University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, January 18
Champaign, IL
University of Minnesota
54
at
64
Illinois
Gophers' Comeback Effort Falls Short at Illinois
1/19/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota’s comeback attempt fell short as Illinois defeated the Golden Gophers by a score of 64-54 in Big Ten action at Assembly Hall in Champaign on Thursday. Minnesota’s record falls to 11-8 overall and 3-3 in Conference play.
Emily Fox led the Gophers with 16 points, while Leslie Knight added 14, including a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Fox also had a career-high six steals, six rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.
The Gophers chipped away at the Illinois lead by applying pressure defense. Minnesota’s 8-0 run, capped off by a Katie Ohm three pointer and a driving Kelly Roysland lay-up at 7:59 mark brought the Gophers to within three points at 45-42. The margin would turn out to be the closest the Gophers would get.
Illinois point guard Lori Bjork halted the Gopher rally with a lay-up before a Chelsea Gordon basket brought the Illinois lead by to nine points.
Minnesota would mount another rally when Fox’s lay-up spun in to make the score 54-50. An Ashley Ellis-Milan foul in Illinois’ next possession sent Jenna Smith to the line. Smith hit the first but missed the second, but Gordon came away with a key rebound and ignite a run in which Illinois would score eight unanswered points to put the game away.
“That offensive rebound was really a dagger,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “We had worked into a situation of giving ourselves a chance but we couldn’t make the play. We missed too many early shots and give Illinois credit they hit their free throws.”
Illinois converted 20 of 25 free throws for 80 percent, nullifying the Gophers’ best free throw performance of 81.3 percent (13-16) on the season.
The Gopher frontcourt, which combined for 27 points in the win over Illinois on Dec. 31, was ineffective offensively hitting just three of 19 field goal attempts. Ellis-Milan missed all nine of her shots from the floor.
The Gophers trailed by as much as 18 points when Illinois grabbed a 34-16 lead on a pair of Lori Bjork free throws. Minnesota missed nine of its first 10 field goal attempts and went on to shoot just an anemic 29 (9-31) percent in the half. Illinois shot 52 percent, and despite 13 first-half turnovers, still held a 36-22 lead at intermission.
Momentum switched Illinois’ direction when Emily Fox was called for an offensive foul, her second, with 9:45 left in the half. Fox’s spinning fade-away swished the net and would have drawn the Gophers to within 16-14. Illinois ran off 11 straight points after that play.
Minnesota returns home on Sunday, Jan. 21 to play host to Penn State. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. in Williams Arena.
Emily Fox led the Gophers with 16 points, while Leslie Knight added 14, including a 10-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Fox also had a career-high six steals, six rebounds and three assists in 32 minutes.
The Gophers chipped away at the Illinois lead by applying pressure defense. Minnesota’s 8-0 run, capped off by a Katie Ohm three pointer and a driving Kelly Roysland lay-up at 7:59 mark brought the Gophers to within three points at 45-42. The margin would turn out to be the closest the Gophers would get.
Illinois point guard Lori Bjork halted the Gopher rally with a lay-up before a Chelsea Gordon basket brought the Illinois lead by to nine points.
Minnesota would mount another rally when Fox’s lay-up spun in to make the score 54-50. An Ashley Ellis-Milan foul in Illinois’ next possession sent Jenna Smith to the line. Smith hit the first but missed the second, but Gordon came away with a key rebound and ignite a run in which Illinois would score eight unanswered points to put the game away.
“That offensive rebound was really a dagger,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “We had worked into a situation of giving ourselves a chance but we couldn’t make the play. We missed too many early shots and give Illinois credit they hit their free throws.”
Illinois converted 20 of 25 free throws for 80 percent, nullifying the Gophers’ best free throw performance of 81.3 percent (13-16) on the season.
The Gopher frontcourt, which combined for 27 points in the win over Illinois on Dec. 31, was ineffective offensively hitting just three of 19 field goal attempts. Ellis-Milan missed all nine of her shots from the floor.
The Gophers trailed by as much as 18 points when Illinois grabbed a 34-16 lead on a pair of Lori Bjork free throws. Minnesota missed nine of its first 10 field goal attempts and went on to shoot just an anemic 29 (9-31) percent in the half. Illinois shot 52 percent, and despite 13 first-half turnovers, still held a 36-22 lead at intermission.
Momentum switched Illinois’ direction when Emily Fox was called for an offensive foul, her second, with 9:45 left in the half. Fox’s spinning fade-away swished the net and would have drawn the Gophers to within 16-14. Illinois ran off 11 straight points after that play.
Minnesota returns home on Sunday, Jan. 21 to play host to Penn State. Tip off is set for 2 p.m. in Williams Arena.
Players Mentioned
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