Gophers Face Michigan State Today in Big Ten Tourney Quarterfinal

Minnesota Golden Gophers (16-14, 7-9 Big Ten)
vs.
Michigan State Spartans (22-7, 13-3 Big Ten)

LOCATION Conseco Fieldhouse - Indianapolis, Ind.
DATE / TIME: Fri., March 2 - 2:25 p.m. (ET), 1:25 (CT)
TELEVISION: Comcast Chicago/Fox SportsNet North
Dave Eanet (play-by-play), Suzie McConell Serio (analyst)
RADIO / WEBCAST: KBEM-FM-88.5, KRDS 95.5 /
Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Rita Maloney (play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (analyst)

Golden Gopher Watch List — March 2, 2007
• Gophers Face Michigan State in Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinal - Minnesota (16-14, 7-9 Big Ten) will face No. 22/23 Michigan State in a quarterfinal game of the 2007 Big Ten Tournament. Tip off is set for 25 minutes after the Wisconsin/Purdue game, or approximately at 2:25 p.m. ET (1:25 p.m. CT).
• Comcast Chicago/ESPN2 Televises Tournament - Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will once again be televised. Comcast Chicago will be producing every game until the championship, which will be broadcast on ESPN2. Locally, Fox Sports Net North will air the Gophers’ quarterfinal contest live.
• Gophers Defeat Northwestern to Advance in Tourney - The Gophers defeated Northwestern, 60-43, to advance to the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament. Emily Fox led the way with 12 points and nine rebounds.
• Roysland Poised For Leap Up Gopher Scorers List - Kelly Roysland moved into 15th place on the Gophers’ all-time leading scorers list with 1,028 career points. She would jump over three former Gophers with an 8-point performance versus Michigan State.

Gophers Set For Rematch With Michigan State
No. 6 seed Minnesota (16-14, 7-9 Big Ten) will play No. 3 seed Michigan State in the quarterfinal of the 2007 BIg Ten Conference Tournament. The Golden Gophers advanced out of the first round with a 60-43 victory over Northwestern on Thursday.

All Big Ten Tournament Games Televised
Every game of the Big Ten Tournament will once again be televised. Comcast Chicago will be producing every game until the championship, which will be broadcast on ESPN2. Locally, Fox SportsNet North will televise Minnesota game versus Michigan State on Friday live.

Gophers Finish in Tie For Fifth
The Golden Gophers finished the Big Ten campaign in a three-way tie for fifth-place with Penn State and Wisconsin at 7-9. Penn State was awarded the No. 5 seed since the Lady Lions owned a combined record of 2-1 against the Gophers and Badgers.

Gophers Still Out-Played the Predictions
Way back in October, the Big Ten coaches predicted Minnesota would finish in eighth place in the Conference standings. A poll of Big Ten media was even worse, pegging the Gophers to finish ninth. For a squad that has often found itself with four freshmen and a sophomore on the court at some very crucial moments this year, a fifth-place finish is a respectable one.

Gophers Gain Experience and Run
Throughout the season, the youthful Minnesota squad has grown, collecting experience along the way. The Gophers started the season as one of the youngest teams in the nation. As the Gophers continue play in the Big Ten Tournament, Minnesota will once again easily be the least experienced team in the field.
Only senior Kelly Roysland had started a Big Ten Tournament game before Thursday contest versus Northwestern. Emily Fox was the only other Gopher who had played in a tourney game.

The Future is a Bright One for the Gophers
Minnesota has played some of its finest ball when competing against nationally ranked teams this season. In the four games the Gophers played against the Big Ten’s nationally ranked teams (Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State), the Gophers lost by an average of only 6.5 points. This average is somewhat skewd by a 13-point early season loss at Ohio State. Minnesota played both Ohio State and Purdue to three-point games in February, and dropped a seven-point decision at Michigan State in the last game of the regular season.

Big Ten Tournament History
Ohio State enters the 2007 Big Ten Tournament as the defending champion. The Buckeyes are one of six teams to capture the crown in the 11-year history of the tournament. Ohio State defeated Purdue, 63-60, to capture the tournament title with Buckeye guard Brandie Hoskins named the tournament’s most valuable player. Here’s a list of the tournament champions:
School Championships
Iowa 1997, 2001
Indiana 2002
Michigan State 2005
Ohio State 1992, 2006
Purdue 1998, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2004
Penn State 1995, 1996

Minnesota at the Big Ten Tournament
Minnesota hasn’t had the best of luck at the Big Ten Tournament. The Gophers own a record of 5-12 in Tournament action. The one bright year was 2005, when the Gophers advanced to the championship game.
Following is Minnesota’s Big Ten Tournament history:
Year Result Round
1995 (9) Iowa 57, (8) Minnesota 44 First
1996 (6) Ohio State 78, (11) Minnesota 64 First
1997 (11) Minnesota 80, (6) Wisconsin 75 First
(3) Illinois 98, (11) Minnesota 76 QF
1998 (6) Wisconsin 65, (11) Minnesota 47 First
1999 (6) Michigan 74, (11) Minnesota 55 First
2000 (7) Wisconsin 56, (10) Minnesota 49 First
2001 (7) Indiana 78, (10) Minnesota 56 First
2002 (6) Wisconsin 74, (3) Minnesota 64 QF
2003 (7) Iowa 80, (2) Minnesota 77 QF
2004 (6) Minnesota 68, (11) Northwestern 47 First
(3) Ohio State 58, (6) Minnesota 50 QF
2005 (4) Minnesota 71, (5) Purdue 68 QF
(4) Minnesota 66, (1) Ohio State 63 ot SF
(2) Michigan State 55, (4) Minnesota 49 Final
2006 (6) Indiana 61, (3) Minnesota 46 QF
2007 (6) Minnesota 60, (11) Northwestern 43 First

Rematch of 2005 Championship Tilt
Friday’s quarterfinal game between Minnesota and Michigan State is a rematch of the 2005 BIg Ten Tournament championship game. Kelly Roysland, the only Gopher on the current roster to have played in that game, tallied seven points and four rebounds.

Top Defensive Effort
The 43 points scored by Northwestern is the fewest points allowed by the Gopher defense in the BIg Ten Tournament. In three of Minnesota’s five Tournament wins, the Gophers have held their opponents to less than 50 points.

McCoy Among Select Trio of Big Ten Rookies
Gopher freshman Brittany McCoy is one of three freshman in the Big Ten Conference to start each and every game this season for their respective teams. Ironically, all three are guards as Ohio State’s Maria Moeller and Wisconsin’s Rae Lin D’Alie join McCoy in the elite group. McCoy’s overall contribution is the best of the three, averaging 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 31.3 minutes per game. D’Alie checks in at 7.3 ppg., 2.4 rpg. and 4.7 apg. in 29.7 minutes, while Moeller collects 4.2 ppg., 2.0 rpg., and 3.3 apg. in 31.6 minutes per game.

Harper Tops Scoring Best in Back-To-Back Games
Freshman Zoe Harper has played her best basketball over the last two weeks, including the Gophers’ last two games where she has bettered her previous career highs for scoring. Harper scored nine points in the Feb. 25 game at Michigan State, then tallied 10 points in the Big Ten Tournament win over Northwestern. She played a career-best 22 minutes in both games.

The Freshman Factor
Minnesota’s freshmen have logged 55 percent of the minutes played as well as tallied 48 percent of the points scored this season. The 2006-07 can be compared with the 2000-01 season when Minnesota had five prominent freshmen on the roster, including rookies Lindsay Whalen and Kadidja Andersson. In 2000-01, the freshmen contributed 47.3 percent of the scoring punch and 41.6 percent of the minutes played.

Campbell a Tenacious Rebounder
Freshman Korinne Campbell knows one of her main roles this season is to get to the glass and the rookie forward is making that role a priority. In games where the 6-0 leaper has played 20 or more minutes (19 this season), Campbell is averaging 9.1 rebounds a game. She pulled down a career-high 17 rebounds against Michigan State a week ago and grabbed nine boards in her first Big Ten Tournament game.

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.

Roysland Returns to Score 1,000th Career Point
Senior Kelly Roysland returned to action, and the starting lineup, on Feb. 11 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 1,028 career points and now ranks in 15th on the Gophers’ all-time scorers list.

A Jump Up the Ranks Likely
Kelly Roysland can take a quick leap up the Gophers’ all-time scoring list. She currently has 1,028 career points. In 14th place is Kadidja Andersson (2000-04) at 1,029, while Cara Pearson (1991-95) is 143h at 1,030 and Shannon Loeblein (1991-95) is 12th at 1,036.

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 113 assists. She is the first player to hit 100 assists as a sophomore since Lindsay Whalen accomplished the feat with 159 in 2001-02. Fox needs to hit 115 to join the Gophers’ all-time top 10 list in a season.

McCoy Nearing 100 Assists as Well
Emily Fox already has over 100 assists and could soon be joined by freshman Brittany McCoy, who currently has 95 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 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.

Continued Confidence
Since Emily Fox’s last second jumper won the game at Northwestern, the sophomore guard averaged 17.0 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 10 points versus Penn State.

More Gopher Rookies Step in Spotlight
True freshmen Korrine Campbell and Breanna Salley played impressive roles in the Gophers’ regular-season finale at No. 20/20 Michigan State. Campbell pulled down 17 rebounds, the highest individual total since Janel McCarville grabbed 18 boards in the 2004 NCAA Tournament game versus Duke. She also added eight points. Salley played a career-high 19 minutes, making her presence known especially on defense. She contributed three points, three rebounds, two assists and a block in 19 minutes.

Two Rookies Nearing Century Mark of O-Boards
In 30-plus years of Minnesota women’s basketball history, only four players have collected over 100 offensive rebounds in a season, led by Angie Iverson’s 143 in 1996-97. This season, the Golden Gophers have not only one but two players, amazingly both freshman, nearing the century mark of offensive boards in the same season. Ashley Ellis-Milan ranks first in the Big Ten with 98 offensive rebounds. Korinne Campbell is second in the Big Ten with 96. Overall, Minnesota is the top offensive rebounding team in the Big Ten, averaging 16.73 offensive rebounds a game.

Gophers’ Freshmen Starters Moving Up List of Top Rookie Scorers
The Gophers have two freshmen moving up the list of top rookie scorers in Minnesota women’s basketball history. It should be noted that the number of games played vary greatly among the players on this list. The list is based on points scored, not scoring average.
Freshman Player / Year Points Games Average
1. Linda Roberts (1977-78) 475 33 games 14.4 ppg.
2. Laura Coenen (1981-82) 456 28 games 16.3 ppg.
3. Laura Gardner (1978-79) 453 32 games 14.1 ppg.
4. Lindsay Whalen (2000-01) 425 25 games 17.0 ppg.
5. Janel McCarville (2001-02) 391 30 games 13.0 ppg.
6. Molly Tadich (1983-84) 305 27 games 11.3 ppg.
7. Carol Ann Shudlick (1990-91) 285 24 games 11.9 ppg.
8. Ashley Ellis-Milan 279 30 games 9.3 ppg.
9. Brittany McCoy 263 30 games 8.8 ppg.

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