University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Milwaukee
Antoine Leads Gophers Into Subway Classic Title Game
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota cruised to a 76-53 win versus Milwaukee on Saturday at the Subway Classic to advance to Sunday's championship game.
Milwaukee scored on its first possession of the game for an early 2-0 lead, but senior points guard China Antoine responded with a three-pointer and a layup to start a 9-2 run for the Gophers, giving them a 9-4 lead at the first media timeout.
Neither team started off shooting the ball well, as UWM had made just 2-of-12 field goals and Minnesota was 4-of-13 at the second media timeout with 11:59 left in the half. But the Panthers' Angela Rodriguez knocked down a trey to cut Minnesota's lead to 9-8, and Antoine answered with her second trifecta to make it 12-8.
On the following possession, Antoine made another three-pointer to put her in double-figures with 11 points and give the Golden Gophers a 15-8 edge. After junior guard Brianna Mastey scored on a layup for a 17-8 advantage, the Panthers were forced to call a timeout. But the Gophers' momentum continued after the break, with junior guard Kiara Buford making a layup to stretch the Minnesota run to 10-0 and push the lead to 19-8.
Milwaukee cut the lead to 21-12, but Buford knocked down back-to-back three-pointers and added a three-point play to push the advantage to 30-14. Buford then found Jackie Voigt underneath for a layup and a 32-14 lead, and freshman guard Sari Noga followed with a three from the left corner for a 19-point Minnesota lead, 35-16.
The Gophers (3-1) held a 37-20 lead at intermission, thanks in large part to Buford's game-high 13 points and Antoine's 11 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Those two combined to make 9-of-14 field goal attempts, including 5-of-6 from long-range. As a team, the Gophers made 15-of-30 field goals and 6-of-10 treys, while UWM struggled at 7-of-32 (.219) overall, and just 1-of-15 (.067) from beyond the arc.
Minnesota began the second half by picking up where it left off in the first, as Antoine and Noga each made three-pointers to fend off the Panthers and maintain a sizeable lead. Milwaukee never got closer than 15 points in the second half, falling to 1-2 on the season.
Antoine had what might be the best all-around performance of her career. On the heels of scoring a career-high 18 points on 6-of-7 three-pointers versus Pittsburgh Wednesday night, the 5-3 senior finished with a game-high 17 points to go along with a career-high 11 assists, and six rebounds. She made 5-of-6 treys, and is now 11-of-13 from long range over the past two games.
Buford finished with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists, while Voigt, Brianna Mastey, and Noga had eight points each. As a team, the Gophers continued to shoot the ball very well, making 30-of-58 (.517) field goal attempts, including 9-of-17 (.529) from beyond the arc. Minnesota also held a slim 39-36 advantage in rebounding, with Antoine, Voigt, and freshman forward Kionna Kellogg tying for game-high honors with six each.
Minnesota advances to play Dayton, which defeated South Dakota 78-56, in Sunday's championship game. which will tip off at 3:30 p.m. Sunday's consolation matchup between Milwaukee and South Dakota starts at 1:00 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.
Dayton 78, South Dakota 56
Dayton utilized its size advantage to muscle past South Dakota, 78-56, in the second semifinal of the day. The Flyers (1-2) held a huge 50-to-21 advantage in rebounding against the Coyotes (2-2) to advance to Sunday's championship game against Minnesota.
A total of seven Dayton players had at least five rebounds in the first win of the season for UD. The Flyers had lost their season-opener 112-107 in double overtime at Penn State, and then dropped a 74-62 decision at Michigan State, so the Gophers will be the third Big Ten opponent they've faced this season.
Kari Daugherty led Dayton with 17 points on 6-of-10 field goals, while Justine Raterman had 16 points, five rebounds, and four steals in the win.
South Dakota was led by Alexis Yackley and Tempestt Wilson, who each scored 11 points, while Pam January also reached double-digits with 10 points.
