University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Cal Poly
Minnesota Improves to 7-4, Defeats Cal Poly, 66-52
12/13/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Sophomore guard Leah Cotton scored 17 points in her second career start, leading Minnesota past Cal Poly, 66-52, on Sunday night at Williams Arena.
Cal Poly guard Rachel Clancy opened the scoring with a three-pointer just 22 seconds into the game, but the Gophers answered with a pair of free throws by junior guard Brianna Mastey and a layup from senior forward Kristen Dockery to give Minnesota its first lead at 4-3.
Cotton, who started in place of injured junior guard Kiara Buford, scored five-straight points on a three-point play and a couple free throws to give Minnesota a 9-8 lead at the 17:03 mark. Buford, Minnesota's leading scorer at 16.6 ppg, suffered a right ankle injury during Saturday's practice, and is being evaluated on a day-to-day basis.
The Mustangs proceeded to go on an 8-2 run to open their largest lead of the game, 16-11, with Clancy hitting a trey and a free throw during the stretch.
The Gophers rallied with an 8-0 run, with freshman guard Sari Noga knocking down a three-pointer and senior guard China Antoine tying the score with a basket before Brianna Mastey added a free throw and Antoine hit a 17-foot jumper from the left side to put the Gophers up three, 19-16.
After Cal Poly tied the score at 19-19, Cotton put the Gophers back up by one with a free throw, followed by back-to-back baskets by Brianna Mastey and Antoine for a 24-19 edge.
But the Mustangs' Clancy and Christine Martin nailed three-pointers less than a minute apart to put Cal Poly back in front, 25-24, with 7:36 left in the half.
The teams then traded baskets until the Gophers were able to score six consecutive points, the last four by sophomore forward Katie Loberg, to take a 34-29 lead with 2:42 left. Minnesota held a five-point lead, 35-30, before Clancy ended the half by making a buzzer-beating three-pointer to cut the halftime score to 35-33 in favor of the Gophers.
The teams combined for 15 lead changes and two ties in the first half, but the second half was the Gophers', as Minnesota held the lead the entire time and worked it to as many as 14 points.
Cotton led the Gophers with 17 points, while Brianna Mastey added a career-high 12 points and Antoine made it three Gophers in double-figures as she finished with 11 points and seven assists. Junior forward Jackie Voigt led Minnesota with a game-high 10 rebounds and added seven points, while Loberg returned to the lineup and contributed eight points, five boards, and a career-best four blocked shots.
As a team, the Gophers made 21-of-49 (.429) field goals, but just 2-of-15 (.133) from beyond the arc, and connected on 22-of-31 (.710) free throws. Minnesota also held a 46-31 edge in rebounding.
The Mustangs (2-5) were led by Clancy's game-high 24 points, as she made 5-of-10 treys and chased down five rebounds, but she was the lone Cal Poly player to reach double-digits. Kayla Griffin added nine points, five rebounds, and four assists for the Mustangs, while Desiray Johnston had seven points and five assists.
The Gophers travel to Huntsville, Ala., on Monday for Tuesday's game at Alabama A&M. The game will tip off at 7:30 p.m. (CST), and will be broadcast on KBEM (88.5 FM) and other selected affiliates on the Gopher Radio Network, with Corbu Stathes calling the play-by-play and Lynnette Sjoquist adding color analysis.
