University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Face TCU Friday in Junkanoo Jam
11/25/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Click here for website with live video of the games
Minnesota Golden Gophers (4-1)
vs.
TCU Lady Frogs (3-1)
LOCATION St. Georges High School - Freeport, Grand Island, Bahamas
DATE / TIME: Friday, Nov. 27 / 11 a.m. ET, 10 a.m. CT
TELEVISION: none
RADIO / WEBCAST: Gopher Radio Network, KBEM-FM-88.5
Corbu Stathes (Play-by-Play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analysis)
Gophersports.com
Golden Gopher Watch List — Nov. 27, 2009
• Gophers Travel to Bahamas for Tourney - Minnesota (4-1) travels to Grand Island, Bahamas to compete in the Junkanoo Jam this weekend. The Golden Gophers will face TCU on Friday and then either Kansas or Xavier on Saturday. The tournament will offer a video webcast of the games which will be linked to gophersports.com.
• Cotton Leads Gophers - Freshman Leah Cotton scored a career-high 15 points and the Gopher bench tallied 37 points in Minnesota’s 65-37 victory over North Dakota State on Tuesday.
• Gophers Win Subway Classic Title - Minnesota defeated Colorado, 87-78, in the championship game of the Subway Basketball Classic. Ashley Ellis-Milan was named the Classic MVP and was joined by Kiara Buford and China Antoine on the all-tournament team.
• Busy November - Minnesota will play its first seven games in the span of just two weeks ending with the games at the Junkanoo Jam. The Gophers kick off December with the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Maryland on Dec. 3.
Gophers Spend Thanksgiving in Bahamas
Minnesota concludes its busy November schedule with a trip to Grand Island, Bahamas, to play in the Junkanoo Jam. The Golden Gophers (4-1) will face TCU on Friday at 11 a.m. CT, then either Kansas or Xavier on Saturday.
Junkanoo Jam Games Video Stream
The Junkanoo Jam will supply a video webstream of the games this weekend. No audio will be provided. Check gophersports.com for a link to the video broadcast.
Let’s Just Play Games
Players love it. Coaches, well, not so much. The Gophers’ early season schedule featured seven games, nearly a quarter of the season’s games, within the first two weeks of the season. That means little practice time and more game preparation. The Junkanoo Jam contests are the sixth and seventh games of the stretch.
Historically A Big Travel Week
Minnesota often takes a nice road trip over Thanksgiving week with this season’s destination the Bahamas. Last year, the Gophers spent the holiday in Colorado. Other recent destinations were Hawaii (2007), Flagstaff, Ariz. (2006), the U.S. Virgin Islands (2005) and the Bahamas (2003). The Gophers’ trip to the Bahamas in 2003 was in Pam Borton’s second season at Minnesota.
The Last Time at the Junkanoo Jam
The Golden Gophers captured the 2003 Junkanoo Jam title with wins over Texas A&M and Southern California.
Gophers Win Third Game in Four Days
Minnesota improved to 4-1 on the season with a 65-37 victory over North Dakota State in Tuesday, the Gophers’ third game in a four-day period.
Bench Plays Big Against the Bison
The Minnesota bench outscored the Gopher starters by a 37-28 margin in the win over North Dakota State. Freshman guard Leah Cotton scored a career-high 15 points to lead the way. China Antoine and Zoe Harper also played key roles off the bench. Antoine scored nine points and grabbed four steals. Harper scored eight points and pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
A Lot on the Line
A big part of Minnesota’s offense is getting to the free throw line and often. The Gophers have attempted 30 or more free throws in four of their first five games. Getting to the line is the first step, taking advantage of it is the next. Minnesota is shooting an impressive 77.2 percent from the line this season.
One Streak Ends, Another Continues
Let’s hope the ol’ SI jinx doesn’t apply here. Ashley Ellis-Milan has made a streak of 24 consecutive free throws dating back to the first game of the season versus Lamar. Ellis-Milan is 27-of-28 (96.4 percent) from the line this season. Her only miss was her fourth attempt of the season. Kiara Buford made 23 straight free throws to start the season before she missed for the first time in the North Dakota State game. Buford is now shooting 92.3 percent from the line (24-of-26).
The Minnesota record for consecutive free throws made is 33 by Kelly Roysland during the 2004-05 season.
Pesky Gopher Defense Stealing the Spotlight
Minnesota defense forced North Dakota State in 35 turnovers (they only scored 37 points) in the game on Tuesday. The Gophers gathered a season-high 19 steals in the game, led by China Antoine and Brittany McCoy with four apiece. The school record for steals in a game is 24. The Gophers collected 18 steals versus Illinois-Chicago with five players, led by McCoy with five, grabbing more than one.
More Kudos for the Defense
Minnesota held North Dakota State to just 37 points in the victory on Tuesday. The last time the Gophers held a team in less than 40 points was on Dec. 2, 2006, when Minnesota scored a 71-34 victory over Chicago State. The Gophers have held opponents to the 30s six times during Pam Borton’s eight-year coaching reign, three of those coming in the 2004-05 season.
Ellis-Milan to Join McCoy with Triple-Digit Starts
Ashley Ellis-Milan will start her 100th game, consecutively, as a Golden Gopher in the TCU game. Earlier this season, Brittany McCoy proceeded Ellis-Milan in triple digits for career starts.
Brittany McCoy in Triple Digits for Starts
Senior Brittany McCoy made her 102nd career start of her Gopher career in the game versus North Dakota. McCoy has started every game of her high school and college basketball career. The Minnesota record for consecutive starts is held by Lindsay Whalen (2001-04), who started 111 straight during her Gopher career.
1,000 Points in the Books
Gopher center Ashley Ellis-Milan grabbed an offensive rebound off a Katie Ohm three-point field goal attempt and banked home a short jumper early in the Lamar game to score her 1,000th career point. Ellis-Milan is the 19th Gopher to surpass the 1,000-points milestone.
Moving On Up and Quickly
Ashley Ellis-Milan has already moved up five spots on the Minnesota all-time scoring list since joining the 1,000 career points club. She is now No. 14 with 1,067 career points. Ellis-Milan’s cousin Linda Roberts (1977-81) ranks No. 4 in Gopher scoring history with 1.056 points.
Ellis-Milan is also working her way up the career rebounds list. She is currently No. 8 on the list with 721 career rebounds.
This China Far From Fragile
China Antoine has played important minutes off the bench for the Gophers at the backup point guard position. Antoine is averaging 8.2 points a game with two contests in double figures (Utah, Colorado). She is also contributing 3.4 assists and 2.6 steals per game.
Harper Working Hard on the Boards
Senior Zoe Harper is one of the team’s leaders in rebounding, averaging 5.8 rebounds a game. Early this season, Harper has been an effective collector of rebounds as her team-high 29 rebounds have come in an average of 15.6 minutes a game.
Minnesota Wins Subway Classic Title
Minnesota captured the 2009 Subway Basketball Classic title with an 87-78 victory over Colorado in the championship game. The Gophers have won their own early-season tourney in nine of the last 10 years and a total of 15 times.
Ellis-Milan Named Subway Classic MVP
Ashley Ellis-Milan was named the Subway Classic Most Valuable Player after two solid performances in the tournament. Ellis-Milan averaged 17.5 points per game, making 12-of-19 shots from the floor and a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line.
Buford and Antoine Claim All-Tourney Honors
The Gophers also had Kiara Buford and China Antoine named to the all-tournament team. Buford was as deserving as Ellis-Milan for MVP accord. She averaged 19.5 points in the Classic, including a career-high 24-point outing in the championship game versus Colorado. Like Ellis-Milan, Buford was perfect from the line over the weekend going 15-for-15, and 11-for-11 versus Colorado.
Antoine earned her All-Classic honor by coming off the bench and providing a great spark of energy for the Gophers on both ends of the court. She averaged 10.0 points a game and dished out a career-high seven assists versus Illinois-Chicago.
Not Quite a Record, But Pretty Darn Impressive
Minnesota hit 30-of-34 free throws in the win over Colorado for an accuracy rating of 88.2 percent. The Gopher record for the most free throw in a game is 32, which has occurred three times, the last coming vs. Kansas State in the 1993-94 season. The percentage in a a game with at least one miss was 21-of-22 for 95.5 percent vs. Michigan State in 2001-02.
Buford Goes 11-for-11
Kiara Buford was a perfect 11-for-11 from the free throw line in the Colorado win. Buford is the sixth player in Minnesota history to go 100 percent from the line with 11 or more attempts.
Pam Borton Radio on Monday
The Pam Borton Radio Show heard locally on WCCO Radio (830 am) is broadcast live on Monday evenings at 7:30 p.m. at Applebee’s in Stadium Village. Golden Gopher radio personalities Corbu Stathes and Lynnette Sjoquist host the program. The next show is Monday, Nov. 30.
When You’re Hot, You’re Hot
Minnesota shot a blistering 59.6 percent from the floor in the win over Illinois-Chicago. It’s been a while since the Gophers posted that kind of percentage. In fact, one has to go back to Dec. 3, 2005, when the Gophers shot better – 61.0 percent (25-41) vs. Nebraska.
Buford Impressive in First Career Start
Sophomore Kiara Buford scored a career high 23 points against Lam a, her first career start of her Golden Gopher career. The last time a Gopher scored 23 or more points in her first career start was Lindsay Lieser who scored 23 points as a freshman starter versus Ball State in the 1999-00 season opener. Buford also tallied her first career double-double by adding a career-best 11 rebounds. Ironically, the player Buford replaced in the Gophers’ starting lineup from a year ago, Emily Fox, also tabbed a double-double (13 points/10 assists) in her first career start.
Plenty of Experience in Starting Lineup
The Gophers have four veteran starters in Brittany McCoy, Ashley Ellis-Milan, Katie Ohm and Jackie Voigt, who combined have 288 games of starting experience. Kiara Buford is in her first season as a starter.
Ohm Aims to Chase School Three-Point Mark
Katie Ohm plays her senior season with the Minnesota school record for three-point field goals in her sights. Ohm is ranked third with 161 three-pointers, 69 from Shannon Schonrock’s (2002-06) career total of 230. Ohm notched a Minnesota single-season record with 74 triples a year ago.
Voigt a Steady Force in Low Post
Jackie Voigt earned the starting nod at forward for the first game of her rookie season and has been a consistent performer for the Gophers ever since. Voigt is averaging 9.6 points per game this season, coming off a season-best 13 points versus Colorado and a 10-point effort against North Dakota State.
Cotton Leads Gophers Defeat North Dakota State
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.
“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.
