University of Minnesota Athletics
Golden Gophers Head to Penn State on Thursday
2/14/2007 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten)
vs.
Penn State Lady Lions (12-13, 5-7 Big Ten)
LOCATION Bryce Jordan Center (15,261) - University Park, Pa.
DATE / TIME: Thurs., Feb. 15 - 7 p.m. (ET), 6 p.m. (CT).
TELEVISION: CSTV
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 — Feb. 15, 2007
• Gophers Travel to Penn State on Thursday - Minnesota (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) will play two of its last three games on the road, the first of which is at Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 15. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. (ET), 6 p.m. (CT).
• Roysland Returns, Scores 1,000th Career Point - Senior Kelly Roysland returned to action after missing 2 1/2 weeks to injury and promptly hit her first three-point field goal attempt, making her the 17th player in Minnesota history to amass 1,000 career points.
• Fox Playing All-Conference Ball - Sophomore Emily Fox stepped forward with Kelly Roysland out of the lineup to average 18.5 points a game. When Roysland returned on Sunday, Fox celebrated with a 23-point outing.
• Ellis-Milan Records Another Double-Double - Redshirt freshman Ashley Ellis-Milan recorded her seventh double-double of the season with 11 points and 11 rebounds in the win over Indiana. Ellis-Milan tops all Big Ten rookies with four double-doubles in Conference play.
Gophers Travel to Penn State on Thursday
Minnesota (14-12, 6-7 Big Ten) will play two of its last three games on the road, the first of which is at Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 15. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. (ET), 6 p.m. (CT). The Golden Gophers are coming off a 79-69 victory over Indiana on Sunday, while Penn State (12-13, 5-7 Big Ten) was edged, 64-61, at Northwestern.
Crunch Time - Two Weeks Remain
As the Big Ten teams turn the corner and head toward the home stretch, Minnesota has some work to do to secure a first-round bye for the Big Ten Tournament. The top five teams earn a bye in the first round of the conference tournament. The Gophers are 6-7 in league play, currently sitting in sixth place. They are, however, just one game from fourth place (Wisconsin 7-6) and a half game from fifth (Illinois 6-6). The Badgers face a killer week traveling to Ohio State on Thursday and hosting Purdue on Sunday. Illinois plays both its games on the road this week, at Iowa and at Indiana.
Gophers Have a Shot at Something Special
Minnesota hopes to take advantage of an opportunity that has only come around once before. The Golden Gophers, set up by a 75-62 victory over Penn State in Williams Arena on Jan. 21, have just the second chance in school history to sweep the Lady Lions in a regular-season series. The Gophers’ first shot at a sweep was a dozen years ago during the 1994-95 season. Minnesota won the first game at home (71-56), but split with Penn State with the Lady Lions winning the second contest (87-63). The sweep would be made even more special because the Gophers have never won at Penn State (0-11).
Roysland Returns to Score 1,000th Career Point
Senior Kelly Roysland returned to action, and the starting lineup, on Sunday versus Indiana 2 1/2 weeks after suffering a broken collarbone (Jan. 21 vs. Iowa). Roysland needed only 38 seconds to hit her first basket, a three-pointer from the left baseline which notched her 1,000th point as a Golden Gopher. Roysland is the 17th player in Minnesota history to score 1,000 points in a career. She currently owns 1,010 career points after scoring 13 in the victory over Indiana.
Ellis-Milan Takes Over Rookie Lead
Redshirt freshman Ashley Ellis-Milan gathered 11 points and 11 rebounds in Sunday’s win over Indiana to notch her fourth double-double in Big Ten play, the most of any freshman in the Conference. Overall, Ellis-Milan is tied for third with seven double-doubles. Earlier this season, Ellis-Milan tallied a double-double against Jessica Davenport and highly ranked Ohio State. The last freshman to record a double-double versus a ranked team was Janel McCarville, who accomplished the feat twice in her 2001-02 rookie season with the Gophers.
A Long Way to Go, But She’s Off to a Great Start
Ashley Ellis-Milan’s seven double-doubles is impressive for a freshman and a great start for a young Gopher’s career. In 2001-02, a rookie named Janel McCarville collected her first eight double-doubles en route to a Minnesota record 49 in her career.
Fox Surpasses 100 Assists for the Season
Sophomore Emily Fox became the 18th player in Gopher history to dish out over 100 assists in a season. Fox currently has 102 assists. She is the first player to hit 100 assists as a sophomore since Lindsay Whalen accomplished the feat with 159 in 2001-02.
Here’s Some Trivia For You
Emily Fox already has over 100 assists and could soon be joined by freshman Brittany McCoy, who currently has 86 assists. Only once in school history have the Golden Gophers had two players tally over 100 assists in the same season. That season was 2004-05 and the players were guard April Calhoun (121) and center Janel McCarville (119).
Fox Stepped Into a Leadership Role
Emily Fox played some of the best basketball of her career over the past few weeks when backcourt running mate Kelly Roysland was sidelined with an injury. When Roysland was out, Fox averaged 18.8 points a game. During the same span, Fox also added 4.8 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.
And With Roysland Back, Fox Still Running
Emily Fox continued to pace the Gophers and celebrated the return of backcourt partner Kelly Roysland with a 23-point outing versus Indiana. Fox went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in the second half (9-10 overall) to seal the victory for the Gophers.
Continued Confidence
Since Emily Fox’s last second jumper won the game at Northwestern, the sophomore guard has averaged 18.5 points per game in Big Ten action. The most points she has scored in a game during the span is a career-high 30 at Iowa. The fewest number of points was 13 versus Penn State, though she dished out six assists in that game.
McCoy Earning Her Stripes as a Defensive Stopper
Purdue guard Katie Gearlds commented that she was glad former Gopher defensive stopper Shannon Bolden had graduated. Well, Brittany McCoy was like a recurring nightmare for Gearlds, playing tough defense on the All-Big Ten Boilermaker guard and forcing Gearlds into a season-low four-points outing on 2-of-10 from the floor and 0-3 from three-point range. McCoy played 39 of 40 minutes and also contributed seven points, five assists and two steals.
One of the Big Ten’s Most Improved Players
Leslie Knight has been the Gophers’ most consistent presence in the post during the Big Ten season. If there were such a thing as an award for the Big Ten’s most improved player, Knight would certainly be a leading candidate. In Big Ten play, Knight is shooting 55.8 percent from the floor (fourth in the Big Ten) and 88.1 percent from the line (fifth in the Big Ten) en route to averaging 11.0 points a game. She also averages 4.8 rebounds per game. Want to talk about taking an opportunity and running with it? In Knight’s first two years with the Gophers, she played in 10 Big Ten games and averaged 0.6 points and 0.1 rebounds.
Barnes Comes Off Bench to Contribute
Junior Jordan Barnes started three games filling in for the injured Kelly Roysland and responded with solid outings versus No. 10/13 Purdue, Indiana and No. 4/5 Ohio State As a starter, Barnes averaged 6.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists while seeing 30.7 minutes of action per game. With Roysland back in the starting lineup, Barnes played 14 minutes in the win over Indiana and contributed two points, three rebounds and an assist.
Campbell, Ellis-Milan Tops in Offensive Rebounding
Led by two freshmen, Minnesota is the top offensive rebounding team in the Big Ten. Korinne Campbell’s 86 and Ashley Ellis-Milan’s 84 offensive rebounds on the season ranks first and second in the Conference.
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 63 straight games, including 13 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 Penn State
Penn State enters Thursday’s game with a12-13 overall mark, 5-7 in Big Ten play.
The Lady Lions own an impressive 10-1 mark at the Bryce Jordan Center this season, with a two-point loss to Ohio State the only blemish on the schedule. Amanda Brown, a 6-4 senior, is one of the best post players in the Big Ten. Brown averages 14.0 points and 10.1 rebounds per game and shoots an impressive 59.2 percent from the field. Freshman Tyra Grant has been impressive scoring 13.8 points a game. Junior guard Kamela Gissendanner adds 12.7 points an outing.
The Minnesota / Penn State Series
Penn State owns a 19-5 advantage in the series with Minnesota. The Gophers won the last two games with the Lady Lions, both in Williams Arena. Minnesota is 0-11 on Penn State’s home court.
