Big Ten Title Chase Is On...Gophers Host Purdue Thursday

Game 24

Minnesota Golden Gophers (17-6, 9-3)
vs.
Purdue Boilermakers (16-8, 9-4)

LOCATION  Williams Arena / Minneapolis, Minn.
DATE / TIME:  Thursday, Feb.. 12 / 8 p.m.
TELEVISION:  Big Ten Network
Marney Gellner (Play-by-play), Leslie Hill (Color Analyst)
RADIO / AUDIO WEBCAST:  KBEM 88.5 FM  / Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Corbu Stathes (Play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analyst)

Golden Gopher Watch List Feb. 12, 2009
Golden Gophers Host Purdue on Thursday- With three weeks returning in the Big Ten season, Minnesota has worked its way to within a single game of Conference leader Ohio State (10-2). The Golden Gophers (17-6 overall, 9-3 Big Ten) play host to Purdue (16-8, 9-4) on Thursday, Feb. 12, as both teams continue to position themselves for the stretch run. Tip off is set for 8 p.m. in Williams Arena.
BTN Televises Minnesota/Purdue Game - The Gophers’ game versus Purdue is the second game of a women’s basketball doubleheader televised Thursday by the Big Ten Network. Minnesota’s game with Purdue tips off at 8 p.m., following the Michigan State at Indiana game. Marney Gellner and Leslie Hill will call the action. Hill, a Gopher alum (2000-04) and a member of Minnesota’s 2004 Final Four team, returns to call a game in Williams Arena for the first time.
Gophers Undefeated in The Barn - The Gophers are the only team who have managed to remain undefeated on their home court in Big Ten play. Minnesota is 6-0 in Williams Arena after a 64-58 win over Iowa on Sunday.

Gophers Host Purdue on Thursday
Minnesota plays host to Purdue on Thursday, Feb. 12, in a battle of two teams fighting for position at the top of the Big Ten standings. Tip off is 8 p.m. The Golden Gophers  have won their last four games and enter Thursday’s game at 17-6 overall and 9-3 in Big Ten play. The Boilermakers own a record of 16-8 overall and 9-4 in league action.

Minnesota / Purdue Game Televised Live on BTN
The Gophers’ game versus Purdue is the second game of a women’s basketball doubleheader televised Thursday by the Big Ten Network. Minnesota’s game with Purdue tips off at 8 p.m., following the Michigan State at Indiana game. Marney Gellner and Leslie Hill will call the action. Hill, a Gopher alum (2000-04) and a member of Minnesota’s 2004 Final Four team, returns to call a game in Williams Arena for the first time.

What a Week For the Gophers
Minnesota captured a 3-0 record in an important three-game week a week ago to move into the thick of things in the Big Ten title chase. The Gophers sandwiched a win at Penn State with home wins over Michigan State and Iowa. The Gophers currently have a four-game winning streak, the longest in the Big Ten.

Minnesota Stands Alone
The Gophers are the only team who have managed to remain undefeated on their home court in Big Ten play. Minnesota is 6-0 in Williams Arena after a 64-58 win over Iowa on Sunday. Indiana was 5-0 at home before falling to Illinois on Sunday.

A Second-Half Team
Way back on Nov. 29, the Gophers kicked off a trend that will seemingly follow them throughout the season - making a second-half comeback. Minnesota trailed UMass by a 36-28 count at halftime, but the Gophers found their stride to win going away 86-57. Obviously, Pam Borton would rather have her team on top at intermission - the Gophers are 10-1 overall and 4-0 in the Big Ten when they accomplish this. But, there is also a valuable lesson learned in not giving up and working your way into position to win the game in the second half. The Gophers have learned this lesson well as they have won five Big Ten games, including the last three (Michigan State, Penn State and Iowa) when trailing at halftime. The biggest deficit the Gophers have overcome is eight points, which occurred in three games vs. UMass, vs. Michigan and vs. Michigan State.

Gophers Are Winning The Close Ones
Good teams find a way to make plays in the closing minutes to win games. Minnesota has made the big plays in the last four minutes and its 9-3 Big Ten record certainly reflects it. The Gophers are 6-0 in Big Ten games decided by six or less points.

Protecting Your Home Court
To maintain a position among the upper echelon of the Big Ten standings, defending one’s home court is of utmost importance. Only Minnesota (6-0) is undefeated on their home court this season in Big Ten play. The top five teams in the Big Ten standings (Ohio State, Michigan State,  Minnesota Indiana and Purdue) are a combined 27-5 (84.4 percent) in home Big Ten games in 2008-09.

Fox Hits 100th Three-Pointer, Nears Scoring Top 10
Emily Fox hit a three-pointer in the Iowa game (2/8) to become the eighth player in Minnesota history to score 100 three-point field goals. Fox is also on the cusp of joining the top 10 of the Gophers’ all-time leading scorers list. She enters Thursday’s game with 1,326 career points and needs 11 more to move past Ellen Kramer (1987-91 - 1,336 career points) and into the No. 10 spot. 

McCoy Nearing Third Season With 100+ Assists
Brittany McCoy is closing in on adding the 2008-09 as her third consecutive season with 100 or more assists. McCoy has 96 assists averaging 4.2 dishes a game, which ranks third in the Big Ten. The Gopher junior is already the only player in school history to dish out 100 or more assists as both a freshman and sophomore.

McCoy’s Not the Only One as Fox Near Century Mark
Emily Fox has 93 assists on the season as she joins McCoy on the march toward 100-plus assist seasons. Fox and McCoy share the honor of being one of just two sets of teammates (Janel McCarville/April Calhoun, 2004-05) to tally triple assist totals in the same season. The Fox and McCoy tandem has already done this twice.

Fox Earns Academic All-District Honor
Emily Fox was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District Second Team. Fox is a journalism major on pace to graduate this May.

Kiara Earning Key Minutes
Gopher rookie Kiara Buford hasn’t started a game yet in her collegiate career. She has, however, finished a lot of them, earning key minutes on the court in the waning moments of close games. Since playing a season-high 32 minutes in the Minnesota win at Ohio State, Buford has averaged 27.1 minutes a game in the last seven contests. In the three games last week, Buford has averaged 27.3 minutes, 11.7 points and 2.3 three-pointers.

Defense, Defense and More Defense
The Big Ten is known as a physical league. Starting the Conference season where experienced coaches know so much about their Big Ten opponents, the statistics are revealing just how important team defense is this season. Amazingly over half the teams - seven (Illinois, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin) - are averaging less than 60 points a game this season in Conference play.  Case in point -- the average number of points of the eight Big Ten teams that played on Sunday was only 57.5 points.

Sylva Sizzles Off the Bench Versus Iowa
Minnesota knows the intense defensive pressure that Kay Sylva will provide off the bench. In the Gophers’ win over Iowa, Sylva added an offensive punch going 3-for-3 from the field for eight points, her season high in a Big Ten game.

Future Stars, Impact Players Today
Minnesota has two freshmen in Jackie Voigt and Kiara Buford who have played their way into consideration for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors. Voigt is one of two freshmen (Ohio State’s Samantha Prahaulis the other) who have started every game this season. Voigt is the Big Ten’s leading rookie rebounder pulling down 6.0 rebounds a game. She also contributes 6.5 points a game in an average of 29.5 minutes per contest.   

Buford has emerged as an important player off the bench for the Gophers and already should be counted among the best sixth players in the Big Ten. Buford is the second-leading freshman scorers in Conference play, as well as one the top non-starting scorers, contributing 8.2 points a game. Overall, Buford is playing an average of 21.0 minutes a game, scoring 7.6 points an outing.

Streak Busters Halt Another One
Minnesota has ended the three longest winning streaks in the Big Ten this season. The Gophers added a third tally to their list on Monday, Feb. 2, when Michigan State saw its then-Big Ten-best six-game winning streak come to an end with a 60-44 loss. The Gophers ended Indiana’s nine-game winning streak on Jan. 8 with a 70-62 win in Williams Arena. Minnesota then halted Ohio State’s eight-game winning streak, defeating the Buckeye by a 59-56 score in Columbus on Jan 15.

Turnovers and Free Throws Combat Shooting Woes
Minnesota is shooting only 40 percent from the field as a team, but the Gophers have found several ways to overcome their struggles on offense. One avenue is to take care of the basketball. The Gophers shot only 37.9 percent in the win over Iowa, yet managed to keep as many playing cards in their own hand by limiting turnovers to season-low nine. Another way to battle an ailing field goal percentage is to get to the free throw line and convert. Minnesota made 14-of-16 free throws versis Iowa. Overall the Gophers are averaging 15.7 turnovers a game and hitting 73.1 percent from the line.

Ellis-Milan Doubling-Up Effort in Big Ten Play
Ashley Ellis-Milan has been the Golden Gophers’ most consistent performer in Big Ten action this season. She leads the team averaging 14.2 points and 7.2 rebounds per Conference game. Ellis-Milan has recorded double-doubles in three Big Ten games this season. Overall, Ellis-Milan has posted 19 double-doubles in her Golden Gopher career.

Ohm Closing In On Single-Season Record
Katie Ohm has been sensational from behind the arc this season. Her 58 three-point field goals in on record pace to set Minnesota’s single-season record of 73 (Lindsay Lieser, 2001-02; and Shannon Schonrock, 2004-05). Ohm has netted three or more three-pointers in 11 games this season. When Ohm hits three or more triples, the Gophers are 9-2. When she hits four or more, Minnesota is 4-0.

Scouting Purdue
Purdue sports a record of 16-8 overall and 9-4 in Big Ten play coming off a 66-49 thumping of Wisconsin on Sunday. Good news for Purdue is the return of guard FahKara Malone after missing nine games with a finger injury. Malone has played 25 played 25 minutes in each of the Boilermakers’ last two games. In the win over Wisconsin, Malone scored five points and dished out six assists. All-American Lindsay Wisdom-Hylton leads the Boilers in scoring averaging 12.8 points a game. Lakisha Freeman adds 11.3 points a game.

The Minnesota / Purdue Series
Purdue leads the series with Minnesota by a 34-16 margin. In recent seasons the matchup has been one of the best in the Big Ten, even though the Boilermakers have won five of the last six games.
 

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