University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Arkansas
Intense Play Pushes Gophers Past Arkansas in Season-Opener
11/11/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Nov. 11, 2011
The University of Minnesota women's basketball used high-intensity play on both ends of the floor to post an impressive, 68-60, victory over Arkansas in its season-opener Friday afternoon in the WBI Tip Off Classic at the Ocean Center in Daytona Beach, Fla.
"I've been telling my players that there is a certain way we need to play to win basketball games, and we did that today," head coach Pam Borton said. "It has been a couple years since I've seen us play this tough on the court. We were on the floor getting after loose balls, we were rebounding the ball well and getting to the free throw line. We played Minnesota basketball today."
Freshman guard Rachel Banham dazzled in her collegiate debut, as she led the Golden Gophers (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) with 15 points, while adding four assists, two steals and three rebounds. Senior Kiara Buford also scored in double-figures against the Razorbacks (0-1, 0-0 SEC), tallying all 14 of her points in the second half. The guard was 5-for-8 from the free throw line down the stretch to seal the win for Minnesota.
For the contest, the Gophers shot 78.9 percent (15-for-19) from the charity stripe, which included a perfect 6-for-6 showing in the opening half.
Minnesota and Arkansas were even on the boards, with each team grabbing 36 rebounds, but an intense Gopher defense posted 14 steals and forced 24 Razorback turnovers.
Kionna Kellogg had a team-best six swipes and four rebounds, and junior Katie Loberg paced the Gophers with seven boards to go along with 12 points.
The Golden Gophers headed into halftime with a 27-23 lead, with Banham scoring nine of the team's last 15 points in the opening stanza.
Minnesota continued to lead through the first part of the second half, but the Razorbacks took their first lead, 44-42, with 10 minutes to play. A layup by Buford evened the game and a pair of made free throws by Loberg gave the lead back to the Gophers. Arkansas would only even the game one more time, before an 11-0 run by the Maroon and Gold put the game out of reach for the Razorbacks.
The Gophers continue action in the WBI Tip Off Saturday afternoon with a contest against 14/13 Florida State. First tip from the Ocean Center is set for 1 p.m. CT.
Season tickets for the 2011-12 women's basketball season are on sale now and may be purchased by calling the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER. For 2011-12 season ticket pricing information, as well as other helpful links, visit the Women's Basketball Tickets site.
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