University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Purdue
WBB: Gophers Defeat Purdue 71-49
2/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Shannon Schonrock scored 13 points to lead five Golden Gophers in double figures as No. 12/13 Minnesota pounded Purdue, 71-49, in front of a season-high crowd of 13,222 at Williams Arena on Sunday. The Gophers improved to 19-5 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play.
Minnesota scored the first six points of the game, while Purdue didn't work its way into the scoring column until nearly five minutes had passed. Neither team, however, was sharp to start the game with neither team's defense willing to give way. Purdue (13-10, 6-6) struggled mightily, turning the ball over in 10 of its first 13 possessions.
The Gophers didn't capitalize quickly on the Purdue miscues but did manage to slowly build a lead. Schonrock, who went a perfect 4-for-4 from three-point range, hit on a rare four-point play with nine minutes left in the half to give Minnesota a 13-4 lead.
Schonrock hit two more triples in the first half as the Gophers built a 36-18 lead at halftime. Minnesota scored the final five points of the half on a three-point play by April Calhoun and a last-second jumper by Shannon Bolden.
All-American Janel McCarville didn't make her first field goal until the 10:14 mark of the second half with the Gophers' holding a 51-33 lead. Though the 6-2 center only scored eight points, facing constant double and triple-teams from the Boilermaker defense, McCarville found other ways to make major contributions. The Big Ten leader in rebounds, McCarville pulled down a game-high 12 boards, while adding a game-high seven assists.
The Boilermakers used a 7-0 run to close the margin to 16 points (49-33) midway through the second half, but the Gophers then answered with a 6-0 run of their own to re-establish the momentum. A three-point play by Kelly Roysland gave Minnesota its biggest lead of the game at 71-47 with 23 second left.
Jamie Broback (12), Calhoun (11), Roysland (11) and Bolden (10) joined Schonrock in double digits for the Gophers. It was the second time this season that Minnesota placed five players in double-figure scoring.
The 49 points scored by Purdue marks the 11th time this season that the Gophers held an opponent to less than 50 points, tying the school record from the 1976-77 season. The win also give McCarville, as the only member of the senior class, the school record for career wins by a class with 88.
Minnesota's next game is Thursday at Big Ten leader Ohio State.
Game Notes
Minnesota moves to 19-5 overall, 9-3 in the Big Ten while Purdue falls too 13-10 overall and 6-6 in league play
The game attendance of 13,222 is the highest this season, and ranks fifth all-time in Minnesota women's basketball history
Purdue's 18 points in the firsts half was the fewest the Boilermakers have scored in a first half
Purdue scored less than 50 points for the third time this season, two of those three have been against Minnesota (vs. #3 Duke on Dec. 18, vs. Minnesota Jan. 13)
Minnesota held Purdue to just 49 points in the game, marking the seventh Big Ten contest this season in which Minnesota has held its opponent to 50 or fewer points (13 games all season)
Minnesota had five players who scored in double digits for the second time this season (Creighton, Nov. 24)
Shannon Schonrock led the Gophers with 13 points, 12 of which came on 4-4 shooting from behind the three-point arc
Janel McCarville had a game-high 12 rebounds, and added eight points and seven assists. Four of McCarville's points were made on her four free throw attemps
McCarville missed scoring in double digits for just the fourth time this season
Shannon Bolden tallied 10 points in the game, her first double-digit outing since the game at Wisconsin on Jan. 6
Kelly Roysland went 3-3 from the free throw line, and is now 55-61 (.901) on the season
Minnesota swept two games from Purdue in a single season for the first time since the 1984-85 season
The series record between Minnesota and Purdue now stands at 14-29 overall, and 9-12 when Minnesota plays at home. Minnesota has won three of the last four games between the two schools
Katie Gearlds, Purdue's leading scorer in conference games, was held to just seven points in the game on 3-9 shooting
Minnesota out-rebounded Purdue 35-23
Minnesota went 6-11 on three-point shots, while Purdue was 2- 10
In six of Minnesota's nine Big Ten victories, the Gophers have won by a margin of 20 or more points
Minnesota went 17-20 from the free throw line in the game, marking the fifth game this season shooting 85 percent or better from the line
Minnesota Quotes
Minnesota's Head Coach Pam Borton
"I thought the way that we started the game really set the tone for the game defensivly. 10 out of their first 13 possessions were turnovers and that's something that we wanted to do was set the tone with our defense, and hopefully that created our offense. But I thought our offense was a little stagnant at the beginning of the game but it was a great team effort by out kids. We had five players in double figures and that's something that we had talked about at the beginning of the year that we wanted a well-balanced attack with our team.
"Janel (McCarville) only had eight but she had seven assists and she did a great job passing the ball tonight. I thought Shannon Schonrock did a great job hitting her threes which really opens us up inside. Shannon Bolden did an outstanding job on Geralds when she was guarding her. She only had two points when Shannon (Bolden) was guarding her. April (Calhoun) had a great all-around game and we got some good production from our bench. So it's good to walk into the media room after a game like that with a great team effort and we're back on track. "
"A few times especially with April (Calhoun) her job was to get Schoney some open looks within our sets of threes. They were shagging Schoney a lot and that takes a lot out of her when she has to defend the point guard, she has to bring the ball up the floor against pressure, she has to hit threes, she has to run the team, but I think that has a tendency to take a lot out of anybody. So with April taking the point a little bit, she maybe didn't have as quick of a player on her she can really run the offense as well as Schoney."
"After yesterday's practice I had no doubt in mind that we were going to be ready. I thought that we had one of our best practices that we've had in about two months yesterday. The kids were very focused and intense and we just got back to playing like we know how to play. Biggest thing for us is we have to prepare well for us to have a lot of confidence in each other as a team to perform well."
On the guards being involved
"They were defiantly more involved than they were at Michigan State. But I thought they were doing a really good job. I thought they did a great job on Janel tonight. She was getting hit every single time she'd get near the block and every time she'd touch the ball she had two people on her. But I think Janel got the guards involved with her passing out and finding open guards, players, and cutters. Our guards did a good job of moving without the basketball tonight."
"I thought they were really pressuring us hard at the beginning of the game and they were really preventing all of our guards from easy looks inside. Anytime someone is standing on your toes on defense you have to put the ball down and attack and I thought that our guards did a very good job within that and within our system."
Minnesota's guard Shannon Schonrock
On her three-point shooting
"For me I just had to think of it as it was just one game. As a shooter you have to keep shooting and get yourself out of it. I wasn't really worried about having missed in the games before. So I just think it is a preparation I had in practice with shooting."
"Today I think they made it a little bit difficult for me to get open looks. I defiantly noticed that when April or Kelly (Roysland) would drive they wouldn't help much, so I think that my teammates just set me up well. I think we ran some good plays where I got some good screens. Janel found me in the corner one time and I think it has to do with my teammates and not necessarily who we play or getting open looks."
Minnesota's center Janel McCarville
"Starts of the game usually determine the outcome. If you don't start out aggressive, you're not going to just switch and become aggressive late in the second half. We knew we had to come out today and be aggressive, not be tentative from the start, just take our shots, get to the basket and try to draw fouls."
Minnesota's guard April Calhoun
"I think that all of us guards talked about how we weren't really a factor in the game against Michigan State and we really needed to come into this game and the rest of the season being more of a threat offensively and play a little bit better defensively as well. I just think like Pam (Borton) said that they were in the passing lanes and that pretty much opened up the lane for drives and things like that. Especially when you have a good shooter like Schoney and they were out on her worried about her knocking down all of those threes."
"I think it just depends on what is there at the time. I'm comfortable shooting outside of the three point line and I'm comfortable pulling up. In this game particular, I think that their help-side defense wasn't there as much, so going to the basket you were able to get there rather than pulling up. I just depends on who you are playing and what's open."
Purdue Head Coach Kristy Curry Quotes
"I thought that we needed to take better care of the ball. We can't start a game with turning the ball over and not making our shots and expect to win. It happened and we were not able to recover from it."
On having the week off.
"We worked everyday on the little things, but they have to accept the responsibility of their actions and the way that they played this game. Minnesota was making defensive plays and forcing turnovers and we weren't making our shots."
On the preparation for today's game.
"I had the team read a couple of articles about Janel McCarville crying and Minnesota's performance against Michigan State. We knew that they were not going to have another game where they were 0-for-17 shooting three's. This week in practice we played with crowd noise, and we talked about our 20-point loss earlier in the season to Minnesota at home. We did everything we could to get them up for today's game, to come in here and win. The effort wasn't there, both mentally and physically."
On having a young team face the loud Minnesota crowd. "A couple of our turnovers were unforced, and I am not sure how much more I could have done to prepare this team for the crowd and atmosphere at Minnesota. Again they need to take responsibility for their actions and build from this game."
