University of Minnesota Athletics
Saturday, November 18
Williams Arena
University of Minnesota
85
vs
60
Princeton
Golden Gophers Advance to Subway Classic Championship Game on Sunday
11/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Led by five players in double figures, Minnesota cruised to a 85-60 victory over Princeton in the Subway Basketball Classic on Saturday at Williams Arena. The Golden Gophers (3-0) will play in the Classic championship game for the seventh straight year.
Senior guard Kelly Roysland led all scorers with 19 points, also filling the box score with six assists and five rebounds. Roysland was 3-for-6 on three-pointers. Sophomore point guard Emily Fox matched her career-high with16 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Roysland and Fox have scored in double figures in each of the Gophers’ three games this season.
Two Golden Gophers notched career highs in double figure scoring as Leslie Knight scored 13 and Korinne Campbell contributed 11. Brittany McCoy added 10. Freshman center Ashley Ellis-Milan barely missed a double-double with career bests in points (9) and rebounds (11). Campbell was also impressive on the glass, gathering eight boards, six on the offensive end.
“The difference in the game was that we were able to tighten our defense and then shoot a good percentage in the second half,” said Minnesota head coach Pam Borton. “It’s always enjoyable to look at a box score and see five players in double figures.”
Minnesota (3-0) quickly ran to a 19-7 lead in the first eight minutes of play, highlighted by two three-pointers from Roysland. The Tigers (1-1) responded by going on an 8-0 run, capped by a three-point play from forward Casey Lockwood that tightened the Gophers’ lead to four points at 23-19.
Roysland scored a basket to break Minnesota’s drought, and the Gophers eventually regained a double-digit lead at 33-23 on a lay-up by McCoy with 5:45 remaining in the half. Fox hit a spinning fade-away jumper at the buzzer to give Minnesota a 47-34 lead at the break.
Minnesota maintained its lead by shooting 51.7 percent in the second half. Princeton decreased the deficit to nine points three times in the half, the last on a jumper by Jessica Berry with 7:15 remaining. The Gophers answered with a 7-0 run to re-establish a comfortable leading margin.
The Gophers’ lead swelled to as large as 27 points when freshman Tanisha Smith stole the ball and dashed in for a lay-up to score her first collegiate basket with 40 seconds left.
Minnesota only out-rebounded Princeton by a 48-42 margin, but the Gophers benefited from an impressive 25-7 edge in second-chance scoring. The Gophers also scored 25 points off 30 Tiger turnovers.
Forward Meagan Cowher led the Tigers with 18 points and was the only Princeton player in double figures.
The Gophers will face Middle Tennessee State in the tournament championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Williams Arena. Princeton and Maine will play for third place at 1 p.m.
Senior guard Kelly Roysland led all scorers with 19 points, also filling the box score with six assists and five rebounds. Roysland was 3-for-6 on three-pointers. Sophomore point guard Emily Fox matched her career-high with16 points and added seven rebounds, four assists and four steals. Roysland and Fox have scored in double figures in each of the Gophers’ three games this season.
Two Golden Gophers notched career highs in double figure scoring as Leslie Knight scored 13 and Korinne Campbell contributed 11. Brittany McCoy added 10. Freshman center Ashley Ellis-Milan barely missed a double-double with career bests in points (9) and rebounds (11). Campbell was also impressive on the glass, gathering eight boards, six on the offensive end.
“The difference in the game was that we were able to tighten our defense and then shoot a good percentage in the second half,” said Minnesota head coach Pam Borton. “It’s always enjoyable to look at a box score and see five players in double figures.”
Minnesota (3-0) quickly ran to a 19-7 lead in the first eight minutes of play, highlighted by two three-pointers from Roysland. The Tigers (1-1) responded by going on an 8-0 run, capped by a three-point play from forward Casey Lockwood that tightened the Gophers’ lead to four points at 23-19.
Roysland scored a basket to break Minnesota’s drought, and the Gophers eventually regained a double-digit lead at 33-23 on a lay-up by McCoy with 5:45 remaining in the half. Fox hit a spinning fade-away jumper at the buzzer to give Minnesota a 47-34 lead at the break.
Minnesota maintained its lead by shooting 51.7 percent in the second half. Princeton decreased the deficit to nine points three times in the half, the last on a jumper by Jessica Berry with 7:15 remaining. The Gophers answered with a 7-0 run to re-establish a comfortable leading margin.
The Gophers’ lead swelled to as large as 27 points when freshman Tanisha Smith stole the ball and dashed in for a lay-up to score her first collegiate basket with 40 seconds left.
Minnesota only out-rebounded Princeton by a 48-42 margin, but the Gophers benefited from an impressive 25-7 edge in second-chance scoring. The Gophers also scored 25 points off 30 Tiger turnovers.
Forward Meagan Cowher led the Tigers with 18 points and was the only Princeton player in double figures.
The Gophers will face Middle Tennessee State in the tournament championship game at 3 p.m. on Sunday at Williams Arena. Princeton and Maine will play for third place at 1 p.m.
Players Mentioned
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