Gophers Defeat UC Riverside 57-49 in Season Opener

Minnesota opened its 2007-08 season by overcoming a six point halftime deficit to pull off a win over UC Riverside, 57-49, at Williams Arena on Friday. Emily Fox scored 13 points to lead four Gophers in double figures.

The story of the night was the Minnesota's post presence. By out-rebounding the Highlanders 52-25, the Gophers were able to dominate on the block all night. Leading the way was sophomore guard Korinne Campbell, with 11 rebounds. Campbell also went 4-6 from the line, and added defensive pressure all night. Senior Leslie Knight finished one rebound shy of a double-double with nine rebounds and 12 points. Ashley Ellis-Milan chipped in nine rebounds.

After trailing by as many as 10 points in the first half (27-17) and six points at halftime (27-21), Minnesota caught fire in the second half, rallying back early in the second half. The Gophers tied the score at 34-34 on two Zoe Harper free throws. With the score tied at 37-37, Minnesota went on a 13-4 run, lead by six points from Harper in that span. This gave the Gophers a nine point lead, their largest of the game. On the night, Harper finished with 10 points, eight of them coming in the second half. She also contributed six rebounds.

UC-Riverside (0-1) fought back to within four points at 53-49 on a free throw by Seyram Gbewonyo with 1:55 remaining, but it would be the Highlanders' final point of the evening. Gbewonyo missed a big three-pointer from the left baseline that could have closed the gap to a point. A Knight basket and a pair of Campbell free throw iced the victory.

In the first half, the Highlanders came out hot, making their first five field goals to start the game, and giving them the 11-6 lead. Despite UC Riverside shooting 52 percent in the first half, Minnesota kept things close going into halftime, trailing only 27-21. The Gophers kept control of the paint, outrebounding UC Riverside 24-12 in the first half. The second half was much improved for Minnesota, who came out cold in the first half shooting only 23 percent. They picked it up in the second half, shooting 40 percent and holding UC Riverside to 28 percent.

Offensively, Minnesota followed their shots, netting 28 offensive boards on the night to just five for the Highlanders. The physical domination on the boards led the Gophers to score 13 points off their offensive rebounds.

Sophomore Brittany McCoy added 11 points, going 5-6 from the free throw line.

Minnesota's next game is at Northern Iowa, on Tuesday, November 13 at 7:00 p.m.

Game Notes
Minnesota (1-0), UC Riverside (0-1)
Friday, Nov. 9, 2007

Minnesota won its season opener for the eighth consecutive season. Pam Borton is 6-0 in season openers as the Gophers' head coach.
For her first career start, Korinne Campbell had 6 points and a game-high 11 rebounds

Minnesota lost their lead in the game just after 18:46 (4-4) in the first and didn't gain it back until 12:51 (35-34) left in the secon
The Minnesota defense forced UC-Riverside into 3 shot clock violations in the game

A Brittany McCoy lay-up with 11:28 left in the game gave the Gophers a lead they would not relinquish
Leslie Knight finished one rebound away from a double-double with 12 point and 9 rebounds

UC Riverside
Riverside is now 1-3 in season openers under John Margaritis and 1-6 in Division I ranks

Junior, Brittany Waddell scored her career point record with 16 points in the game
Riverside made 5-12 3-point attempts, hitting their first five
The Highlanders played without 2007 Big West Conference player of the year Kemie Nkele who missed the game due to a knee injury
UCR played the last 8:16 without starters Roney Friend and Amber Cox who fouled out of the game

Minnesota Quotes:

Gopher Players Quotes

Emily Fox

On the defense during the game...

“We had a lot of ball pressure. Everyone on the team gave it up on defense. Defense wins games.'

This year's player experience compared to last year...

“We have a lot more experience this year compared to last year. We knew what to expect and we have great leadership.'

Brittany McCoy

On the game...

“The first half we didn't really have a lot of confidence. It was a slow start but we stuck together and finished strong.'

“Last year I really focused on my offensive game and not really defense. I tried to make the big shots when we needed them.'

Zoe Harper

On offensive boards...

“We really focused on offensive boards. Ashley Ellis-Milan and Korinne Campbell did a good job of getting the ball into the paint. We focused on crashing the board.'

“In the secnd half when I got off the bench, I had great opportunities to run plays, finish strong and score in the paint.'

Coach Pam Borton

Opening statement...

“We weathered the storm. The last six minutes we made plays. Everyone chipped in by making free throws and plays. Last year we had so many freshman on the floor that they didn't even know the meaning of making plays.'

On offensive boards...

“In the first half we had a 24% field goal attempts so we had to give ourselves a chance. Rebounding was the difference in tonight's game.'

On Zoe Harper...

“She plays better every day and is continuing to improve. Her offensive play is heading in the right direction.'

UC Riverside Coach John Margaritas Quotes

“Our inability to score in the past and get any production from our post players really hurt us tonight. I thought it was a rough game for us and Minnesota did a great job at what they do. We knew one of the keys to winning was being able to rebound, and we didn't get that done. I think Minnesota has different weapons that compliment each other, which makes them a very tough matchup. We thought we had a tough matchup with three or four of Minnesota's players.'

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Players Mentioned

Ashley Ellis-Milan

Emily Fox

Zoe Harper

Leslie Knight

Brittany McCoy

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University of Minnesota Athletics