggled with her loss, were now stronger on her return. McCarville kicked off an amazing NCAA Tournament run with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Schonrock would add five three-pointers. Broback hit 4-of-4 free throws during an important stretch in the second half.
A meeting with No. 2-seeded Kansas State awaited the Gophers in the Second Round. What awaited the Wildcats was not only an inspired Minnesota team but also a rambunctious Mideast Region-record Williams Arena crowd of 13,425. The Kansas State coaching staff used signs to signal plays to their team but that was not an answer. The Gophers and their crowd crushed the co-champions from the Big 12 Conference.
Minnesota held a commanding 42-17 halftime lead and went on to cruise to an 80-61 victory in a game many would likened to the thrashing the Gophers put on another Big 12 team, Colorado, earlier in the season. McCarville and Whalen shared the spotlight for the Gophers. McCarville dominated the paint, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds. Whalen also scored 15 points but added nine assists and seven rebounds.
The Gophers were off to the Sweet 16, off to Norfolk, Va., to face Boston College. Coach Borton would square off against her former team and her coaching mentor with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
The Eagles didn't have an answer for the inside presence of McCarville, who finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Whalen tallied her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists. While McCarville and Whalen continued to take the headlines, another Gopher was beginning to shine, Shannon Bolden.
Bolden held Boston College's top scorer Amber Jacobs to just seven points. Against Kansas State, she held Laurie Koehn, the nation's fourth-best three-point shooter, to just three points. As Minnesota celebrated at 76-63 win over Boston College, Bolden and the Gophers could look forward to their biggest challenge to date.
Duke, the top-ranked team in the nation, stood between the Golden Gophers and a Final Four appearance. Whalen was not about to let the opportunity of a lifetime pass her by. She led all scorers with 27 points, none more important than her driving layup through a pair of Duke defenders to seal the game late. McCarville shook off second-half foul trouble to add 20 points and 18 rebounds. And Bolden, she played her best game as a Gopher. Bolden held Alana Beard, the national player of the year, to just 10 points.
The final buzzer sounded with a resounding 82-75 Minnesota victory. Players rushed to half court in celebration. Not lost in flurry was McCarville first hugging her coach at half court, then carrying Borton to the sidelines for a Gatorade bath. On the court, how special it was watching Whalen and her teammates step up one-by-one to cut the nets, and finally Borton, hair soaked, raising the net in triumph. This dream was really happening. Minnesota was on its way to the Final Four.
The Gophers flew home from Norfolk after the game only to find a police escort waiting to take them to hundreds of fans waiting into the middle of the night in Williams Arena to welcome home their victorious team. The next day and a half went quickly. Minnesota was now a team that everyone in the nation that their eyes on. Nearly 100 media attended the Gophers' press conference before the team departed for New Orleans.
When the team landed in New Orleans, a police motorcade escorted the bus to the team's hotel, the Monteleon in the French Quarter. We were adorned with beads as we departed the bus and a jazz band celebrated our arrival. The team was officially welcomed and received engraved pendants and necklaces from the city of New Orleans.
The next day it was down to business. Several of the players spent quality time with the folks from ESPN. The team had practice in the afternoon then the NCAA Salute Dinner in the evening. For many, it was this banquet that drove home the reality that we were really at the Final Four. You could look one table over and find Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and to another to see Tennessee's Pat Summitt. Minnesota was now among the nation's elite.
The day before the game certainly wasn't a quiet one. The whole team attended the Kodak/WBCA All-America press conference to support Whalen and McCarville as they received their awards. What a proud moment seeing two Gophers on the team. Then, it was off to the arena. Players and coaches spent a couple hours rushing from one interview to the next press conference. The team took part in an autograph session and was greeted by thousands of basketball fans. The team finally got to see the basketball court in an hour-long practice that was open to the public. The real practice followed and the motorcade led us away from the New Orleans Arena to an off-site facility, the same one in which the New Orleans Hornets practice. The evening consisted of a team meal, a team meeting and plenty of rest.or as much as you can get thinking ahead to the biggest game of your life the next day.
The day of the national semifinal game had arrived. There was anticipation and excitement everywhere. If your hotel room faced the right direction, you could hear a lone trumpet player perfecting his version of the Minnesota Rouser time and time again. As the bus took the team to shoot-around, hordes of fans wearing every color but the Connecticut blue shouted encouragement and waved at us. A few Huskie fans tried to put some kind of a hex on us. The players were told to soak in the moment but to keep the focus on the game.
Game time had finally come. You looked at the banners. One says, "and then there were four," and it sinks in. Four. Final Four. Connecticut, Tennessee, LSU and us, Minnesota.
The game was a battle. Connecticut took a lead but bolstered by the chant of "Believe" by the Minnesota fans, the Gophers clawed their way back into the contest. Late in the game, Minnesota is down by three points but went three possessions without a score. The Huskies led by Final Four MVP Diana Taurasi prevail but not before the Gophers put up a valiant fight. McCarville, who scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, was honored on the All-Final Four Team and finished her NCAA Tournament run with an NCAA record 75 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers left the court with their heads high. What this team has accomplished and in the manner they did so was a true testament to what is good about collegiate athletics. Good thing too, since now more than ever, so many little girls in the state of Minnesota wants to grow up to be a Gopher. The 2003-04 Golden Gopher women's basketball season was a magical ride that caught the imagination and fascination of the entire state of Minnesota and of basketball fans across the nation. This Minnesota squad triumphed over adversity to become a stronger team then marched its way into the Gopher history books as the first team in school history to advance to the Final Four.
The experience was a blur, one that still somehow seems like a dream. The whole NCAA Tournament was a whirlwind that swept thousands of adoring maroon and gold fans along. The ride was more than memorable; it was stuff legends are made of.
The Golden Gophers' Final Four appearance ended too quickly. Eventual national champion Connecticut ended Minnesota's dream season defeating the Gophers by a score of 67-58 in the national semifinal game. While the outcome will be remembered, it was the journey that created memories of a lifetime.
Expectations heading into the 2003-04 campaign were higher than they'd ever been. The Gophers were coming off a Sweet 16 appearance and had four starters, including national player of the year candidate Lindsay Whalen, back to put together a run at bigger and better accomplishments. The national pollsters tagged the Gophers as the No. 13 team in the nation. Too low? Perhaps, but hey, No.13 was a pretty lucky number for the Gophers. The Big Ten predictions placed the Gophers to finish third.
From day one, head coach Pam Borton was aware of the talent her charges possessed. The Gophers, however, lacked depth. "We'll go as far as our freshmen will take us," said Borton, in a quote that would certainly take on different importance as the season wore on. When Borton first offered this insight, she was aware that the bulk of the Gophers' bench was made up of the rookie class of Jamie Broback, Liz Podominick and Kelly Roysland.
The first hurdle of the year came in the season-ending loss of senior guard Leslie Hill to an Achilles tendon injury two weeks before the opening game. Though Hill would spend her senior season on the bench, her spirit and team attitude played major roles in the Gophers' success throughout the season.
Borton's freshmen prophecy took on a new meaning after losing Hill. The Gophers' backcourt already thin on numbers had lost its veteran reserve. Roysland would see plenty of experience backing up Shannon Schonrock and Whalen at the guard position.
Trial under fire was easily the theme for the Gopher freshmen. Roysland wasn't the only one tested early. Podominick was initiated early on in the low post. In trying to learn a new position, Broback didn't see the early minutes but would blossom into the rookies' biggest success story in later portions of the season.
Several other storylines would play themselves out during the season. Whalen was chasing the all-time school scoring record and positioning herself to be the Gophers' first WNBA draft pick. Janel McCarville came off a summer of playing USA Basketball with a new attitude and a stronger, sleeker frame. How would Kadidja Andersson respond to the competition of some highly touted incoming freshmen? Schonrock was voted a team captain, but she was just a sophomore. Shannon Bolden was the newcomer to the starting lineup, would she be able to handle the role of the team's defensive stopper?
Frenzy like none other surrounded the opening of the season. Season ticket sales were up two-fold. The coaches had built a challenging schedule to test this team with such high aspirations. It was time to tip-off the season.
Minnesota hosted the Subway Basketball Classic to open the season. This tournament's history was traditionally two games played against lesser opponents. This year, nationally ranked Colorado was in the field. The Gophers easily defeated Southern and gained passage to the championship game against the No. 16 Buffaloes. The highly anticipated match-up was a rout. Minnesota crushed Colorado, 95-61, in a game that would turn out to be a sign of things to come for the Gophers this season.
After a non-conference win at Drake, Minnesota looked forward to games against teams from major conferences at the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. Over Thanksgiving weekend, the Gophers feasted on Texas A&M from the Big 12 and Southern California form the Pac-10 en route to their second tournament title of the young season.
The Gophers added three wins over Creighton, UMKC and Wisconsin-Green Bay before Christmas break.
Minnesota ended the 2003 calendar year with the Virginia Cavalier Classic. The Gophers first toured Thomas Jefferson's Monticello home, then captured their third tournament title with wins over Georgia State and Virginia. Whalen collected her third MVP honor of the season and left Virginia coach Debbie Ryan impressed. "Lindsay Whalen is just the most amazing point guard I've ever seen," Ryan said.
Minnesota stood at 10-0 and the polls reflected the Gophers' early season success. The Gophers moved to as high as No. 6, the highest in school history, in both the Associated Press and the EPSN/USA Today Coaches Poll.
A New Year's Day victory over Michigan opened the Big Ten season. The game was moved to Jan. 1 to allow Minnesota to play in its first CBS national broadcast two days later against South Carolina. The Gophers defeated the Gamecocks in a hard-fought 63-53 contest but it would be a game that people around the nation would remember. It sent a message
Three more wins over Northwestern, Iowa and Illinois followed, setting up Minnesota with a 15-0 record, the best start in school history, and made the Gophers the last remaining undefeated team in women's collegiate basketball. What followed for the Gophers, however, was the Big Ten's version of the gauntlet. Minnesota faced back-to-back games on the road versus Purdue and Penn State, then a third game at home but against an up-and-coming power in Michigan State. Three games in a row against nationally ranked teams and unfortunately it ended up in three losses. The one bright spot of the stretch was against Michigan State on Jan. 25, when Whalen surpassed Carol Ann Shudlick as Minnesota's all-time leading scorer. Whalen would finish her career with 2,285 points, a total that ranks fifth in Big Ten history.
The Gophers regrouped with three straight wins, over Indiana, Wisconsin, and the biggest, over No. 5 ranked Penn State. A packed record crowd of 14,363 fans filled Williams Arena to watch the Gophers defeat the Lady Lions by a 74-56 count. It turned out to be the last meeting of between Whalen and Penn State's Kelly Mazzante, two of the finest players in Big Ten history.
The next game is one few Minnesota fans will forget, not because Ohio State upset the Gophers in Columbus, but because this was the game in which Whalen suffered her broken right hand. With three minutes left in the first half, Whalen collided with a pair of Buckeyes and fell awkwardly to the floor. Word of Whalen's injury spread quickly throughout the state and was first-page news the following day.
With five weeks and two days until the first game of the NCAA Tournament, Whalen's prognosis was that recovery would take 4-6 weeks. The future of Minnesota's greatest player was in doubt. Would we ever see her play in a Gopher uniform again? Everyone certainly hoped so. The Gopher coaching staff had to rally the troops and coach the team as if Whalen was not going to be back.
"We thought we'd have all summer to prepare to not have Lindsay," Borton said at a press conference. "We will need every single player to step up."
The focus of the team was broken down to every player doing what she could to improve every time she stepped on the court. Schonrock became a vocal leader and willed her team not to give up. McCarville looked to shoulder more of the scoring load. Roysland stepped in without fear and took over Whalen's starting role.
The first game without Whalen was an emotional one. Bolden exerted herself offensively and scored a career high 18 points. Roysland added 14 points in her first start. The Gophers' spirits were lifted by the victory over Illinois but plenty of more work needed to be done. Minnesota went on to lose three of their last four games of the regular season. Senior night was a difficult one as two of the four seniors were in street clothes as they were honored. The Gophers lost at Michigan to end their regular season and fell to sixth place in the Big Ten standings.
As the regular season ended, Borton likened her club to one in November with everyone learning new roles and finding a new chemistry. Every day the Gophers worked hard. Every day, Whalen was healing. The Big Ten Tournament served notice that while Minnesota had one dominant player injured and unable to play, there was another Golden Gopher emerging as a dominant force in her own right. The Big Ten Tourney was the springboard for McCarville. In postseason play, the months of March and April, McCarville was unstoppable.
Minnesota met Northwestern in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and easily handled the Wildcats, winning 73-46.
It was in the next game, the Big Ten quarterfinal against Ohio State that McCarville nearly single-handedly led the Gophers to victory. Her triple-double performance of 23 points, 11 rebounds and 10 steals, throwing in six assists for good measure, was labeled by Ohio State head coach Jim Foster as simply one of the finest individual performances he'd ever witnessed. McCarville was named to the all-tournament team.
Despite the 58-50 loss to the Buckeyes, the Golden Gophers left the Big Ten Tournament with a new sense of confidence. The Gophers, without Whalen, had made the transformation into a team to reckon with. Whatever Whalen could contribute in her anticipated return for the NCAA Tournament was a bonus and made Minnesota a dangerous draw no matter the seed.
As Selection Sunday drew near, Minnesota had put the NCAA in a bit of a bind. Here the Gophers stood, 21-8 overall, had lost five of their last eight games, and had an injured superstar who was expected, but not certain, to return for NCAA play. Minnesota had an ace in the hole regardless of what the NCAA decided to do with the seeding. Williams Arena was the host to the First and Second Rounds. With the Gophers playing at home, in reality, the seed was of little concern.
The NCAA awarded Minnesota the No. 7 seed, setting up a historical run to the Final Four. No. 2 Kansas State, No. 10 UCLA and No. 15 Valparaiso would join Minnesota in Minneapolis for the First and Second Rounds.
The tournament approached with great anticipation of Whalen's return. Closed practices only heightened the anticipation of her comeback. Meanwhile tickets were being sold in record numbers for the games. Something very special was about to happen.
The NCAA requires an open practice on the day preceding the First Round game. Hundreds of Gopher fans filed into Williams Arena for Minnesota's afternoon practice, wanting to see what they'd hoped to see for over five weeks - Whalen back in uniform. The crowd cheered her every made shot and went crazy when she hit a half-court shot to end the practice. UCLA was going to have their hands full facing an improved Gopher team that now had their leader back.
Game day came and thousands came early to watch the first game that featured Kansas State and Valparaiso. Valparaiso quickly garnered the support of the crowd, rallied for an upset, but fell short. That game only served as a warm-up for the Gopher faithful. The crowd waited anxiously for their Gophers to take the court. Over 12,000 fans had filled Williams. They came to cheer on their Gophers and to see history. Whalen was back and would be in the starting lineup. The crowd was ready to give her the thunderous and appreciative applause that they were unable to do on Senior Night.
Few moments, if any, this season could surpass the emotion in Williams Arena that night. The crowd was cheering wildly awaiting their beloved team and turned the decibels up several notches when Goldy Gopher and cheerleaders waving the huge Minnesota flags led the team onto the floor. The crowd cheered every made basket in warm-ups, and by tip-off had worked themselves into a boisterous sixth man.
To UCLA's credit, all the intensity and emotion of Williams Arena and the return of Whalen did not faze the Bruins. A young squad with a talented backcourt gave Minnesota its toughest battle of the tournament until the Final Four. Minnesota won the game, 92-81, but UCLA had earned our respect.
Whalen returned with an amazing performance of 31 points and nine assists. An urban legend was born after she made her first basket. She hit a three-pointer off the left wing and retreated on defense, waving her right hand (her injured hand). The crowd erupted, taking this as a sign that her hand was fine. In truth, she was signaling a call on defense. The moment was priceless and worthy of a player who has meant so much to this program.
Whalen's return only energized her teammates. These same teammates who first struggled with her loss, were now stronger on her return. McCarville kicked off an amazing NCAA Tournament run with 15 points and 17 rebounds. Schonrock would add five three-pointers. Broback hit 4-of-4 free throws during an important stretch in the second half.
A meeting with No. 2-seeded Kansas State awaited the Gophers in the Second Round. What awaited the Wildcats was not only an inspired Minnesota team but also a rambunctious Mideast Region-record Williams Arena crowd of 13,425. The Kansas State coaching staff used signs to signal plays to their team but that was not an answer. The Gophers and their crowd crushed the co-champions from the Big 12 Conference.
Minnesota held a commanding 42-17 halftime lead and went on to cruise to an 80-61 victory in a game many would likened to the thrashing the Gophers put on another Big 12 team, Colorado, earlier in the season. McCarville and Whalen shared the spotlight for the Gophers. McCarville dominated the paint, scoring 15 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds. Whalen also scored 15 points but added nine assists and seven rebounds.
The Gophers were off to the Sweet 16, off to Norfolk, Va., to face Boston College. Coach Borton would square off against her former team and her coaching mentor with a trip to the Elite Eight on the line.
The Eagles didn't have an answer for the inside presence of McCarville, who finished with 25 points and 15 rebounds. Whalen tallied her first double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 assists. While McCarville and Whalen continued to take the headlines, another Gopher was beginning to shine, Shannon Bolden.
Bolden held Boston College's top scorer Amber Jacobs to just seven points. Against Kansas State, she held Laurie Koehn, the nation's fourth-best three-point shooter, to just three points. As Minnesota celebrated at 76-63 win over Boston College, Bolden and the Gophers could look forward to their biggest challenge to date.
Duke, the top-ranked team in the nation, stood between the Golden Gophers and a Final Four appearance. Whalen was not about to let the opportunity of a lifetime pass her by. She led all scorers with 27 points, none more important than her driving layup through a pair of Duke defenders to seal the game late. McCarville shook off second-half foul trouble to add 20 points and 18 rebounds. And Bolden, she played her best game as a Gopher. Bolden held Alana Beard, the national player of the year, to just 10 points.
The final buzzer sounded with a resounding 82-75 Minnesota victory. Players rushed to half court in celebration. Not lost in flurry was McCarville first hugging her coach at half court, then carrying Borton to the sidelines for a Gatorade bath. On the court, how special it was watching Whalen and her teammates step up one-by-one to cut the nets, and finally Borton, hair soaked, raising the net in triumph. This dream was really happening. Minnesota was on its way to the Final Four.
The Gophers flew home from Norfolk after the game only to find a police escort waiting to take them to hundreds of fans waiting into the middle of the night in Williams Arena to welcome home their victorious team. The next day and a half went quickly. Minnesota was now a team that everyone in the nation that their eyes on. Nearly 100 media attended the Gophers' press conference before the team departed for New Orleans.
When the team landed in New Orleans, a police motorcade escorted the bus to the team's hotel, the Monteleon in the French Quarter. We were adorned with beads as we departed the bus and a jazz band celebrated our arrival. The team was officially welcomed and received engraved pendants and necklaces from the city of New Orleans.
The next day it was down to business. Several of the players spent quality time with the folks from ESPN. The team had practice in the afternoon then the NCAA Salute Dinner in the evening. For many, it was this banquet that drove home the reality that we were really at the Final Four. You could look one table over and find Connecticut's Geno Auriemma and to another to see Tennessee's Pat Summitt. Minnesota was now among the nation's elite.
The day before the game certainly wasn't a quiet one. The whole team attended the Kodak/WBCA All-America press conference to support Whalen and McCarville as they received their awards. What a proud moment seeing two Gophers on the team. Then, it was off to the arena. Players and coaches spent a couple hours rushing from one interview to the next press conference. The team took part in an autograph session and was greeted by thousands of basketball fans. The team finally got to see the basketball court in an hour-long practice that was open to the public. The real practice followed and the motorcade led us away from the New Orleans Arena to an off-site facility, the same one in which the New Orleans Hornets practice. The evening consisted of a team meal, a team meeting and plenty of rest.or as much as you can get thinking ahead to the biggest game of your life the next day.
The day of the national semifinal game had arrived. There was anticipation and excitement everywhere. If your hotel room faced the right direction, you could hear a lone trumpet player perfecting his version of the Minnesota Rouser time and time again. As the bus took the team to shoot-around, hordes of fans wearing every color but the Connecticut blue shouted encouragement and waved at us. A few Huskie fans tried to put some kind of a hex on us. The players were told to soak in the moment but to keep the focus on the game.
Game time had finally come. You looked at the banners. One says, "and then there were four," and it sinks in. Four. Final Four. Connecticut, Tennessee, LSU and us, Minnesota.
The game was a battle. Connecticut took a lead but bolstered by the chant of "Believe" by the Minnesota fans, the Gophers clawed their way back into the contest. Late in the game, Minnesota is down by three points but went three possessions without a score. The Huskies led by Final Four MVP Diana Taurasi prevail but not before the Gophers put up a valiant fight. McCarville, who scored 18 points and pulled down seven rebounds, was honored on the All-Final Four Team and finished her NCAA Tournament run with an NCAA record 75 rebounds.
The Golden Gophers left the court with their heads high. What this team has accomplished and in the manner they did so was a true testament to what is good about collegiate athletics. Good thing too, since now more than ever, so many little girls in the state of Minnesota wants to grow up to be a Gopher.
