University of Minnesota Athletics
Borton Closes In On All-Time Wins Mark
12/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Ninth-year head coach Pam Borton looks to become Minnesota's all-time winningest women's basketball coach when the Gophers play host to the Lumberjacks of Northern Arizona University on Wednesday, Dec. 22, at 7:00 p.m. (CST) in Williams Arena. Borton enters the game with 172 victories, a figure which ties that of former coach Ellen Mosher-Hanson during 1977-87.
The Golden Gophers are 7-5 after a tough 75-68 loss at Alabama A&M on Tuesday, Dec. 14. In that game, Minnesota missed 11-of-22 free throws in the opening half, falling behind by eight points at the break. The Gophers rallied in the second half, taking a two-point lead with 7:53 left, but the Bulldogs were able to pull away down the stretch and snap a two-game winning streak for Minnesota. The Gophers and NAU have never met in women's basketball.
Minnesota is among the top-shooting teams in the nation so far this season, entering the week tied for third among Big Ten teams and 24th nationally in field goal percentage at .450 (284-of-631). The Gophers also ranked fifth in the Big Ten and 79th nationally for three-point field goal percentage at .344 (52-of-151 ).
Individually, Minnesota has two of the top eight scorers in the Big Ten, as Kiara Buford entered the week ranked seventh with an average of 16.2 ppg, while Leah Cotton is eighth at 16.1 ppg. Cotton has led the Gophers in scoring in the past four games, with 20 points at #2/3 Baylor (Dec. 5), a career-high 26 points versus Southern (Dec. 9), 17 points versus Cal Poly (Dec. 12), and 21 points at Alabama A&M (Dec. 14).
China Antoine entered the week ranked second in the Big Ten and 39th nationally for assists per game (5.1 apg), and her 1.6 assist-to-turnover ratio ranked third in the conference (95th nationally). Antoine also ranked fifth in the Big Ten for three-point percentage (.465), tied for sixth in the conference for steals (2.2 spg), and 10th in the Big Ten for three-pointers per game (1.6). Jackie Voigt is eighth in rebounding (7.4 rpg), while also averaging 7.2 ppg.
For ticket information, call the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER, or visit www.mygophersports.com.
