University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Travel to Illinois on Thursday
1/17/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (11-7, 3-2 Big Ten)
vs.
Illinois (13-4, 3-2 Big Ten)
LOCATION Assembly Hall ((16,818) - Champaign, Ill.
DATE / TIME: Thur., Jan. 18 - 7 p.m.
TELEVISION: CSN Chicago / Fox SportsNet North
Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Suzie McConnell-Serio (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. 18, 2007
• Minnesota Travels To Illinois On Thursday - Minnesota (11-7, 3-2 Big Ten) travels to Champaign, Ill., to play Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Though the contest is only the Golden Gophers’ sixth of the Big Ten season, Minnesota and Illinois will be facing off for the second time. The Golden Gophers won the first meeting of the season, 70-61, on Dec. 31 in Williams Arena.
• Comcast Chicago and Fox SportsNet North Televise Game - The Minnesota / Illinois game will be televised live by Comcast SportsNet Chicago. Locally, Fox SportsNet North will air the broadcast on a tape-delayed basis at 9:30 p.m.
• Roysland 43 From 1,000 - Senior Kelly Roysland is 43 points away from scoring the 1,000th point in her Golden Gopher career.
• Report Card a Good One For Gophers - Minnesota compiled a 3.04 team grade point average in the first semester with Leslie Knight’s 4.0 leading the way.
Gophers Face Illinois in Round Two
Minnesota (11-7, 3-2 Big Ten) travels to Champaign, Ill., to play Illinois on Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. Though the contest is only the Golden Gophers’ sixth of the Big Ten season, Minnesota and Illinois will be facing off for the second time. The Golden Gophers won the first meeting of the season, 70-61, on Dec. 31 in Williams Arena.
Minnesota / Illinois Televised
The Minnesota / Illinois game will be televised live by Comcast SportsNet Chicago with Dave Eanet calling the action and Suzie McConnell-Serio as the color commentator. Locally, Fox SportsNet North will air the broadcast on a tape-delayed basis at 9:30 p.m.
Just a Quirk of the Big Ten Schedule
Let’s just call this unusual. Minnesota played Illinois just two and a half weeks ago (Dec. 31) in Williams Arena in the Gophers’ second Big Ten game of the season. Now the teams meet once again in the sixth game of the Conference slate for both teams. The unbalanced 16-game Big Ten schedule, where a school plays six teams twice and four teams once, is the reason for this quirk in the timing between the teams facing each other two times. Big Ten volleyball, for example, plays a 20-match schedule so the teams go through the league twice getting a chance to play every opponent before a second go-around. With this said, the schedule in the past has proven to be even more unusual. In the 2000-01 season, the Gophers played Indiana in the second and fourth games of the Big Ten season with a week between the contests.
No Such Thing as An Easy Big Ten Road Trip
Coaches say it all the time. Any win on the road in Conference play is a good one. There certainly is no such thing as an easy Big Ten road trip. Minnesota heads to Illinois looking to capture its second straight road win in league play. Considering teams play eight BIg Ten road games every season, one might think winning back-to-back games away from home is a more common occurrence. This is hardly the case. In Pam Borton’s four-plus years coaching in the Big Ten, the Gophers have managed just three winning streaks on the road in Conference action, three straight (Indiana, Northwestern and Iowa) in 2002-03, two straight in 2004-05 (Wisconsin and Purdue) and an impressive four straight in 2005-06 (Indiana, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois).
Heading Back to Class
The Golden Gophers returned to class for the second semester on Tuesday Jan. 16. Minnesota played seven games over the semester break compiling a 3-4 record.
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.
Gophers Induct 2007 Hall of Fame Class on Sunday
Four former Golden Gopher standouts will be inducted into the Minnesota Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame on Sunday. The class of 2007 is Marty Dahlen McKelvey (1978-82), Mary Manderfeld (1979-91), Carol Peterka (1982-86) and Molly Tadich (1983-87).
Roysland’s Countdown to 1,000
Senior Kelly Roysland is 43 points (has 957 career points) from becoming the 17th player in Minnesota history to score 1,000 points in a career.
Ellis-Milan, McCoy Among Big Ten’s Top Freshmen
Minnesota has two freshmen making strong cases for consideration for top rookie honors in the Big Ten this season. Forward Ashley Ellis-Milan is nearly averaging a double-double with 10.2 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Guard Brittany McCoy is being asked to do a lot of things for the Gophers on the court. McCoy is averaging 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.3 steals, while also taking on the role of the Gophers’ defensive stopper on the perimeter. On honorable mention nod should perhaps go to Korinne Campbell as well, coming in at 7.0 points and 7.7 rebounds an outing.
Gopher Freshmen Make Big Impact
Minnesota’s freshmen no longer have the luxury of playing like rookies as the Big Ten season gears up. So far in 2006-07, the freshmen Golden Gophers have more than held their own. The Gopher freshmen have logged 55 percent of the minutes played as well as tallied 51 percent of the points scored this season. Starting forward Ashley Ellis-Milan tops the rookies with averages of 10.2 points in 28.6 minutes per contest. Guard Brittany McCoy adds 8.8 points in 30.0 minutes per game.
A Surprise From Down Under
Gopher freshman Zoe Harper received quite the surprise at a team dinner the evening before the Northwestern game (Jan. 11). 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 get to see four games during her stay.
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 Big Ten 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.
Scouting Illinois
Illinois enters the game with Minnesota with a 13-4 overall record, 3-2 in the Big Ten. The Blue and Orange are 2-1 since last facing the Golden Gophers, winning at Michigan at Wisconsin and losing at home to Indiana. Sophomore guard Lori Bjork leads the way averaging 14.5 points per game. Freshman center Jenna Smith and sophomore guard Chelsea Gordon are also scoring in double figures at 10.4 points an outing.
The Minnesota / Illinois Series
Illinois leads the series with Minnesota by a 26-21 margin. The Golden Gophers, however, have won five straight, including a 70-61 win in Minneapolis earlier this season.
