University of Minnesota Athletics
Monday, February 23
Evanston, IL
University of Minnesota
53
at
62
Northwestern
Gophers Fall Hard at Northwestern
2/24/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota suffered a big 62-53 loss at Northwestern on Monday. The Golden Gophers fall into a dangerous fifth-place spot it the Big Ten standings at 10-6 in Conference play (18-9 overall). Emily Fox led the Gophers with 16 points.
“Northwestern made the big shots when they had to,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “Their guards killed us on the boards as well. This is a very tough loss.”
Northwestern answered the call every time the Gophers hit a big bucket and seemed headed for a run. Fox opened the second half with a three pointer, then Wildcat guard Brittany Orban fired a deep three from the right wing that bounced high off the rim, bounced a second time and then fell through the net. Orban led the Wildcats (7-20, 3-12) with 15 points and seven rebounds, five coming on the offensive end.
Ten minutes later, Zoe Harper goes strong to the basket, banks home the lay-in, draws the foul and converts the three-point play. At the other Erin Dickenson swishes her third three-pointer of the game and Harper’s big play is cancelled out.
Later on it was freshman Maggie Mocchi who made another big three pointers for the Wildcats to equal Fox’s offensive spurt of six straight points.
The Gophers continued to battle, forcing 21 Northwestern turnovers and causing the Wildcats into shooting 38 percent in the second half. Minnesota made one last push with 2:14 remaining when Kiara Buford hit two free throws to bring the Gophers to within 56-49. With 1:50 remaining, Mocchi drove into the lane and hit a jumper than effectively held off the Gophers.
Minnesota was then forced to foul. On a night going Northwestern’s way, free throws came easy. The Wildcats converted 16 of 18 opportunities to seal the win and break a 16-game losing streak to the Gophers.
Minnesota’s first 10 possessions set the tone for the game unfortunately for the Gophers. They made just one of six shots and turned the ball over four times. Minnesota managed to get their turnovers under control but the poor shooting continued sliding down to 30.8 percent on just 8-of-25 at halftime.
Erin Dickenson hit back-to-back three pointers to give Northwestern a 25-14 lead. The Wildcats hold a 29-19 lead at intermission.
Ashley Ellis-Milan added 10 points, while Harper came off the bench with a solid effort scoring eight points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Gophers play their final regular-season road game at Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 26.
“Northwestern made the big shots when they had to,” said Golden Gopher head coach Pam Borton. “Their guards killed us on the boards as well. This is a very tough loss.”
Northwestern answered the call every time the Gophers hit a big bucket and seemed headed for a run. Fox opened the second half with a three pointer, then Wildcat guard Brittany Orban fired a deep three from the right wing that bounced high off the rim, bounced a second time and then fell through the net. Orban led the Wildcats (7-20, 3-12) with 15 points and seven rebounds, five coming on the offensive end.
Ten minutes later, Zoe Harper goes strong to the basket, banks home the lay-in, draws the foul and converts the three-point play. At the other Erin Dickenson swishes her third three-pointer of the game and Harper’s big play is cancelled out.
Later on it was freshman Maggie Mocchi who made another big three pointers for the Wildcats to equal Fox’s offensive spurt of six straight points.
The Gophers continued to battle, forcing 21 Northwestern turnovers and causing the Wildcats into shooting 38 percent in the second half. Minnesota made one last push with 2:14 remaining when Kiara Buford hit two free throws to bring the Gophers to within 56-49. With 1:50 remaining, Mocchi drove into the lane and hit a jumper than effectively held off the Gophers.
Minnesota was then forced to foul. On a night going Northwestern’s way, free throws came easy. The Wildcats converted 16 of 18 opportunities to seal the win and break a 16-game losing streak to the Gophers.
Minnesota’s first 10 possessions set the tone for the game unfortunately for the Gophers. They made just one of six shots and turned the ball over four times. Minnesota managed to get their turnovers under control but the poor shooting continued sliding down to 30.8 percent on just 8-of-25 at halftime.
Erin Dickenson hit back-to-back three pointers to give Northwestern a 25-14 lead. The Wildcats hold a 29-19 lead at intermission.
Ashley Ellis-Milan added 10 points, while Harper came off the bench with a solid effort scoring eight points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
The Gophers play their final regular-season road game at Michigan State on Thursday, Feb. 26.
Players Mentioned
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/ Women's Basketball
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