University of Minnesota Athletics
Thursday, February 11
University Park, PA
University of Minnesota
59
at
52
Penn State
Gophers Make Good at the Line, Beat Penn State
2/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Brittany McCoy made 11-of-12 free throws and scored a game-high 14 points to lead Minnesota to a 59-52 victory over Penn State at the Bryce Jordan Center in University Park, Pa., on Thursday. The victory snaps a six-game losing skid and improves Minnesota’s record to 12-12 overall, 5-8 in Big Ten play.
The Golden Gopher simply won this game at the free throw line, shooting an impressive 90.3 percent as a team converting 28 of 31 attempts. Penn State (15-9, 7-7), who dropped its fifth straight game, was just 3-for-6 from the free throw line.
Minnesota fought back from an eight-point second-half deficit. Penn State star Tyra Grant, who led the Big Ten in scoring coming into the game averaging 19. 3 points per league game, was scoreless until exploding for 11 consecutive points giving the Lady Lions a 46-39 lead with 7:53 left to play. Nikki Greene’s layup with 5:33 left gave Penn State its biggest lead at 50-42.
The Gophers regained momentum with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes. Ashley Ellis-Milan, who was not in the starting lineup for the first time in 117 games, started the run with a lay-in and added two more points on free throws. Jackie Voigt, who was also pulled from the starting lineup after 55 consecutive starts, hit a huge three-pointer, during the stretch.
Kiara Buford gave Minnesota the lead for good on a strong drive to the basket and banking in a right-handed layup with 2:41 to play.
Freshman guard Alex Bentley hit a jumper, Penn State’s only basket in the last 5:33 of the game, at the 1:23 mark to bring the Lady Lions to within 53-52.
The teams exchanged misses field goals in their next possession. Voigt rebounded a Penn State miss and was fouled on the rebound. The Big Ten’s best free throw shooter calmly sank a pair. Katie Ohm and Brittany McCoy followed as Minnesota went 6-for-6 from the line in the last 45 seconds of the contest.
Buford and Ellis-Milan joined McCoy in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ohm led the Gophers with six rebounds.
Minnesota returns home to face Big Ten leader Ohio State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in Williams Arena.
The Golden Gopher simply won this game at the free throw line, shooting an impressive 90.3 percent as a team converting 28 of 31 attempts. Penn State (15-9, 7-7), who dropped its fifth straight game, was just 3-for-6 from the free throw line.
Minnesota fought back from an eight-point second-half deficit. Penn State star Tyra Grant, who led the Big Ten in scoring coming into the game averaging 19. 3 points per league game, was scoreless until exploding for 11 consecutive points giving the Lady Lions a 46-39 lead with 7:53 left to play. Nikki Greene’s layup with 5:33 left gave Penn State its biggest lead at 50-42.
The Gophers regained momentum with an 11-0 run over the next four minutes. Ashley Ellis-Milan, who was not in the starting lineup for the first time in 117 games, started the run with a lay-in and added two more points on free throws. Jackie Voigt, who was also pulled from the starting lineup after 55 consecutive starts, hit a huge three-pointer, during the stretch.
Kiara Buford gave Minnesota the lead for good on a strong drive to the basket and banking in a right-handed layup with 2:41 to play.
Freshman guard Alex Bentley hit a jumper, Penn State’s only basket in the last 5:33 of the game, at the 1:23 mark to bring the Lady Lions to within 53-52.
The teams exchanged misses field goals in their next possession. Voigt rebounded a Penn State miss and was fouled on the rebound. The Big Ten’s best free throw shooter calmly sank a pair. Katie Ohm and Brittany McCoy followed as Minnesota went 6-for-6 from the line in the last 45 seconds of the contest.
Buford and Ellis-Milan joined McCoy in double figures with 11 and 10 points, respectively. Ohm led the Gophers with six rebounds.
Minnesota returns home to face Big Ten leader Ohio State on Sunday at 11:30 a.m. in Williams Arena.
Players Mentioned
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