University of Minnesota Athletics
2005-06 Minnesota Women's Basketball Season in Review
5/29/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
No. 25/- Minnesota concluded the 2005-06 season with a 19-10 overall record and its fifth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Gophers, who entered the Tournament as a No. 8 seed, were defeated in NCAA First Round by Washington, 73-69, in a game played at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. Minnesota finished in a third-place tie with Michigan State in the Big Ten standings with an 11-5 league record.
Gophers Tabbed No. 25/- in National Polls
The Golden Gophers was ranked No. 25 in the March 14 and final Associated Press (AP) National Poll of the season. USA Today/ESPN Coaches Poll releases a new poll following the NCAA Tournament. Minnesota received votes in that final poll.
Minnesota Rankings Streak at 83 Weeks
Minnesota has been ranked in the AP National Poll’s top 25 for the last 83 polls, dating back to Jan. 21, 2002, and is building upon the longest streak in Golden Gopher history. The streak of 83 straight polls is also the longest active streak in the Big Ten Conference.
Minnesota at the NCAA Tournament
Minnesota made its sixth trip to the Big Dance and a school-best fifth consecutively. The Golden Gophers have a 10-6 mark in NCAA Tournament play. The loss to Washington marks the Gophers’ first defeat in the first round of the Tournament.
The Big Ten Represented by Five Teams in NCAAs
The Big Ten Conference was represented by five teams in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship for the second year in a row. The most Big Ten teams in a single season to advance to the NCAAs was six in 1996, 2002, 2003 and 2004. The Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big East Conference have the most teams in the 2006 field with seven, followed by the Southeastern Conference and the Pac.-10 with six teams and the Big Ten, with five. Ohio State earned the Big Ten’s automatic bid and is joined by Iowa, Michigan State, Minnesota and Purdue in the NCAA field.
Falling Just Short of the 20-Win Mark
The Gophers fell one victory shy of their 20th win of the season, a tally that would have marked the program’s fifth consecutive 20-plus win season. Overall, Minnesota has seven seasons with 20 or more wins.
First NCAA Trip Without An All-American
The Golden Gophers had made five previous trips to the NCAA Tournament. In each of those seasons, Minnesota had an All-America player to lead the way. In 1994, it was Carol Ann Shudlick, while from 2002-05, the Gophers featured the play of either Lindsay Whalen or Janel McCarville.
Team Awards - Schonrock Named MVP
Senior Shannon Schonrock was named the Golden Gophers’ most valuable player as team awards were announced at the Minnesota women’s basketball annual team banquet. Schonrock was the first three-year team captain in program history and finished her career as the record holder for three-point field goals with 230. She earned Academic All-District honors the last two season, was a 2005 All-Big Ten Honorable Mention pick and the 2006 Minnesota recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
Seniors Shannon Bolden and April Calhoun were repeat honorees in their respective awards. Bolden was named the Best Defensive Player for the third consecutive season, while Calhoun is a three-year winner of the Most Outstanding Scholar Award.
Senior Hannah Garry was honored with the Coaches’ Award, while Natasha Williams was named as the team’s Most Improved Player.
The women’s basketball booster club, the Fast Break Club, annually bestows a pair of awards at the team banquet. Junior Kelly Roysland was the 2006 recipient of the Fast Break Award. Senior Christina Collison was honored with the Love of the Game Award.
Sixth Player Awards were given to Fast Break members Sylvia Hesse and Karen Lueck.
Minnesota Tops Big Ten Attendance, Fifth Nationally
For the second straight year, Minnesota topped the Big Ten in average attendance and ranked fifth in national average attendance figures. The Golden Gophers averaged 8,329 fans per game in Williams Arena this season. Minnesota also won the attendance crown during the Big Ten season attracting 9,357 fans per league game.
Highest Big Ten Finish Since 2002-03
Minnesota’s third-place finish (tie with Michigan State) is the Golden Gophers’ best Big Ten showing since tying for second place in 2002-03, Pam Borton’s first year with the program.
Calhoun Repeats as Academic All-American
April Calhoun is a repeat honoree on the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America Third Team. Calhoun is the first player in Golden Gopher history to earn multiple Academic All-America awards. Calhoun earned passage to the national ballot by earning a spot on the Academic All-District V First Team. She maintains a perfect 4.0 grade point average pursuing a bachelor’s degree in accounting in Minnesota’s prestigious Carlson School of Business Management.
Schonrock, Podominick Land Academic Honors Too
Liz Podominick and Shannon Schonrock were named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District V Team. Podominick was a first-team selection, while Schonrock was selected to the all-district second team for the second straight year.
Career Dance Card Full With Fourth Appearance
Three Golden Gophers Shannon Schonrock, Shannon Bolden and Christina Collison celebrated their fourth trip to the Big Dance. Minnesota’s trio of four- year seniors have experienced a great deal of postseason success with a trip to the 2004 Final Four and three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances in their collegiate careers. Janel McCarville (2002-05) is the only other Gopher with four career NCAA appearances.
Tourney Savvy Schonrock Starts 12 NCAA Games
Senior Shannon Schonrock has started every NCAA Tournament game the Gophers have played over the past four years. In fact over her 12 starts, she has played 417 of the possible 480 minutes for an average of 34.8 minutes per game. Minnesota’s all-time leader in three-point shooting, Schonrock converted of an impressive 39.7 percent of her triples in NCAA Tournament play.
