University of Minnesota Athletics
WBB: Golden Gophers Travel to Indiana on Thursday
2/22/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
vs.
Indiana Hoosiers (10-15, 3-11 Big Ten)
LOCATION Bloomington, Ind. - Assembly Hall (17,357)
DATE / TIME: Thursday, Feb. 24 / 7 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. CT
TELEVISION: None
RADIO / WEBCAST: WFMP 107.1 FM / gophersports.com
Tom Witschen (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)
Golden Gopher Watch List - Feb. 24, 2005
Final Week of the Regular Season - Minnesota takes to the road for two games this week as the regular season draws to a close. The Gophers travel to Indiana on Thursday and Northwestern on Sunday.
Momentum Builders - Minnesota has already secured the No. 4 seed for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament, and the accompanying first-round bye that goes with it. The Gophers would love to use their final two games of the regular season to continue building momentum for the postseason.
No. 20 in the Books - Minnesota captured its 20th win of the season Sunday against Wisconsin, marking the fourth consecutive season, and seventh overall, with 20 or more wins for the program.
All-Around Talent - Janel McCarville moved into fifth place on the Minnesota all-time career scoring list with 1,726 career points. Shaq is now the only player in Golden Gopher history to rank in the top five in all the major career statistical categories of scoring, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals.
McCarville Named to Naismith Midseason Team - Janel McCarville was named to the Naismith Midseason Team as the field for the Naismith Player of the Year Award was cut to 30 players from around the nation. McCarville had previously been named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team.
Minnesota Tops Big Ten in Attendance, Fifth Nationally - The largest crowd in the Big Ten this season and Minnesota's second-largest all-time helped the Golden Gophers move up to No. 5 in the nation in average attendance and assure Minnesota its standing as the Big Ten attendance leaders for the 2004-05 season. Sunday, 14,203 fans packed Williams Arena improving the Gophers' attendance average to 8,799 per game. In Big Ten games only, Minnesota averaged 10,186.
REGULAR SEASON ENDS ON THE ROAD
No. 15/15 Minnesota will conclude its regular-season schedule with two road games this week. The Golden Gophers first travel to Indiana on Thursday, then to Northwestern for the regular-season finale on Sunday. Minnesota is 20-6 overall and fourth in the Big Ten with a mark of 10-4. Indiana owns a record of 10-15 (3-11 Big Ten), while Northwestern enters the week at 5-22 (2-12 Big Ten) before traveling to Wisconsin on Thursday.
ANOTHER 20-WIN SEASON IN THE BOOKS
Minnesota captured its fourth consecutive 20-win season in 2004-05, and the seventh overall. Before starting the current streak in 2001-02, Minnesota had only experienced three 20-win seasons: 1977-78, 1980-81 and 1982-83.
SOMETHING TO AIM FOR
With two games remaining in their Big Ten season, the Gophers are unfortunately out of the title race. Minnesota can, however, aim at tying its best conference record under the current 16-game format. The Gophers recorded their best mark of 12-4 in the 2002-03 season, Pam Borton's first at Minnesota. The most wins ever in a Big Ten season was 13 (13-5 in both 1982-93 and 1984-85), when the conference played an 18-game schedule.
LIKE DEFENSE? THIS ONE'S FOR YOU
The Gophers' game at Indiana matches two of the top defenses in the Big Ten. Both Indiana and Minnesota give up identical averages of 55.4 points per game. On their home court in Assembly Hall, the Hoosiers are even stingier, allowing 50.5 points per game.
GOPHERS SECURE NO. 4 SEEDM
Minnesota has already secured its position as the No. 4 seed for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers will play Purdue in the quarterfinals if the Boilermakers win either of their two games this week. Minnesota's opponent would be Illinois if Purdue loses both games and Illinois wins both of theirs.
SIMPLY ONE OF THE GREATEST
All-America center Janel McCarville is in the home stretch of of simply one of the finest all-around careers in Golden Gopher history. Last Sunday, McCarville added her name to the top five of the Minnesota career scoring list, making her the only player listed among the top five in all the major statistical category of points (5th - 1,726), rebounds (3rd - 1,125), assists (5th - 284), steals (3rd - 259) and blocks (2nd - 184). The only other player listed in four of the categories is Laura Coenen (1981-95), who is third in scoring (2,044), fourth in rebounds (1,029), fifth in blocks (102) and second in steals (290).
THE BIG GIRL CAN DISH THE ROCK TOO...
This season, Janel McCarville has always been one of the first players mentioned when naming top post players. McCarville, however, has now begun to receive some national publicity for her passing talent.
McCarville was named as one of the top six passers in an article on ESPN.com, written by Stacey Dales Schman. Other cited were North Carolina guard Ivory Latta, Texas Tech guard Erin Grant, LSU guard Temeka Johnson, UCLA guard Nikki Blue and West Virginia guard Yolanda Paige.
Here's what Dales-Schman had to say about McCarville, the only post player of the group, "The art of passing isn't just relegated to point guards. And it has to be refreshing when your center is the second-best passer on the team and No. 1 in terms of creativity.
McCarville hands out 3.71 assists each game, but it's really the way she shells it out that's impressive. With her back to the hoop, she'll drop you one, swing you one or hand you one -- all without even appearing to notice your whereabouts. She is the best passing big in women's basketball, but will have to cut back on some pesky turnovers (she averages three per game)."
McCARVILLE NAMED TO NAISMITH LIST
Janel McCarville was named to the Naismith Midseason Team as the field for the Naismith Player of the Year Award was cut to 30 players from around the nation.
CALHOUN, SCHONROCK HONORED
Junior April Calhoun was named to the ESPN The Magazine CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team, while Shannon Schonrock was selected to the All-District Second team. Calhoun advances to the national ballot for Academic All-America honors.
IN A CLASS OF HER OWN
Janel McCarville, as the only member of the senior class of 2005, now owns the career record for most wins over a career with 89. Minnesota owns an 89-27 record in games that senior All-American Janel McCarville has played in, bettering the senior class of 1981's (1977-81) total of 87 wins. Last year's seniors finished with 80 career wins.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 15/15 IN POLLS
The Golden Gophers dropped one spot to No. 15 in this week's Associated Press Poll. The Gophers are also ranked No. 15 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. LSU holds the No. 1 spot in both polls.
MINNESOTA HITS WEEK 61 IN AP POLL
Minnesota has been ranked in the AP National Poll's top 25 for the last 61 polls, dating back to Jan. 21, 2002, and is building upon the longest streak in Golden Gopher history. The Gophers spent a record stretch of eight weeks in the AP's top 10 from Dec. 1 - Jan. 19, nine weeks in the ESPN/USA Today poll (Nov. 24-Jan. 19) during the 2003-04 season. The Gophers spent one week at the No. 10 spot in the AP poll this season.
MINNESOTA RATED 15TH IN RPI
Minnesota is rated No. 15 in the latest WBCA/Summerville RPI. Tennessee is ranked No. 1 in RPI, followed by LSU and Duke. The Gophers are one of four Big Ten teams ranked in the top 20 in RPI with Michigan State at No. 5, Ohio State at No. 6 and Penn State at No. 21. The RPI rankings released by Collegiate Basketball News has Minnesota at No. 15.
WILLIAMS ARENA CROWD VERSUS WISCONSIN THE LARGEST IN BIG TEN THIS SEASON
The crowd of 14,203 at Williams Arena that watched a Minnesota win over Wisconsin on Feb. 20 is the largest crowd in the Big Ten and 21st in the nation, this season. The attendance figure is also the second-largest in school history. Minnesota currently ranked fifth in the nation in average attendance at 8,799 fans per game.
PODOMINICK OUT INDEFINITELY
Sophomore Liz Podominick is out indefinitely with mononucleosis. Podominick has missed the Gophers' last four games but is expected to be back in the lineup by the Big Ten Tournament.
SHAQ NEARING SCHOOL RECORD FOR CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Janel McCarville scored 33 points and pulled down 14 rebounds against Wisconsin on Feb. 10 to record her 44th career double-double. The record for career double-doubles in Golden Gopher history is 48 by Molly Tadich, who played from 1983-87. McCarville also leads the Big Ten in double-doubles this season with 11. The Wisconsin game marked McCarville's 85th career game scoring in double figures, second only to Lindsay Whalen's 108.
McCARVILLE 11 REBOUNDS FROM NO. 2 IN BIG TEN HISTORY
Janel McCarville ranks fourth in Big Ten Conference history in career rebounds with 1,125, but just 11 rebounds from moving into second place. Please note that players who played prior to the Conference recognizing the sport of women's basketball in 1982-83 are not included on the list. Linda Roberts (1977-81) holds the Minnesota record for with 1,413 career rebounds.
Player Rebounds Denise Jackson (IND, 1981-84) 1,273 Molly Tadich (1983-87) 1,135 Tracey Huff (OSU, 1984-88) 1,135 Janel McCarville (2001-c) 1,125
McCARVILLE MAKES WOODEN CUT
Janel McCarville was selected as one of 20 players named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team.
A national poll was conducted by the John R. Wooden Women's Award National Advisory Board to determine the Top 20 Midseason Candidates for the 2004-05 Wooden Award Player of the Year and All-American Team. The Top 20 Candidates have been selected based on individual performance and team records thus far in the 2004-05 season. Players who did not make this list are still eligible for consideration for the national ballot, which will be released in early March.
In late March, the five-player Women's Wooden Award All-American Team will be announced. One member of the All-American Team will be selected as the recipient of the John R. Wooden Award Trophy, presented annually to the most outstanding female collegiate basketball player. The event will be televised on April 9 live from The Los Angeles Athletic Club on CBS Sports. For more information please visit WoodenAward.com.
CALHOUN MAINTAINS TEAM LEAD IN ASSISTS
April Calhoun is one of those players whose contributions are many on the court, they just aren't the ones that are the most obvious. Calhoun quietly took over the team lead in assists with 90, while ranking second on the team in steals with 53.
