University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Indiana Escapes With 80-79 OT Win Versus Gophers
1/2/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota held a 10-point lead with 6:00 remaining in regulation, but Indiana rallied to send the game to overtime, and the Hoosiers held off the Gophers for an 80-79 Big Ten victory on Sunday afternoon at Williams Arena.
The Gophers (8-7, 0-2 Big Ten) received a career-high 21 points and six steals from senior guard China Antoine, while sophomore forward Katie Loberg added 15 points, and junior guard Brianna Mastey finished with a career-best 13 points and pulled down seven boards for the third-straight game.
But Minnesota's top two scorers, junior guard Kiara Buford (1-of-13) and sophomore guard Leah Cotton (2-of-6), were each held to less than 10 points, and the Gophers were unable to hold off Indiana's late charge to send the contest to an extra period. The Hoosiers' Jori Davis led all scorers with 31 points, and Hope Elam had 23 points and 11 rebounds. Davis tallied 21 points in the opening half, while Elam was instrumental during the second-half rally, as she connected on 4-of-5 treys to finish 5-of-6 from beyond the arc for the game.
Minnesota built an early 13-7 lead by making 6-of-7 field goals to start the game. Loberg scored four points and junior forward Jackie Voigt made a three-pointer from the top of the key to stake the Gophers to the early lead.
But Indiana (8-6, 2-0 Big Ten), which opened Big Ten play with a last-second win against Northwestern on Thursday, responded with a 14-4 run to pull ahead 21-17 with 11:43 left before half, as Davis scored seven points during the stretch.
The Golden Gophers answered Indiana's run with an 11-2 run of their own to pull back in front, 28-23, with Loberg tallying four more points and freshman guard Sari Noga knocking down a trey from the right corner before back-to-back baskets by Buford and Cotton closed the run.
Minnesota twice built its lead to seven points before the half, but the Hoosiers closed to within one point, 39-38, before Cotton scored on a layup with 0:14 left to give the Gophers a 41-38 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Antoine took over, scoring 12 points in the first 7:44, including all three treys she attempted, and Minnesota went from a 48-46 deficit to a 59-48 lead with 12:16 left. The Williams Arena crowd of 4,005 showed its appreciation and made communication difficult for the Hoosiers.
But Indiana's Whitney Lindsay cut into the Gophers' lead by making a pair of three-pointers to get within 59-54, before Loberg scored to stretch it back to seven points, 61-54. After Indiana pulled back within five points at 61-56, Cotton added a free throw and Voigt made a three-pointer from the right corner to put Minnesota back up by nine points, 65-56.
Mastey hit a rainbow three-pointer from right in front of the Gophers' bench as the shot clock expired to put Minnesota up by 10 points, 68-58, with 6:00 left. But Indiana then went on a 6-0 run to cut it to 68-64 with 4:04 remaining, and the Gophers were held without a field goal from that point on as the Hoosiers rallied.
Antoine put the Gophers back up by six points on a pair of free throws with 3:38 left, but Hope Elam made a pair of treys, the second with 1:30 left, to tie it at 70-70. Mastey grabbed a defensive rebound with 0:41 on the clock and was fouled, then went to the line and made both attempts to put Minnesota in front, 72-70.
But Indiana's Davis tied the score by driving the left side for a layup with 0:29 left. Minnesota worked the ball to Mastey along the left side, and she drove to the basket, but missed a bank shot. Senior forward Kristen Dockery grabbed the rebound and tried a layup, but it came up short, and Indiana grabbed the rebound with 0:03 left. The Hoosiers called timeout, but their attempt to pass the ball the length of the court was grabbed by Buford, sending the game to overtime tied at 72-72.
In the overtime, the Hoosiers jumped ahead 74-72 on a layup by Danilsa Andujar with 3:42 left. A free throw by Loberg ten seconds later cut it to one point, 74-73, but Davis made a 16-foot jumper from near the top of the key to give the Hoosiers a 76-73 advantage with 2:58 left.
Voigt scored on a layup with 2:43 remaining, cutting it to 76-75, but fouled out soon after. Indiana's Aulani Sinclair made a free throw for a 77-75 lead, but Mastey made the second of two free throw attempts for the Gophers to keep it a one-point game, 77-76, just two seconds later.
With 0:45 left, though, Indiana's Whitney Lindsay made a running bank shot from the right side of the lane to give the Hoosiers a 79-76 lead. Indiana then made it 80-76 with 0:11 left on a free throw by Sinclair. Mastey closed the scoring by making a trey from the left corner, but just one-tenth of a second remained, and the Gophers suffered the tough loss. It marked Minnesota's first loss to Indiana in Williams Arena since Jan. 4, 2001, and the Hoosiers snapped Minnesota's three-game win streak in the series.
The Gophers remain home to play host to Iowa on Wednesday evening at 7:00 p.m. (CST) in Williams Arena. The Hawkeyes (12-3, 0-2 Big Ten) dropped their second-straight game on Sunday, losing at home to Michigan, 60-53.
The game will be broadcast on WCCO Radio (830 AM) and other selected affiliates on the Gopher Radio Network, with Corbu Stathes calling the play-by-play and Lynnette Sjoquist adding color analysis.
For ticket information, call the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER, or visit www.mygophersports.com.
