University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Head to Michigan State for Season Finale
2/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-15, 6-11)
vs.
Michigan State Spartans (20-8, 11-6)
LOCATION: Breslin Center (14,759) / East Lansing, Mich.
DATE / TIME: Sunday, Feb. 28 / 2 p.m.. ET, 1 p.m. CT
TV BROADCAST BTN
Leah Secondo (Play-by-Play), Stephanie White (Analysis)
RADIO: Gopher Radio Network, WCCO 830 AM
Corbu Stathes (Play-by-Play), Lynnette Sjoquist (Color Analysis)
Gophersports.com
Golden Gopher Watch List — Feb. 28, 2010
• Gophers Travels to Michigan State for Finale - Minnesota travels to East Lansing, Mich., to play Michigan State in the Golden Gophers’ regular-season finale. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. CT with the Big Ten Network televising the game live.
• McCoy Passes Assist Milestone - Brittany McCoy dished out nine assists in the Michigan game and now has 507 in her Golden Gopher career. McCoy is currently ranked second in the Big Ten dishing out 5.0 assists a game.
• Ohm Hits Six Triples - Senior Katie Ohm hit a season-high six three-point field goals in the loss to Michigan last Thursday. It was her 29th career game with three or more three-pointers. Ohm is three three-point field goals away from 200 in her career.
• Up Next - Sunday’s games will determine the final seeding for next week’s Big Ten Tournament. Ohio State has clinched the top seed. Minnesota will play its first Big Ten Tournament game on Thursday, March 4.
Gophers Travel to Michigan State for Finale
Minnesota travels to Michigan State on Sunday, Feb. 28, for the regular-season finale. Tip off is set for 1 p.m. CT. The Golden Gophers owns an overall record of 13-15, 6-11 in the Big Ten. The Spartans are in second place in the Big Ten standings with an 11-6 Conference record, 20-8 overall.
Michigan State/Minnesota Game on BTN
The Big Ten Network will televise Sunday’s game between Michigan State and Minnesota live with Leah Secondo and Stephanie White on the call.
Golden Gopher Seniors Honored
The Golden Gophers celebrated Senior Night last Thursday and honored the program’s five seniors in a ceremony that followed the game versus Michigan. The senior class of 2010 is made up of Ashley Ellis-Milan, Zoe Harper, Brittany McCoy, Katie Ohm and Tanisha Smith.
Big Ten Tourney Seeding Up in the Air
The seeding for the Big Ten Tournament will be finalized after Sunday’s games. Ohio State has clinched the top seed, while Michigan State and WIsconsin join the Buckeyes with first-day byes. Seeds six through 11 will play on Thursday, March 4. The Gophers will definitely play in a first-round game on Thursday. It will be the first time since 2007 that the Gophers played in a first-round Big Ten Tournament game.
Brittany McCoy Ties Starts Record on Sunday
Senior Brittany McCoy made her 125th career start of her Gopher career in the game versus Michigan adding to her Minnesota record for consecutive start. She first set the record on Jan. 7 versus Northwestern. McCoy has started every game of her high school and college basketball career. McCoy passed Lindsay Whalen (2001-04), who started 111 straight during her Gopher career, to establish the new mark.
The next record on the horizon is the career record for games started which is 126 and has been held for 20 years by Linda Roberts (1978-81). McCoy would hit that milestone on the final game of the season and then break the record in the Big Ten Tournament.
McCoy also has the chance to become the Gophers’ first player to start every game during a four-year career.
McCoy Sets the Standard in Gopher History
Brittany McCoy is the first and only player in Minnesota women’s basketball history to tally 100 or more assists in every season of a Golden Gopher career. She has 140 assists in her senior season, averaging a career-best 5.0 assists a game. McCoy is ranked second in the Big Ten in the statistic.
McCoy Surpasses 500-Assist Milestone
Brittany McCoy joined some pretty impressive company on Thursday as she collected the 500th assist of her career. Only Deb Hunter (632) and Lindsay Whalen (578) preceded McCoy with 500 in a career. McCoy is the active leader in the Big Ten in career assists.
And Just Think...
Brittany McCoy is dishing out 5.0 assists per game despite the Golden Gophers’ struggles offensively avenging just 63.7 points a game and hitting 37.5 percent from the floor.
Once in a While You Just Have to Ask “What If?”
Minnesota will tally a sub-.500 regular season for the first time in nine years (since 2000-01) and it is only human to sometimes question, what if?
Back on Jan. 17, Minnesota and Michigan State both owned 11-6 overall records. The Gophers are just 2-9 since that time, while the Spartans have put together a nice 8-2 run.
And think if the last second shots had fallen for game winners - at Illinois, at Northwestern, vs. Wisconsin. That’s three tough last-second losses.
And leads were maintained. The Gophers have struggled to hang on to a lead all season. Minnesota was up by 15 points at Illinois, by 10 points at home versus Michigan State and by 15 at home against Michigan in the Gophers’ last outing.
And bonus was a bonus. In the last nine games, Minnesota has only taken four bonus situation free throws. In five of those games, the Gophers never event got to the free throw line in a bonus situation.
Lots of Threes, Still a Loss
For the first time in Katie Ohm’s career, the Gophers lost a game in which the senior guard netted five or more three pointers. Ohm hit a season-high six in the loss to Michigan last Thursday. Some of Ohm’s biggest long-range games were high-profile wins last year including five-trifecta outings in wins at Ohio State and Notre Dame. Minnesota had captured victory seven previous times when Ohm blazed the nets with a handful of treys.
Mysteries of the Michigan Game
• Minnesota scored the game’s first 13 points - second game in a row after scoring first 12 at Indiana
• Fast start – the Gophers hit 11 of their first 20 shots (55 percent) to take a 15-point lead with 7 minutes left in the first half
• The rest of the way no so good – after taking that lead, Minnesota’s offense hit the deep freeze going just 8-33 (24.2 percent) the rest of the game
 • Michigan erased two sizable leads in the game, first a 15-point deficit and then after tying the game at 33-33, the Wolverines went down by nine points with 12:00 to play
• Wolverine rookie Dayeesha Hollins matched Colorado’s Brittany Spears for the most points scored against the Gophers with 27
Impressive Career Numbers for Ash
Senior Ashley Ellis-Milan has 843 caroms in her Gopher career. She is five rebounds from moving into the Golden Gophers’ top five on the all-time rebounding list. Ellis-Milan also has 1.267 career points.
Kudos to the Gophers in the Classroom
The Golden Gopher women’s basketball team had 12 players honored as Scholar-Athletes at a recent department function. Jackie Voigt and Katie Ohm were recognized for perfect 4.0 semesters. Overall, the Gophers posted an impressive cumulative team 3.3 grade point average in the fall semester.
Borton Nearing Title of Winningest Gopher Coach
Minnesota head coach Pam Borton has 165 wins on the Golden Gopher sidelines and is eight wins from becoming the winningest coach in Gopher women’s basketball history. Ellen Mosher-Hanson currently owns the honor with 172 in her 10 years (1977-87) with Minnesota.
It’s Raining Threes, Hallelujah, It’s Raining Threes
One game after Kiara Buford blazed the nets with seven three-pointers against Iowa, Katie Ohm followed suit with four triples at Indiana and then six versus Michigan. For Ohm, it was the 28th and 29th games of her Gopher career in which she hit three or more three-pointers.
Brit’s Best Season
Brittany McCoy has tallied over 100 assists in each of her four years with the Gophers, She currently has 140 assists this season, her career-high single-season assist total. While the top season (241 assists by Debbie Hunter in 1980-81) is out of reach, Lindsay Whalen’s senior season (2003-04) total of 145 at No. 5 is definitely obtainable.
One Point at a Time is a Good Thing for Gophers
A key to the Golden Gophers’ offense is getting to the free throw line. In 13 wins this season, the Gophers attempted an average of 24.8 per game. In comparison, Minnesota has attempted a total of just 221 free throws, an average of 14.7 attempts, in its 15 losses. A good share (14 percent) of the Gophers’ free throws in losses come in the Wisconsin game (31).
Harper OK with Life on the Road
Zoe Harper has proven to be one of the Gophers’ most reliable players on the road this season. Harper, a 6-3 post, has averaged 7.9 points and 5.3 rebounds in Minnesota’s Big Ten road games this season. She tallied double figures in the Illinois, Northwestern and Ohio State road games. She had seven points and seven rebounds in her last outing at Iowa.
Scouting Michigan State
Michigan State started the season with high hopes and a lofty No. 10 national ranking in both the Associated Press and ESPN/USA Today Coaches polls. The Spartans have won some big games, like the win over North Carolina and Xavier, both have also struggled at times. Michigan State has bounced back in a big way winning nine of its last 10 games, including the last five straight. Alyssa DeHaan leads the Spartans averaging 11.5 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 blocks per game.
The Minnesota / Michigan State Series
Michigan State leads the series with Minnesota by a 33-19 margin. The Spartans captured a 66-57 victory in Williams Arena earlier this season.
