University of Minnesota Athletics
Monday, December 1
Williams Arena
University of Minnesota
98
vs
72
Saint Mary's
Gophers Cruise to WIn Over St. Mary's
12/2/2008 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota finished with five players in double figures, led by Katie Ohm with a career-high 21, as the Golden Gophers defeated St. Mary’s (Calif.) by a score of 98-72 on Monday in Williams Arena. Minnesota won its seventh straight game to improve to 7-1 on the season.
Ohm scored her career high for the second consecutive game after scoring 20 in the Gophers’ last outing versus UMass in the Colorado Coors Classic. She tallied 15 of her points on five three-point field goals.
Brittany McCoy also enjoyed a career night with 17 points, while dishing out eight assists. The list of top performances extends to Ashley Ellis-Milan and Emily Fox. Ellis-Milan collected her third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Fox filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight assists and six steals in just 24 minutes of action. Kay Sylva was the fifth Gopher in double figures with 10 points.
“I have to give our players credit tonight,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “They gutted this one out. They were tired, both physically and mentally, coming into this game with the travel schedule and games in Colorado, but found a way to focus, play well and win. Kids love to play games rather than practice, but we need to get into the gym, work on some things giving up 72 points is too much and get better as a ballclub.”
The Gophers showed a mature focus to start the game, playing their third contest in four days. Minnesota quickly got St. Mary’s top player center Louella Tomlinson in foul trouble and took advantage in the paint and at the free throw line. Tomlinson, entering the game as the NCAA’s second-ranked shot blocker, swatted two early Gopher shots but was unable to add to her total the rest of the game. With Tomlinson on the bench with three fouls in nine minutes of play, the Gophers scored 20 points in the paint. When they visited the free throw line, the Gophers made their first 16 shots and went 17-of-18 in the first half. The result was a 48-33 Minnesota lead at intermission.
With 16:48 to play Ohm collected a nice assist from Jackie Voigt to give Minnesota a 57-39 lead, but St. Mary’s (1-7) put together a 13-2 run to get back into the game. Tomlinson’s jumper at the 13:04 mark brought the Gaels to within seven points at 59-52. The run was fueled by five Gopher turnovers.
Leave into Fox to snatch the momentum back the Gophers’ direction. The senior guard grabbed a steal and dashed for a lay-up, assists on a McCoy lay-in and swished a three-pointer as the Gophers quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead with the 7-0 run. St. Mary’s would halt the run with four points before the Gophers would turn the game into a rout with another 11 straight points.
“Emmy is playing so well right now,” added Borton. “She’s getting her points, but she’s on the court doing so many other things for us. Best of all, she’s making her teammates around her better.”
The Gophers scored their season-best 98 points by shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 83.9 percent from the free throw line. It was the first time this season that Minnesota landed five players in double figures.
Minnesota plays host to Boston College on Thursday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Williams Arena.
Minnesota Player Quotes
Brittany McCoy
On preparation for tonight’s game
“We were coming out slow at the beginning of games so we knew that we had to work on getting out strong and I think we did that. We knew that they [St. Mary’s] was a team that could come back and that caught us off guard initially but we caught on.”
Katie Ohm
On team’s defensive performance
“Offense comes after defense, defense is definitely something we will need to work on in upcoming practices.”
Ashley Ellis-Milan
On coming out of her slump
“I started off the season being a non-contributor in rebounding and that’s what I do. I’m a rebounder and I play defense and I wasn’t giving the production my team needed. I felt bad and needed to work on it. I spent the days off in the gym working on my game, focusing on rebounding, and that’s what I had to do to get out of my slump.”
Ohm scored her career high for the second consecutive game after scoring 20 in the Gophers’ last outing versus UMass in the Colorado Coors Classic. She tallied 15 of her points on five three-point field goals.
Brittany McCoy also enjoyed a career night with 17 points, while dishing out eight assists. The list of top performances extends to Ashley Ellis-Milan and Emily Fox. Ellis-Milan collected her third consecutive double-double and fourth of the season with 16 points and 12 rebounds. Fox filled the stat sheet with 15 points, eight assists and six steals in just 24 minutes of action. Kay Sylva was the fifth Gopher in double figures with 10 points.
“I have to give our players credit tonight,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “They gutted this one out. They were tired, both physically and mentally, coming into this game with the travel schedule and games in Colorado, but found a way to focus, play well and win. Kids love to play games rather than practice, but we need to get into the gym, work on some things giving up 72 points is too much and get better as a ballclub.”
The Gophers showed a mature focus to start the game, playing their third contest in four days. Minnesota quickly got St. Mary’s top player center Louella Tomlinson in foul trouble and took advantage in the paint and at the free throw line. Tomlinson, entering the game as the NCAA’s second-ranked shot blocker, swatted two early Gopher shots but was unable to add to her total the rest of the game. With Tomlinson on the bench with three fouls in nine minutes of play, the Gophers scored 20 points in the paint. When they visited the free throw line, the Gophers made their first 16 shots and went 17-of-18 in the first half. The result was a 48-33 Minnesota lead at intermission.
With 16:48 to play Ohm collected a nice assist from Jackie Voigt to give Minnesota a 57-39 lead, but St. Mary’s (1-7) put together a 13-2 run to get back into the game. Tomlinson’s jumper at the 13:04 mark brought the Gaels to within seven points at 59-52. The run was fueled by five Gopher turnovers.
Leave into Fox to snatch the momentum back the Gophers’ direction. The senior guard grabbed a steal and dashed for a lay-up, assists on a McCoy lay-in and swished a three-pointer as the Gophers quickly rebuilt a double-digit lead with the 7-0 run. St. Mary’s would halt the run with four points before the Gophers would turn the game into a rout with another 11 straight points.
“Emmy is playing so well right now,” added Borton. “She’s getting her points, but she’s on the court doing so many other things for us. Best of all, she’s making her teammates around her better.”
The Gophers scored their season-best 98 points by shooting 51.6 percent from the floor, 40 percent from three-point range and 83.9 percent from the free throw line. It was the first time this season that Minnesota landed five players in double figures.
Minnesota plays host to Boston College on Thursday in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. in Williams Arena.
Minnesota Player Quotes
Brittany McCoy
On preparation for tonight’s game
“We were coming out slow at the beginning of games so we knew that we had to work on getting out strong and I think we did that. We knew that they [St. Mary’s] was a team that could come back and that caught us off guard initially but we caught on.”
Katie Ohm
On team’s defensive performance
“Offense comes after defense, defense is definitely something we will need to work on in upcoming practices.”
Ashley Ellis-Milan
On coming out of her slump
“I started off the season being a non-contributor in rebounding and that’s what I do. I’m a rebounder and I play defense and I wasn’t giving the production my team needed. I felt bad and needed to work on it. I spent the days off in the gym working on my game, focusing on rebounding, and that’s what I had to do to get out of my slump.”
Players Mentioned
F/C
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
G
/ Women's Basketball
F
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