University of Minnesota Athletics
Best Buy Classic Kicks Off Friday
12/9/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Dec. 9, 2011
Coming off an impressive victory vs. Air Force earlier in the week, the University of Minnesota women's basketball team will host Harvard and Alcorn State in its final tournament of the season, the Best Buy Classic, this weekend at Williams Arena.
The Crimson and the Lady Braves kick off the event with a contest Friday at 2:00 p.m., before the Gophers jump in on the action Saturday vs. Harvard at 4:00 p.m., and conclude the tournament Sunday at 2:00 p.m. vs. Alcorn State.
Schedule
Friday, Dec. 9
Harvard 78 vs. Alcorn State 55 | Box Score 
Saturday, Dec. 10
Harvard at Minnesota - 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Dec. 11
Alcorn State at Minnesota - 2:00 p.m.
Live Coverage
Best Buy Classic Tournament Central
Radio
Saturday vs. Harvard - KBEM Jazz 88.5 FM
Sunday vs. Alcorn State - 1500 ESPN
Gophersports.com
Play-by-Play - Corbu Stathes
Analyst - Lynnette Sjoquist
Live Video
Gopher All-Access
BTN.com
Play-by-Play - Matt Nelson
Live Stats
Gametracker - Gophersports.com
Records
Minnesota - 5-5 Overall, 0-0 Big Ten
Harvard - 3-4 Overall, 0-0 Ivy League
Alcorn State - 0-5 Overall, 0-0 SWAC
Arena
Williams Arena (14,625)
Series
Minnesota leads Harvard, 2-0
Minnesota leads Alcorn State, 1-0
Scouting Minnesota
• The Gophers host the Best Buy Classic this weekend with an even 5-5 record on the season following an impressive, 81-46, win vs. Air Force Wednesday night.
• Besides the Falcons, Minnesota has also picked up victories vs. Arkansas, Binghamton, North Dakota State and Virginia Tech this season.
• The Maroon and Gold has three players averaging double-digits in points, led by senior Kiara Buford's 13.1 points-per-game average. Freshman Rachel Banham is right on Buford's tail, averaging 13.0 points per game, while Katie Loberg rounds out the trio with an average of 10.5 points per game.
• Loberg also leads the squad in rebounds, averaging 7.5 per contest, followed by Banham (5.2) and Kionna Kellogg (4.4).
Scouting Harvard
• The Crimson takes part in the Best Buy Classic with a 3-4 overall record, which includes wins vs. Rhode Island, Boston University and New Hampshire.
• Harvard has been hot as of late, winning three of its last four contests.
• In their season opener, the Crimson lost to Big Ten-foe Iowa, 90-81. The Gophers will take on the Hawkeyes in conference play in early February.
• Christine Clark paces Harvard in points (17.4/game), steals (12) and field goals made (41) in 2011-12.
• Miriam Rutzen is averaging 6.3 rebounds per game to lead the squad.
Scouting Alcorn State
• The Lady Braves have yet to post a win this season, carrying a 0-5 record into the weekend's event at Williams Arena.
• Alcorn State had played a tough schedule to open the season, playing Mississippi State, Texas and Oklahoma State, as well as SMU and Rice, prior to its contest Friday.
• The Lady Braves have yet to play a contest on its home court this season, playing its first 14 games on the road. Their first home game is scheduled for Jan. 7 vs. Jackson State University.
• Kiara Ruffin is averaging a team-best 15.4 points per game, and also leads the squad with 12 steals.
• Sharnika Breedlove is Alcorn State's top rebounder, averaging 8.0 boards per game.
Series History
• The Gophers are 3-0 all-time against the teams participating in the Best Buy Classic.
• Minnesota is 2-0 vs. Harvard all-time and 1-0 all-time vs. Alcorn State.
• The last time the Maroon and Gold faced the Crimson was on Dec. 8, 2002, defeating the home team, 92-68.
• The Gophers defeated Alcorn State, 61-56, on Dec. 20, 1997 as part of the Pizza Hut Shocker Shootout in Wichita, Kans., in the teams' lone meeting.
Up Next
• The Gophers will make their final non-conference road trip of the season when they travel to Denver on Dec. 14 for an 8:00 p.m. contest.
• Fans can listen to the action live on 1500 ESPN.
• Minnesota is 0-1 all-time when facing the Pioneers after falling, 77-59, to Denver at the Kansas Tournament on Nov. 25, 2000.
Last Time Out
• Minnesota used a dominating first half and double-digit points from four different players to post an 81-46 victory over Air Force Wednesday night in non-conference action at Williams Arena.
• Rachel Banham led all players with 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting, to go along with a career-high six assists, four steals and six rebounds.
• Katie Loberg followed with 15 points on 6-of-8 shooting and a team-best seven rebounds.
• Leah Cotton, who her made her first start of the season and third of her career against the Falcons, had 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the floor.
• Kiara Buford rounded out the quartet of double-digit scorers with 13 points to extend her streak of double-figure scoring performances to 10 games, while matching her career-high with six assists. The guard also added five steals and four rebounds.
• With her pair of free throws with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half, Buford surpassed Marty Dahlen for sole possession of the No. 13 spot on the Minnesota career scoring register and now has 1,174 career points.
• As a team, Minnesota shot a season-high .484 against Air Force, connecting on 31-of-64 from the field, to post a season-best 81 points. The squad had only 15 turnovers in the contest, compared to 27 by the Falcons, had 16 steals to the visitor's six and added a season-best 18 assists.
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