Gophers Host Winona State in Exhibition Game on Wednesday

Minnesota Golden Gophers
vs.
Winona State Warriors

LOCATION Minneapolis, Minn. - Williams Arena (14,625)
DATE / TIME: Wednesday, Nov. 1 / 7 p.m.
TELEVISION: None
RADIO / WEBCAST: KBEM-FM-88.5, KRDS 95.5 /
Gophersports.com / wccoradio.com
Rita Maloney (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)
VIDEO WEBCAST: Gophersports.com (available Thursday night)

Golden Gopher Watch List — Nov. 1, 2006
• Gophers Open Exhibition Season Versus Winona State - Minnesota will host Winona State on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in the Golden Gophers’ first exhibition game of the 2006-07 season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
• Roysland is the Senior Leader of the Gophers - Senior Kelly Roysland is the team captain of the 2006-07 Golden Gophers and the only player with experience as a starter in a Gopher uniform. Roysland has averaged 10.0 points per game in the contests she has started during her Minnesota career.
• Youth Ready to Hit the Court - The Minnesota squad will feature seven freshmen in 2006-07, including five true rookies and redshirts Katie Ohm and Ashley Ellis-Milan.
• Sunday a Daughter Versus Father Battle - Minnesota’s second and final exhibition game of the season is Sunday when the Gophers host Minnesota-Crookston at 2 p.m. The game will have the interesting twist of father versus daughter as Kelly Roysland leads the Gophers against the Golden Eagles, who are coached by her father Mike Roysland.

Gophers Host Winona State in Exhibition
Minnesota plays host to Winona State on Wednesday, Nov. 1, in the first of two exhibition games to kick off the 2006-07 season. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.

Roysland the Gophers’ Lone Senior
Having only one senior (Kelly Roysland) on the roster is not that uncommon in Minnesota women’s basketball history. The Gophers did not have a single senior on the 1979-80 roster and in seven seasons since Minnesota had only one senior (the last in 2003-04, Janel McCarville).

A Youthful Group of Golden Gophers
When redshirt freshmen Katie Ohm and Ashley Ellis-Milan are included, the Gophers have seven scholarship freshmen on the roster making the 2006-07 squad one of the youngest in school history. The only Minnesota teams younger were in 1994-95 and 2000-01 when the Gopher roster included eight freshmen.

Her Time to Shine
Kelly Roysland’s experience will be very important to the success of the Golden Gophers this season. For the first time in her career, Roysland will head into a season with her name attached firmly to one of the starting positions. In her Minnesota career, Roysland has started 18 games and responded well, averaging 10.0 points per game in those outings.

From Stacking Cups to Dishing Assists
Sophomore Emily Fox, the world recordholder in sport stacking, will start the 2006-07 season as the Golden Gophers’ starting point guard. In games during her rookie season in which she saw 15 or more minutes of action, Fox dished out 3.0 assists per game.

Knight Hopes to Draw From Last Summer’s Success
Junior Leslie Knight, the projected Gopher starter at the strong forward position, hopes her success as a member of last summer’s undefeated Big Ten Foreign Tour Team carries over on the hardwood this season. Knight averaged 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds, while shooting a team-best .66.7 percent from the field.

Delayed Debuts for Two Minnesotans
Center Ashley Ellis-Milan and guard Katie Ohm will play in their first official contests as Golden Gophers on Wednesday. The debut of these native Minnesotans was delayed a year due to each suffering season-ending injuries forcing both to redshirt the 2005-06 season.

Two True Freshmen Expected to Start
True freshman Brittany McCoy and Zoe Harper are expected to open the season in the starting lineup for the Gophers. The last time Minnesota opened a season with this much youth in the starting five was in 2000-01, when true freshmen Lindsay Whalen, Kadidja Andersson and Tanisha Gilbert earned starting nods in the opening game of the season.

International Influence Returns
Western Australia native Zoe Harper may be the first player from Down Under to play for the Gophers but she resumes an interesting trend of international starters in the recent history of Minnesota basketball. Including 2006-07, the Gophers have featured an international player in their season-opening starting lineup in five of the past six seasons. Ozlem Piroglu (Turkey) and Kadidja Andersson (Sweden) began the streak in the 2000-01, with Andersson carrying the torch for four seasons. The only season during the stretch in which the Gophers did not have an international player start in the opening game was in 2005-06.

Barnes Continues Collegiate Career
Gopher guard Jordan Barnes is listed as a transfer even though she has attended the U for over two years. On Wednesday, Barnes will resume a collegiate playing career that first began in the fall of 2003 at Winthrop University in South Carolina. Barnes averaged 10.0 points in the first four games of her freshman season before leaving the program and returning to Minnesota.

Salley To Miss Exhibition With Foot Injury
Freshman guard Breanna Salley will miss both exhibition games this week due to a foot injury. Salley is expected to be out for 4-5 weeks with the injury.

Father vs. Daughter Match-Up Set for Sunday
Kelly Roysland will have the unique experience of playing against her father, Mike, on Sunday when Minnesota hosts Minnesota-Crookston. The elder Roysland is in his first season as the head coach at Crookston.

Jaede Joins the Gophers as a Walk-On
Junior Lindsey Jaede has been added to the Gopher roster as a walk-on. Jaede had served as a team manager the last two seasons.

Borton Closes in on Gopher Win #100
Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton heads into her fifth season at Minnesota just five wins from her 100th victory on the Gopher sideline. Borton’s 95 victories is second on the list of Minnesota coaching wins trailing Ellen Mosher-Hanson’s total of 172 from 1977-87.

Season Opener on Nov. 10 Moved to 6 p.m.
Minnesota’s regular-season opener versus Northern Iowa on Nov. 10 has been changed to a 6 p.m. tipoff. The change was made to alleviate congestion around the arena as the Gopher volleyball team will host Illinois at the Sports Pavilion at 7 p.m., the same start time as the Minnesota men’s hockey game versus St. Cloud State at Mariucci Arena.

Scouting Winona State
Winona State is an NCAA Division II school from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference. The Warriors return three starters from last year’s squad that compiled a 10-18 record. Senior center Leslie Ross leads the way. Ross, an honorable mention All-NSIC honoree a year ago, averaged 11.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. Guards Shelby Krueger and Molly Anderson also return to the starting lineup.

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