University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Penn State on Thursday
2/5/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Game 22
Minnesota Golden Gophers (15-6, 7-3)
vs.
Penn State Lady Lions (8-12, 3-7)
LOCATION Bryce Jordan Center / University Park, Pa.
DATE / TIME: Thursday, Feb. 5 / 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT)
WEBCAST: BigTenNetwork.com
RADIO / AUDIO WEBCAST: WCCO 830 AM / Gopher Radio Network / gophersports.com
Corbu Stathes (Play-by-play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analyst)
Golden Gopher Watch List Feb. 5, 2009
Golden Gophers Travel To Penn State - Minnesota heads to Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 6 for the Golden Gophers’ first road trip of the second half of the Big Ten season. The Gophers are 15-6 overall and 7-3 in Big Ten play. The game will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network website: bigtennetwork.com. Tip off is set for 7 p.m.
Gophers Coming Off Big Win - The Gophers used a 16-0 run in the closing 7:30 of the game to break a tie and go on for a 60-44 win over Michigan State on Monday. Ashley Ellis-Milan led the way with 17 points, while Kiara Bufurd added 16 and Emily Fox 10.
Ellis-Milan/Harper Team For Defensive Gem - The experienced frontcourt tandem of Ashley Ellis-Milan and Zoe Harper teamed to contribute a defensive gem of a game against Michigan State’s standout 6-9 center Allyssa DeHaan. DeHaan went 0-9 from the field, scoring her only two points from the free throw line.
Protecting Our House - Only Minnesota (5-0) and Indiana (5-0) are undefeated on their home court this season in Big Ten play. The top five teams in the Big Ten combine for a 22-4 record on their home courts.
Gophers Travel to Happy Valley
Minnesota travels to Penn State on Thursday, Feb. 5, looking to keep within reach of Big Ten leader Ohio State. Tip off in the Bryce Jordan Center is 7 p.m. ET (6 p.m. CT). The Golden Gophers own an overall record of 15-6 overall coming off a big 60-44 win over Michigan State on Monday. Minnesota is 7-3 in Big Ten play and are part of a foursome (Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State) with three Conference losses chasing 9-1 Ohio State. Penn State is 8-12 overall and 3-7 in league action. The Lady Lions lost a 97-89 triple overtime heartbreaker at Iowa in their last outing.
Penn State / Minnesota Game Streamed Live
The Gophers’ game at Penn State will be streamed live on the Big Ten Network website: bigtennetwork.com. The audio is provided by the home team’s radio. Minnesota’s game on Sunday, Feb. 8 vs. Iowa, has been added to the BTN’s schedule of streamed games.
Streak Busters Halt Another One
Minnesota has now 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.
Close to Crunch Time
Thursday’s contest is the 22nd game of the Gopher season. The trip to Penn State is one of only four Big Ten road trips that remain on the Gophers’ schedule: Michigan (Feb. 15), Northwestern (Feb. 23) and Michigan State (Feb. 26).
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 (5-0) and Indiana (5-0) are undefeated on their home court this season in Big Ten play. And the one arena the Gophers do not visit this season...Indiana’s Assembly Hall. The top five teams in the Big Ten standings (Indiana, Ohio State, Purdue, Michigan State and Minnesota) are a combined 22-4 (84.6 percent) in home Big Ten games in 2008-09.
Coach Might Even Be Giddy About This
It well documented that Coach Pam Borton loves defense. The Gopher defense is allowing 57.6 points a game this season, close to the Minnesota single-season record for team defense set at 55.3 points allowed per game in 2004-05. After allowing Michigan State just 44 points, Minnesota’s defense is allowing just 54.3 points a game in Big Ten play.
Top Scorer to Provide a Challenge
The Gopher defense will need to be in top form on Thursday as they face the Big Ten’s leading scorer Penn State junior guard Tyra Grant, who is averaging 20.6 points per Conference game. Grant, who tied her career high with 33 points versus Iowa in her last outing, scored 12 points (5-17 FGs) in the first meeting against the Gophers this season. Against Iowa, Grant took a third of the Lady Lions’ field goal attempts - 30.
Two Away From Triple Digits
Emily Fox has 98 career three-point field goals and need two more to become the eighth player in Minnesota history to score 100 three-pointers. Fox has 1,299 career points.
Ellis-Milan, Harper Team for a Defensive Gem
The experienced frontcourt tandem of Ashley Ellis-Milan and Zoe Harper teamed to contribute a defensive gem of a game against Michigan State’s standout 6-9 center Allyssa DeHaan. DeHaan went 0-9 from the field, scoring her only two points from the free throw line. The Gophers also were effective in boxing DeHaan off the boards. Though the Spartans finished with eight rebounds, none came on the offensive end where Michigan State has been so efficient this season. Ellis-Milan scored a game-high 17 points, including a 9-for-10 performance from the free throw line. Harper chipped seven rebounds.
These Numbers Are Just What the Doctor Ordered
After two games where her offense managed to score just 43 points, the performance Brittany McCoy turned in against Michigan State was just what the doctor ordered. When the junior point guard contributes these kinds of number in addition to her solid defensive effort, the Gophers are a tough team to beat. McCoy scored nine points with six rebounds, five assists and three steals.
Buford Comes Up Big Versus Michigan State
Freshman Kiara Buford enjoyed her fines Big Ten game of her young Gopher career on Monday against Michigan State. Buford hit a career-high four three-point field goals en route to tallying 16 points. Overall, she was 5-of-7 from the field, and 4-of-6 from behind the arc.
How Much Tread is on the Tires?
Penn State has two players among the top five in Big Ten play in a rarely considered statistic - minutes played. Guards Brianne O’Rourke averages 39.0 minutes per Conference game to rank second behind Illinois’ Jenna Smith (39.36 mpg.) Tyra Grant is fifth at 36.30 minutes per Big Ten game. Young legs still need recovery time. O’Rourke played 54 minutes in the Iowa game, while Grant saw 45 minutes of action. In comparison, the Gophers only have one player ranked in the top 15 in the Big Ten in minutes played - Ashley Ellis-Milan ranked No. 12 with an average of 34.90 minutes a game.
Gophers Continue to Perform in Classroom
Minnesota added the 2008 Fall semester to the list of terms where the Gophers compiled a team grade point average of over 3.0. Last fall, the Gophers earned a collective GPA of 3.109. Even more impressive is the cumulative GPA of this team - 3.216. The Gophers have earned a 3.0 in every semesters of Pam Borton coaching tenure. Emily Fox, Brittany McCoy and Katie Ohm are nominees for Academic All-American honors.
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 29.4 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 one of the top freshman scorers in Conference play, as well as one the top non-starting scorers, contributing 8.0 points a game. Overall, Buford is playing an average of 20.4 minutes a game, scoring 7.4 points an outing.
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 - six (Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin) - are averaging less than 60 points a game this season in Conference play.
Closing in on Century Mark For Record Third Time
Brittany McCoy is closing in on adding the 2008-09 as her third consecutive season with 100 or more assists. McCoy has 88 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.
Scouting Penn State
Penn State enters the Minnesota game with a 8-12 overall record, 3-7 in the Big Ten. The Lady Lions have lost their last two games, including 97-89 triple overtime thriller at Iowa on Sunday. Junior guard Tyra Grant leads Penn State in scoring averaging 19.9 points per game. She is second in scoring in the Big Ten overall, and the leader in Conference-only games averaging 20.6 points an outing. Senior guard Brianne O’Rourke averages 11.7 points and 4.8 assists per game. Penn State may be without starting forward Julia Trogele (7.6 ppg./5.6 rpg.), who suffered an ankle injury in the Iowa game. Minnesota native Janessa Wolff is expected to start in her place.
The Minnesota / Penn State Series
Penn State has owned the series versus Minnesota; in fact, the Gophers have only won eight (20-8) games total against the Lady Lions. The Gophers, however, have won the last three games of the series and seven of the last 10. Two of those wins came last season as Minnesota pulled off its first-ever season series sweep over Penn State. The Gophers won 67-60 in Williams Arena and then won at Penn State for the very first time 56-48 on Valentine’s Day.
