University of Minnesota Athletics
WBB: Golden Gophers Travel to Michigan on Sunday
2/4/2005 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
- Click Here for Golden Gopher Women's Basketball Notes
14/16 MINNESOTA GOPHERS (17-4, 7-2 Big Ten)
vs.
Michigan Wolverines (5-16, 1-9 Big Ten)
LOCATION Ann Arbor, Mich.. - Crisler Arena (13,721)
DATE / TIME: Sunday, Feb. 6 / 2 p.m. ET, 1 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. 6, 2005
Gophers Head to Michigan - Coming off a home win versus No. -/25 Iowa on Thursday, Minnesota takes to the road to face Michigan on Sunday. The Golden Gophers hope to break a two-game losing streak on the road in Big Ten games. Minnesota is 2-2 on the road in conference games this season.
No Room to Spare - The Golden Gophers own a 7-2 record in Big Ten play and currently rank fourth-place in the league standings, one half game out of third (Michigan State, 8-2. Penn State leads the Big Ten with a 9-1 mark, followed by Ohio State at 8-1.
Broback Leads Gophers to Win Over Iowa - Jamie Broback led the Golden Gophers to a win over No. -/25 Iowa by scoring 21 points, pulling down nine rebounds and collecting a career-high five steals.
Schonrock Hits 150th Three-Pointer of Her Career - Shannon Schonrock hit four three-point field goals against Iowa and now has 150 triples in her Golden Gopher career. She is already second on the all-time career list.
Roysland Nears Free Throw Record - Kelly Roysland has made 25 consecutive free throws and is one make from tying the school record.
McCarville Named to Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team - Janel McCarville was one of 20 players named to the Wooden Award Midseason All-American Team.
Applebee's Thursday Ticket Pack, Feb 10 - 4 general admission tickets, 4 Cokes (16 oz.), 4 boxes of candy, and a $10 Applebee's gift certificate. All for only $40.00.
GOPHERS TRAVEL TO MICHIGAN SUNDAYM
No. 14/16 Minnesota travels to Michigan on Sunday to play its first road game of the second half of the Big Ten season. The Golden Gophers are 17-4 overall and 7-2 in Big Ten play. Michigan owns an overall record of 5-16, 1-9 in league action.
BIG TEN MIDSEASON REPORT
The Golden Gophers, now 7-2, stood at 6-2 at the midway point of the Big Ten season. The Gophers' record marked a one-win improvement in the first half of the Big Ten season over the past two years. In Pam Borton's first two seasons, the Gophers posted identical 5-3 marks in the first half of the conference schedule. Minnesota's 6-2 mark, in fact, is the Gophers' best since the Big Ten moved to this scheduling format in 1994-95.
STEPPING UP WHEN SHAQ'S ON THE BENCH
Interestingly enough, the Gophers are 3-0 in games versus nationally ranked teams when All-America center Janel McCarville gets into foul trouble in the first half. Now, having McCarville spend time with her on the sidelines isn't something head coach Pam Borton enjoys, but she is pleased with how players have stood up to face the challenge.
Jamie Broback led the Gophers to an 81-50 win over No. -/25 Iowa in Minnesota's last outing. McCarville sat the final nine minutes of the first half and Broback responded with seven of her game-high 21 points. Broback also contributed nine rebounds and a career-high five steals.
Earlier this season McCarville missed substantial first-half minutes in games against then No. 20/20 Purdue and No. 23/- New Mexico. Shannon Schonrock tallied a career-high 25 points against the Boilermakers, while the entire Gopher defense, led by Shannon Bolden, stepped up to hold New Mexico to just 35 points.
PACKING A LITTLE WILLIAMS MAGIC
Minnesota, like most teams, have better statistics at home than on the road. Playing on the road in the Big Ten is a tough task, but to contend for a conference title a team must find a way to pack some of that home-court magic and bring on the road. The Gophers are 5-3 in road games this season, 2-2 in Big Ten play. The Minnesota Big Ten wins came at Purdue and Wisconsin, the losses at Michigan State and Penn State. The Gophers average 65.5 points per game on the road, compared to 72.8 at home. Defensively, Minnesota allows 58.5 on the road and 50.4 on the road.
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.
SCHONROCK HITS 150TH TRIFECTA
Shannon Schonrock hit four three-point field goals versus Iowa to increase her career total to 150. The sharp-shooting junior is second in Minnesota women's basketball history to Lindsay Lieser's (1999-03) 216 career three pointers. Schonrock has hit three or more three-point field goals in a game 21 times in her Gopher career, with a career best of seven in the game at Purdue earlier this season.
ROYSLAND NEARS SCHOOL RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE FREE THROWS
Sophomore Kelly Roysland went 3-for-3 against Iowa to extend her consecutive free throw streak to 25. Roysland began the streak way back on Nov. 28, versus Creighton, when she hit her last three attempts. She leads the Gophers hitting 89.6 percent from the line, vastly improved from her 68.3 percentage as a freshman. The school record for consecutive free throws made belongs to Jodi Olson, who hit 26 straight at the end of the 1988-89 season and the beginning of the 1989-90 season.
BOLDEN AND GOPHER DEFENSE GET BACK ON TRACK
Game in and game out, Shannon Bolden is the Golden Gophers' defensive stopper, accepting the assignment of defending the opponent's top perimeter threat. Bolden and the Golden Gophers struggled at Penn State. Due to foul trouble, Bolden played just 26 minutes overall and only nine in the decisive second half in the loss to the Lady Lions. The Gopher defense gave up a season-high 81 points. Bolden and the Gopher defense bounced back with another stellar defensive showing in limiting Iowa to just 50 points on Thursday. Bolden played 26 minutes, during which time she defended Iowa's leading scorer Crystal Smith. Smith finished with 12 points, five below her season average.
Following are several of Bolden's other top defensive performances against Big Ten opposition this season:
Illinois' Angelina Williams is the Big Ten's leading scorer in conference games tallying over 20 points a game. The score dictated the number of minutes Bolden played. With a lead as big as 31 points, Bolden saw just 19 minutes of action against Williams and Illinois. During that time, Williams was just 3-of-8 from the field for eight points.
Michigan's Tabitha Pool entered the game the Wolverine's leading scorer and one of only two players in the Big Ten to score in double figures in every game this season. Pool's streak was halted by Bolden as the Wolverine senior was held to eight points on a 4-of-10 shooting performance.
Purdue's Katie Gearlds, the 2004 Freshman of the Year and preseason All-Big Ten selection was held to just three points and 1-for-9 shooting.
Wisconsin freshman Jolene Anderson ranked fourth in the Big Ten in scoring, averaging over 18 points per game, before Bolden harassed the rookie into a 5-for-20 shooting night and just 11 points.
GOPHERS RANKED NO. 14/16 IN POLLS
The Golden Gophers dropped four spots to No. 14 in this week's Associated Press Poll. The Gophers are ranked No. 16 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll. LSU returned to the No. 1 spot in both polls.
MINNESOTA HITS WEEK 58 IN AP POLL
Minnesota has been ranked in the AP National Poll's top 25 for the last 58 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.
