University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face UMass in Title Game
11/29/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 7
Minnesota Golden Gophers (5-1)
vs.
UMass Minutewomen (3-2)
LOCATION Coors Event Center (11,064) - Boulder, Colo.
DATE / TIME: Saturday, Nov. 28 / 7:30 p.m. (8:30 p.m. CT)
TELEVISION: none
RADIO / WEBCAST: KBEM 88.5 FM / Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Corbu Stathes (Play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analyst)
Golden Gopher Watch List Nov. 29, 2008
Golden Gophers Play For Title in Colorado Coors Classic - Minnesota looks to capture its second consecutive early-season tournament in as many weeks when the Golden Gophers face UMass in the title game of the Colorado Coors Classic on Saturday, Nov. 29, at 7:30 p.m. MT (8:30 p.m. CT). The Gophers advanced with a 74-50 win over Drexel, while UMass upset host Colorado, 70-62.
Kay Sylva Paces Gophers to Victory - Senior Kay Sylva bettered her career scoring best for the second straight game leading the Gophers with 17 points in the 74-50 win over Drexel.
Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving - The Golden Gophers had a special host for Thanksgiving, the Fox family. Emily’s family served a Thanksgiving feast to nearly 50 people, including the team and relatives.
Quick Turnaround - Minnesota will fly home after the game on Saturday tonight to prepare for its next game on Monday, when the Gophers play host to St. Mary’s (Calif.). St. Mary’s is playing at home versus Indiana today in the championship game of its tournament in Moranga, Calif
Gophers Play UMass in Title Tilt
Minnesota looks to capture its second early-season tournament title in as many weeks when the Golden Gophers face UMass in the championship game of the Colorado Coors Classic on Saturday (7:30 MT / 8:30 CT). The Gophers are 5-1 after defeating Drexel, 74-50, to advance. UMass (3-2) pulled a 70-62 upset over the host Buffaloes.
It’s Now a Neutral Court
Minnesota and UMass will play for the championship on a neutral court. The two teams have met only once before, ironically, on a neutral court. The Gophers defeated the Minutewomen, 64-56, on Nov. 22, 1998, at the Hawaiian Regent Wahine Classic in Honolulu.
Shooting For Title Number Two
Minnesota captured the title in the Subway Classic and hope to take home a championship tonight from Colorado. The Gophers have won two early-season tournament titles three times under head coach Pam Borton, but its been three years since Minnesota last accomplished the feat. The Gophers won both their early-season titles in Borton’s first two seasons (2002-03 and 2003-04). The last time the Gophers grabbed two crowns was in 2005-06, when Minnesota won the Subway Classic and the Paradise Jam in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
A Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving
The Golden Gophers had a special host for Thanksgiving, the Fox family. Emily’s family served a Thanksgiving feast to nearly 50 people, including the team and relatives.
Historically A Big Travel Week
Minnesota adds Colorado to the list of interesting road trip over Thanksgiving weekend. Last year, the Gophers spent the holiday in Hawaii. Other recent destinations were Flagstaff, Ariz. (2006), the U.S. Virgin Islands (2005) and the Bahamas (2003). Very tentative plans have the Gophers making a return visit to the Bahamas next year.
Four Games, Four Top Scorers
Minnesota is getting scoring contributions from several sources early in 2008-09, in fact in the Gophers’ last four games, four different players have collected scoring honors: Katie Ohm - North Dakota State, Kiara Buford - American, Emily Fox - Yale and Kay Sylva - Drexel. Ohm has led or shared top scoring honors three times this season, while Fox has done so twice.
Something About 17
A fun trend for the Gophers this season revolves mysteriously around the number 17. In six games so far this season, the Gophers’ leading scorer(s) have totaled 17 points five times: Emily Fox and Katie Ohm versus Santa Clara, Ohm versus North Dakota State, Fox versus Yale and now Kay Sylva versus Drexel.
Sylva Simply Sensational
Senior Kay Sylva is known for her defensive prowess, after all, she was the Gophers’ Defensive Player of the Year last season. In the last two games, however, Sylva has been a force on the offensive end of the court, posting new career scoring bests versus Yale and Drexel in back-to-back games. Sylva scored 12 against Yale, making 6-of-7 shots from the floor. She continued her aggressive looking for the basket versus Drexel, tallying 17 points on 5-7 from the field. That’s an average of 14.5 points per game and a 78.6 shooting percentage over the last two games. Her two-game total of 29 points nearly surpasses her total points from last season (31).
A Trio of Threes From Triple Digits
Ohm is three three-pointers (97) from her 100th of her career and becoming the seventh Golden Gopher to hit trifecta triple digits. Ohm nailed a perfect 3-for-3 from behind the arc in the Gophers’ win over Yale in the Subway Classic title game. The Big Ten’s most accurate long-ball threat from a year ago, Ohm has netted a trio of three-point field goals in four of the Gophers’ six games this season.
Working Doubly Hard on the Glass
Ashley Ellis-Milan has pulled down double-digit rebounds in each of the last four games. In two of those games, including the last outing versus Drexel, Ellis-Milan recorded double-doubles. She scored 13 points and pulled down 10 rebounds against Drexel for her 14 career double-double.
Takeaways a Big Part of the Game Plan
Minnesota is using its defense to fuel its offense. The Gopher “D” has forced opponents in an average of 22.3 turnovers a game in 2008-09. Over 40 percent (30 points) of Minnesota's 74 against Drexel were the result of Dragon turnovers.
Pitching the Second Shutout of the Season
Minnesota held Drexel without a second-chance point in the Gophers’ win on Friday, marking the second time this season that Gophers pitched a shutout on the defensive glass. The other game was at Santa Clara.
Rookie Comes Up Big On “D”
Freshman forward Jackie Voigt drew the assignment of defending Drexel’s prolific scorer Gabriela Marginean and passed the test with flying colors. Voigt set the tone for the Gophers in the first half playing 18 minutes matched up with Marginean, who entered the game averaging 29.5 points a game. Marginean managed to score just two points in that half when Voigt was on the defense. Frustrated the entire game, Marginean finished with 15 points, half of her season average.
