University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Host South Dakota State on Sunday
1/13/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-6, 3-2 Big Ten)
vs.
South Dakota State Jackrabbits (11-5, Ind.)
LOCATION Williams Arena (14,625) - Minneapolis, Minn..
DATE / TIME: Sun., Jan. 14 - 2 p.m.
TELEVISION: Fox SportsNet North
Marney Gellner (play-by-play), Andrea Lloyd Curry (analyst)
RADIO / WEBCAST: WCCO-AM 830, KBEM-FM-88.5, KRDS 95.5 /
Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Rita Maloney (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)
Golden Gopher Watch List — Jan. 14, 2007
• Minnesota Hosts South Dakota State in Non-Conference Contest - Minnesota (11-6, 3-2 Big Ten) plays host to South Dakota State (11-5) in a non-conference game on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. in Williams Arena.
• Fox SportsNet North Televises Game Live - Fox SportsNet North will televise the Minnesota/South Dakota State game live. Marney Gellner will call the game with Andrea Lloyd Curry providing the color commentary.
• A Bit of Gopher History - The first time Minnesota played South Dakota State was during the 1974-75 season and the game was just the fourth women’s game played in Williams Arena.
• Fox’s Last-Second Shot Beats Northwestern - Minnesota used a last-second shot by Emily Fox to capture a win over Northwestern in its last outing. It’s the Gophers’ first win on a last-second shot since the 2001-02 season.
• Last Non-Conference Game of Regular Season - Minnesota has won 92 percent (27-2) of its non-conference game in Williams Arena under head coach Pam Borton.
A Non-Conference Clash Fills Big Ten Bye
Minnesota (11-6, 3-2 Big Ten) plays host to South Dakota State in a non-conference game on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 2 p.m. in Williams Arena. The contest fill the Golden Gophers’ bye from Big Ten play. South Dakota State, an NCAA Division I independent, enters the game with an 11-5 record.
Minnesota / South Dakota State Game on FSN North
Fox SportsNet North will televise the Minnesota/South Dakota State game live. Marney Gellner will call the game with Andrea Lloyd Curry providing the color commentary.
Officially, We’ve Met But Not in This Century
Minnesota and South Dakota State have met three times in the series, all of them prior to the establishment of the NCAA. In this early era of women’s collegiate basketball, teams seldom played teams from outside their home states, so facing South Dakota State was a highlighted game on the Gophers’ schedule. The Jackrabbits hold a 2-1 advantage in the series versus the Gophers.
The first time the teams met was on March 1, 1975. While this game was the fourth game the Gopher women played in Williams Arena, it was the first double-header with the men’s team. The game was tabbed a “preliminary” to the men’s action. SDSU won the game by a score of 46-42.
South Dakota State won again in the 1975-76 season (49-38), before Minnesota won its only game over the Jackrabbits in the 1977-78 season (81-56). The teams were scheduled to play in Minneapolis on Dec. 16, 1983, but the game was cancelled due to a blizzard.
The squads met in an exhibition game in the 2002-03 season, a season in which SDSU went on to win the NCAA Division II national title. South Dakota State moved up to NCAA Division I in the 2004-05 season.
A Surprise From Down Under
Gopher freshman Zoe Harper received quite the surprise at a team dinner the evening before the Northwestern game. Harper’s mother, or should we say her mum, Sandra, walked in and greeted her shocked daughter. She will be in the U.S. for a two-week visit. Zoe and her teammates were unaware of the upcoming visit. Sandra will see her first game at Williams Arena on Sunday.
About Time to Head Back to Class
The Golden Gophers return to class for the second semester on Jan. 16. The South Dakota State game is Minnesota’s seventh since the first semester ended.
Team Report Card a Good One
The Golden Gophers compiled an impressive 3.04 team grade point average in the first semester. Leading the way was junior communications major Leslie Knight, who earned a perfect 4.0.
Defending Their Home Court in The Barn
Williams Arena has become one of the toughest places to play in for opposing teams in the nation. During Pam Borton’s coaching tenure, the Golden Gophers have compiled an impressive 27-2 (93%) record in games against nonconference opponents. The two blemishes on the Gophers’ record are a loss to then-No. 1 ranked LSU in December of 2004 and a loss to Middle Tennessee this season. The 27-2 record includes a 4-0 mark in the NCAA Tournament.
Big Road Win Gives Gophers Winning Big Ten Mark
Life in the Big Ten is a rugged road. The Gophers will watch as the other 10 teams battle on Sunday. Minnesota at 3-2 in league play is currently in fifth place in the Big Ten standings.
We Can Only Expect More of This
Four of the five Big Ten games last Thursday were decided by four or less points. Only Purdue, who knocked Michigan State out of the ranks of the Big Ten unbeatens, won by a larger margin - 10 points. The rest were nail-biters. Iowa bettered Indiana by four, while Wisconsin needed a late comeback to defeat Michigan by three. Minnesota and Ohio State both used last-second heroics to capture two-point victories. The Gophers won on a buzzer-beating jumper by Emily Fox to win at Northwestern. The Buckeyes used free throws by Andrea Walker with two seconds left to win at Penn State. Another unusual result from Thursday’s round of Big Ten play...the home team lost in each contest.
The Right Place at the Right Time
Emily Fox gathered in a loose ball and fired the game-winning shot to give the Gophers’ a 65-63 win over Northwestern in their last outing. The last time Minnesota won on a buzzer-beater was in January of 2002, when Lindsay Whalen’s jumper handed the Gophers’ a 70-69 victory at Michigan State.
Ellis-Milan Joins Ranks of Double-Figure Scorers
Redshirt freshman Ashley Ellis-Milan scored a career-high 21 points in the victory at Northwestern and is averaging in double-figures (10.2 ppg.) for the first time this season. Ellis-Milan also collected her fifth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.
Another Rookie Close to Double-Double
True freshman Korinne Campbell played one of her best games of the season at Northwestern and finished close to a double-double of her own. Campbell scored eight points and pulled down 11 rebounds off the bench in 20 minutes of action. She also dished out two assists and swatted two blocks, one of those blocks looming large in the final minute of play. The game is her fifth double-digit rebound performance of the season.
McCoy Comes Up Big in Second Half
Brittany McCoy, a freshman from Lincolnwood, Ill, just minutes from the Northwestern campus, treated her family and friends attending the game to a sensational second half. McCoy scored 11 of her 13 points to help the Gophers come back from a 7-point second half deficit and set up the winning shot.
Roysland’s Countdown to 1,000
Senior Kelly Roysland is 60 points (has 940 career points) from becoming the 17th player in Minnesota history to score 1,000 points in a career.
Minnesota Owns Biggest Crowd of the Season
Minnesota’s crowd of 11,121 that watched the Gophers defeat Wisconsin last Sunday is the largest crowd in the Big Ten this season. No other Big Ten school has hosted a game with an attendance of over 10,000 this season.
Gophers Shoot Over 50 Percent For First Time
Led by a starting frontcourt that hit 13-of-15 field goal attempts, Minnesota finally notched a game shooting over 50 percent from the floor when the Gophers finished with 50.9 accuracy clip in the win over Wisconsin. Leslie Knight made seven of her eight chances, while Ashley Ellis-Milan went six for seven. Hopefully the Wisconsin win will serve as a break-out game since the Gophers had failed to hit over 40 percent from the field in their previous five games.
Gopher Posts Establishing a Name for Themselves
Early on this season, the Gophers identity became somewhat of a guard-oriented team. Starting post players Ashley Ellis-Milan and Leslie Knight are out to change that a bit and have made impressive strides in making the Gophers’ post presence something to reckon with. The duo has contributed 20 or more points to the offensive punch in each of the last four games. Ellis-Milan and Knight have teamed to average 25.0 points per game in the stretch, topped by a combined 29-point effort in the win over Wisconsin.
Solid Shooting Reaps Rewards
As the Golden Gophers’ shooting percentage improves to will the assist totals. Behind seven dishes by Emily Fox and six by Brittany McCoy, Minnesota was credited with 18 assists on its 27 baskets versus Wisconsin. The Gophers’ tally is the second-best of the season to only a 19-assist outing versus Princeton.
Roysland Among the Big Ten Leaders
Senior guard Kelly Roysland has notched a pair of 20-plus scoring performances in the Gophers’ first fie Big Ten games and averages 15.8 points per Conference game to rank fifth in the Big Ten. Roysland scored a career-high 27 points in the win over Illinois and added a 20-point outing versus Wisconsin. Roysland owns five games with over 20 points this season.
Gophers Win When They Score 70 Points
Though for a team with a defensive philosophy this statistic only makes sense it’s worthy of mention nonetheless. Minnesota has won 60 straight games, including 10 this season, when the Gophers have scored 70 or more points. One has to go back to the 2003 Big Ten Tournament and an 80-77 loss to Iowa to find the last time Minnesota tallied 70 yet lost.
Scouting South Dakota State
South Dakota State enters the game with an 11-5 record playing an independent NCAA Division I schedule. The Jackrabbits have received votes twice in the national polls this season and have several impressive wins to their credit. SDSU has defeated Middle Tennessee State, Southern California and Virginia this season. The Jackrabbits have had a full week off since their last game, a 67-61 loss at Western Kentucky. St. Peter, Minn., native Megan Vogel leads the Jackrabbits in scoring averaging 17.3 points per game.
