University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Set for Subway Basketball Classic
11/19/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Golden Gophers (2-1) split a pair of games at last weekend's Best Buy Classic, defeating Northern Illinois, 79-58 in their season-opener, and then losing to Green Bay in the championship game, 79-75. Then, on Wednesday night, Minnesota defeated Pittsburgh 73-63 in the first-ever Super Six Series game.
Minnesota has shot the ball well in all three games, combining to make 77-of-146 (.527) field goals, including 15-of-35 (.429) treys. The Gophers made 26-of-43 (.605) attempts in the win against NIU. The last time Minnesota had a better field goal percentage in a game was Dec. 3, 2005, when it made 25-of-41 (.610) shots in a 78-70 win versus Nebraska during Gopher assistant coach Kelly Roysland's senior year.
Kiara Buford and Leah Cotton were named to the Best Buy Classic all-tournament team. Buford led all scorers in the win against NIU with 22 points and four steals, and then matched her point total in the loss to Green Bay. Cotton registered new career-highs with 18 points and six assists against NIU, and then bettered her career-best point total with 23 in the loss to the Phoenix. Cotton combined to make 15-of-18 (.833) field goals in the two games. Jackie Voigt also had a career-best effort by pulling down 14 boards against NIU, and China Antoine distributed the ball for seven assists on Saturday and a career-high eight assists on Sunday.
Against Pitt, Antoine found her shooting touch by making 6-of-7 three-pointers for a career-high 18 points. Buford finished with 15 points, while Voigt had 12 points and eight boards, and Brianna Mastey had career-bests of 10 points and seven rebounds. Kristen Dockery (eight points, nine rebounds) also had career-highs.
Following the Gophers' game versus Milwaukee, Dayton and South Dakota play Saturday's other game, which will tip off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday's consolation starts at 1:00 p.m., followed by the championship game at 3:30 p.m.
For ticket information, call the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER, or visit www.mygophersports.com and select women's basketball.
