University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Open Big Ten Thursday Hosting Iowa
12/27/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (8-4, 0-0 Big Ten)
vs.
Iowa Hawkeyes (8-5, 0-0 Big Ten)
LOCATION Williams Arena (14,625) - Minneapolis, Minn..
DATE / TIME: Thurs., Dec. 28 - 7 p.m.
TELEVISION: None
RADIO / WEBCAST: KBEM-FM-88.5, KRDS 95.5 /
Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Rita Maloney (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)
Golden Gopher Watch List — Dec. 28, 2006
• Minnesota Hosts Iowa to Open Big Ten Season - Minnesota (8-4) plays host to Iowa (8-5) on Thursday, Dec. 28, to kick off the 2007 Big Ten Conference schedule. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
• New Year’s Eve Clash Versus Illinois - Minnesota will play its first two Big Ten games at home. After playing Iowa on Thursday, the Golden Gophers will host Illinois on New Year’s Eve, Sunday, Dec. 31, at 2 p.m.
• Looking to Exceed Expectations - Minnesota will picked to finish eighth in the Big Ten in a pre-season poll of the Conference coaches and ninth by the media.
• No More Time to Be Rookies - Entering the Big Ten season, the Golden Gophers get 52 percent of their scoring punch from freshmen.
• Burst the Barn - Gopher head coach Pam Borton has vowed to donate $5,000 ($1,000 to five charities) if 14,000 fans attend the Gophers game versus border-rival Wisconsin on Jan. 7.
Big Ten Season Opens on Thursday
Minnesota (8-4, 0-0 Big Ten) opens its 2007 Big Ten Conference schedule with a pair of home games this week. The Golden Gophers tip off the conference slate on Thursday, Dec. 28, by playing host to Iowa (8-5, 0-0 Big Ten) at 7 p.m. in Williams Arena. Illinois (10-2, 0-0 Big Ten) travels to Minneapolis on Sunday for a New Year’s Eve contest at 2 p.m.
Good to be Back Home
The Golden Gophers have not played a home game since Dec. 2. Minnesota is 6-1 on its home hardwood in Williams Arena this season.
Big Ten Openers
Minnesota has won its Big Ten season-opening games in each of the last four seasons. A bit of a quirk of the Big Ten schedule, the Gophers played Northwestern in the first game of the league schedule in the last three seasons. Minnesota defeated Michigan in 2003-04, Pam’s Borton’s first Big Ten game.
Putting Away the Books for Now
The Golden Gophers have completed the first semester of the academic year and is now able to focus on only basketball for a little while. The Gophers will play six games before returning to class for the second semester on Jan. 16.
Working to Exceed Pre-Season Predictions
The Golden Gophers were tabbed to finish eighth in the Big Ten by the Conference coaches and ninth by the media. Ohio State was a unanimous pick to win the Big Ten title by both the coaches and the media.
Ready to Take the Leap to Big Ten Competition
Minnesota’s freshmen no longer have the luxury of playing like rookies as the Big Ten season arrives. So far in 2006-07, the freshmen Golden Gophers have more than held their own. The Gopher freshmen have logged 56 percent of the minutes played as well as tallied 52 percent of the points scored this season. Starting forward Ashley Ellis-Milan tops the rookies averaging 9.3 points in 25.9 minutes per game. Brittany McCoy is second with averages of 8.8 points in 28.5 minutes per contest.
Roysland Countdown to 1,000 Begins
Senior Kelly Roysland is 139 points (has 861 career points) from becoming the 17th player in Minnesota history to score 1,000 points in a career. With 17 regular-season games remaining, Roysland would need to score a conservative estimate of 8.0 points per game to etch her name on the honored list.
Her Time is Now
Junior Leslie Knight has patiently waited and worked hard for this opportunity and will start her first Big Ten Conference contest Thursday versus Iowa. Knight has played a total of 21 minutes in Conference games in her first two seasons as a Golden Gopher. A year ago, Knight played a total of five minutes in two games hampered by an achilles tendon injury throughout the 2006 Big Ten season. Knight was Minnesota’s representative on last summer’s Big Ten Foreign Tour team. She has started all 12 games for the Gophers this season and averages 6.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game.
Salley Ready to Contribute
True freshman Breanna Salley is ready contribute to the Gophers on the court after missing the first eight games of the season with a stress fracture in her foot and then using the month of December to work her way back into playing shape. Salley played seven minutes in the North Dakota State game and went 2-for-2 from the floor scoring four points.
Becoming an Inside and Outside Threat
Katie Ohm has given the Gophers a solid all-around contribution off the bench. Ohm is averaging 7.3 points per game while shooting an impressive 64.7 field goal percentage from inside the arc. From long range, however, Ohm has struggled a bit, shooting 25.6 percent on 10-of-39 three-point field goal attempts. Ohm did, however, did hit 3-of-5 three-point shots versus North Dakota State, the first game of her Gopher career with a trio of triples. She finished with 12 points in the contest, her fourth game of the season in double figures.
No Superstition With a 13-13 Double-Double
Freshman Korinne Campbell scored 13 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the loss to Iowa State, marking her second double-double of the season. The 6-0 freshman ranks sixth in the Big Ten averaging 8.7 rebounds per game.
Senior Steadiness
Kelly Roysland has topped the Gophers in scoring six games this season en route to her 14.2 points per game average. Roysland scored a game-high 20 points in the win over Nebraska, her second 20-plus points outing of the season.
Crashing the Boards to Score Points
Minnesota is averaging 18.5 offensive rebounds (leads the Big Ten) per game resulting in the Gophers scoring an amazing 23.8 percent of their points (199 second chance points). The Gophers have scored 20 or more second chance points in five games this season, topped by 25 versus Princeton.
Grabbing Extra Chances
Korinne Campbell has a knack for attacking the glass, giving the Gopher offense extra opportunities by averaging 4.2 offensive rebounds per game. Ashley Ellis-Milan and Leslie Knight assist as well, pulling down 3.3 and 2.3 offensive caroms a contest, respectively..
Roysland Jumps to Seventh on Three-Pointer List
Kelly Roysland hit three triples versus Nebraska to jump to seventh on the Gophers’ all-time three-point field goals list with a total of 82 three pointers. The next target on the list is Jodi Olson (1986-90) and her sixth-place total of 98.
One of the Most Accurate From Long Range
More impressive than Kelly Roysland’s 82 three-point field goals in her career is that she has collected those trifectas in just 222 attempts. That’s a 36.9 percent clip of accuracy which ranks fifth in school history.
Tanisha Smith Lost for Season With Knee Injury
True freshman Tanisha Smith suffered a torn ACL in her right knee in the Dec. 2 game versus Chicago State and is lost for the season. Surgery will be scheduled after Christmas.
Scouting Iowa
Iowa enters Big Ten play with an 8-5 record. Minnesota and Iowa have played four common opponents (Iowa State, Creighton, Northern Iowa and Wisconsin-Green Bay. Minnesota was 2-2 versus those opponents while Iowa was 1-3. The Hawkeyes are led in scoring by the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, center Megan Skouby at 14.4 points per game. Iowa, however, has had a different player collect game scoring honors in the last eight games. Jenee’ Graham is the Big Ten’s top rebounder pulling down 10.2 boards a game.
The Minnesota / Iowa Series
Iowa leads the series against Minnesota by a 36-19 margin. The teams met just once last season with the Gophers winning, 80-68, in Iowa City.
