University of Minnesota Athletics
Tuesday, November 24
Williams Arena
University of Minnesota
65
vs
37
North Dakota State
Cotton Leads Gophers to Win Over NDSU
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Freshman Leah Cotton scored 11 of her game-high 15 points in the second half to spark Minnesota to a 65-37 victory over North Dakota State on Tuesday in Williams Arena. The Gophers improved to 4-1 on the season heading into the Junkanoo Jam, a tournament in the Bahamas this weekend.
“We didn’t play with the level of energy tonight on offense that we would like to,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “I don’t think we were taking good shots. Our defense was key - holding them to 37 points. The defense always needs to be there.”
Playing their third game in four days, Minnesota’s offense started the game missing its first seven shots and played sluggishly throughout the game. The Gopher defense, however, made the difference. North Dakota State turned the ball over 13 times and shot 1-for-7 in its first 22 possessions of the game. Minnesota built a 21-6 early lead.
The Bison (1-3) found the range in the last five minutes of the half and used a 13-5 run to cut the Minnesota lead to 28-21 at halftime.
Jackie Voigt hit two baskets, the second a three-pointer, in the first two minutes of the second half to extend the Gophers’ lead to 10 points at 33-23. NDSU’s Inger Hodgson and Abby Plucker hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Bison to within four points at 33-29.
“That was a bit of a reality check,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton.
What the Gophers saw was the play of their bench coming up big. China Antoine hit the first of her three second-half three-point field goals to ignite an 18-0 Gopher run. Cotton added six points in the rally, her free throw with 8:23 remaining giving the Gophers a comfortable 51-29 lead. Minnesota maintained a lead of over 20 points the rest of the way.
Voigt was the only other Gopher in double figures with 10 points. Antoine finished with nine points and four steals. Zoe Harper was a force off the bench in the low post contributing eight points and nine rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.
Minnesota shot just 28.8 percent for the game after shooting over 50 percent in their previous two (Illinois-Chicago and Colorado). The Gophers worked to get to the free throw line and converted 27-of-36 attempts. The Gopher bench outscored the starting lineup by a 37-28 margin.
Hodgson led NDSU with 11 points. The Bison nearly turned the ball over as much as they scored, finishing with 37 points and 35 turnovers.
The Gophers face TCU on Friday in the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. Minnesota will face either Kansas or Xavier on Saturday.
“We didn’t play with the level of energy tonight on offense that we would like to,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “I don’t think we were taking good shots. Our defense was key - holding them to 37 points. The defense always needs to be there.”
Playing their third game in four days, Minnesota’s offense started the game missing its first seven shots and played sluggishly throughout the game. The Gopher defense, however, made the difference. North Dakota State turned the ball over 13 times and shot 1-for-7 in its first 22 possessions of the game. Minnesota built a 21-6 early lead.
The Bison (1-3) found the range in the last five minutes of the half and used a 13-5 run to cut the Minnesota lead to 28-21 at halftime.
Jackie Voigt hit two baskets, the second a three-pointer, in the first two minutes of the second half to extend the Gophers’ lead to 10 points at 33-23. NDSU’s Inger Hodgson and Abby Plucker hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Bison to within four points at 33-29.
“That was a bit of a reality check,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton.
What the Gophers saw was the play of their bench coming up big. China Antoine hit the first of her three second-half three-point field goals to ignite an 18-0 Gopher run. Cotton added six points in the rally, her free throw with 8:23 remaining giving the Gophers a comfortable 51-29 lead. Minnesota maintained a lead of over 20 points the rest of the way.
Voigt was the only other Gopher in double figures with 10 points. Antoine finished with nine points and four steals. Zoe Harper was a force off the bench in the low post contributing eight points and nine rebounds, six of which came on the offensive end.
Minnesota shot just 28.8 percent for the game after shooting over 50 percent in their previous two (Illinois-Chicago and Colorado). The Gophers worked to get to the free throw line and converted 27-of-36 attempts. The Gopher bench outscored the starting lineup by a 37-28 margin.
Hodgson led NDSU with 11 points. The Bison nearly turned the ball over as much as they scored, finishing with 37 points and 35 turnovers.
The Gophers face TCU on Friday in the Junkanoo Jam in the Bahamas. Minnesota will face either Kansas or Xavier on Saturday.
Players Mentioned
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