University of Minnesota Athletics
Sunday, March 1
Williams Arena
University of Minnesota
50
vs
61
Illinois
Gophers Fall to Illinois on Senior Day
3/1/2009 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota was unable to send off their seniors on a high note, falling to Illinois by a score of 61-50 on Senior Day in Williams Arena on Sunday. Senior guard Emily Fox led the Gophers with 14 points. Minnesota finished the regular season with a 19-10 overall mark and fifth in the Big Ten at 11-7. The Gophers earned the No. 5 seed in next weekend’s Big Ten Tournament and will face No. 4 seed Iowa on Friday.
The Gophers offense that looked so strong in the previous game, a win at Michigan State, never clicked into gear against the Illini. Minnesota scored on its first shot, a short jumper from Katie Ohm, but would make just eight field goals the rest of the first half.
After 20 minutes of play, Illinois (9-20, 5-13 Big Ten) had built a 34-21 lead. The Gophers made just 1-of-14 three-point attempts and shot an anemic 30.0 percent for the half. To make matters even worse for the Gophers, Illinois totaled controlled the boards, outrebounding Minnesota by a 25-11 margin. The Gopher post players, Ashley Ellis-Milan, Jackie Voigt and Zoe Harper combined for just two rebounds.
The Gophers made a 6-0 run on baskets by Ellis-Milan, Kay Sylva and Kiara Buford to close to within six points at 38-32 with 15:14 remaining. The Illini bounced back with Whitney Toone scoring four straight points to continue her break-out afternoon. Toone had averaged 0.8 points per game and had scored a total of 20 on the season, before taking advantage of her playing minutes to tally 13 points.
Brittany McCoy cut the deficit to single digits on a pair of free throws to make the score 42-34 with 12:11 to play. Nearly three minutes, and for the Gophers five empty possessions, followed before Illinois broke the scoring drought and took control for good. Looking inside to their All-American Jenna Smith, Illinois built as big as a 15-point lead (56-41) on a Smith three-point play at the 4:05 mark. Smith finished with a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Ellis-Milan was the only other Gopher to score in double figures with 10 points. Minnesota outscored Illinois by a 29-27 margin in the second half, but poor shooting and rebounding offset a game where the Gophers turned the ball over just 10 times. Settling for outside shots, where Minnesota made just 3-of-21 from behind the arc, certainly cemented the outcome.
Fox surpassed 1,400 career points in her final game in Williams Arena. She now has 1,411 points to rank eighth on the Gophers’ all-time scoring list.
The Gophers offense that looked so strong in the previous game, a win at Michigan State, never clicked into gear against the Illini. Minnesota scored on its first shot, a short jumper from Katie Ohm, but would make just eight field goals the rest of the first half.
After 20 minutes of play, Illinois (9-20, 5-13 Big Ten) had built a 34-21 lead. The Gophers made just 1-of-14 three-point attempts and shot an anemic 30.0 percent for the half. To make matters even worse for the Gophers, Illinois totaled controlled the boards, outrebounding Minnesota by a 25-11 margin. The Gopher post players, Ashley Ellis-Milan, Jackie Voigt and Zoe Harper combined for just two rebounds.
The Gophers made a 6-0 run on baskets by Ellis-Milan, Kay Sylva and Kiara Buford to close to within six points at 38-32 with 15:14 remaining. The Illini bounced back with Whitney Toone scoring four straight points to continue her break-out afternoon. Toone had averaged 0.8 points per game and had scored a total of 20 on the season, before taking advantage of her playing minutes to tally 13 points.
Brittany McCoy cut the deficit to single digits on a pair of free throws to make the score 42-34 with 12:11 to play. Nearly three minutes, and for the Gophers five empty possessions, followed before Illinois broke the scoring drought and took control for good. Looking inside to their All-American Jenna Smith, Illinois built as big as a 15-point lead (56-41) on a Smith three-point play at the 4:05 mark. Smith finished with a double-double with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Ellis-Milan was the only other Gopher to score in double figures with 10 points. Minnesota outscored Illinois by a 29-27 margin in the second half, but poor shooting and rebounding offset a game where the Gophers turned the ball over just 10 times. Settling for outside shots, where Minnesota made just 3-of-21 from behind the arc, certainly cemented the outcome.
Fox surpassed 1,400 career points in her final game in Williams Arena. She now has 1,411 points to rank eighth on the Gophers’ all-time scoring list.
Players Mentioned
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