University of Minnesota Athletics
Gophers Welcome Boilermakers to The Barn
2/16/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The game will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com, with Matt Nelson handling the play-by-play, Andy Kimball adding color commentary, and Ron Miller contributing courtside reports and interviews. The game will also be broadcast via radio on KBEM (88.5 FM) and other selected affiliates on the Gopher Radio Network, with Corbu Stathes calling the play-by-play and Lynnette Sjoquist adding color analysis.
As far as promotions, it will be U of M Student Night, as well as Jackie Voigt Community (Cottage Grove, Minn.) Day, and Black History Month Recognition. For more details, call Gopher Sports Marketing at 612.625.4879.
The Gophers are 11-14 overall and 3-9 in the Big Ten after dropping a pair of close games last week, 64-62 at Iowa on Thursday and 83-76 versus Ohio State on Sunday, while Purdue is 17-9 overall and 7-6 in the conference after blowing out Illinois, 92-63. The meeting between the Gophers and Boilermakers is the lone regular season game the teams will play this year.
Kiara Buford scored 23 points in the loss to OSU, which pulled away late and won at The Barn. Katie Loberg added 18 points and Jackie Voigt tied her career-high with 17 points, while adding nine rebounds.
China Antoine had a fantastic game in the loss at Iowa, making 5-of-8 three-point attempts and finishing with 19 points, 13 of which she scored after the half. Buford had 13 points in the first half, but was held to two points after the break, and Kristen Dockery made 6-of-11 field goals to finish with 12 points. Kionna Kellogg had eight points and eight rebounds, while Voigt grabbed a game-high 11 boards and scored five points.
Individually, Minnesota has two of the top scorers in the Big Ten, as Buford ranks eighth at 15.5 ppg and Leah Cotton is 17th at 12.2 ppg. Buford has scored in double-figures in all but three games she's played in this season, while Cotton has led the Gophers in scoring nine times.
Antoine is tied for third in the Big Ten for steals per game (2.3), fourth for assists per game (4.4), and fifth for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). Voigt is 11th in rebounding (6.5 rpg), while Katie Loberg is 12th for field goal percentage (.482), and Buford is 14th for assists per game (3.1 apg).
Scouting Minnesota
The Gophers had their season-long three-game winning streak snapped on Thursday evening at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, as Iowa rallied from four points down at halftime to escape with a 64-62 victory, and then Minnesota came up just short in a back-and-forth game versus Ohio State on Sunday, 83-76.
The Gophers' three-game winning streak versus Northwestern, Michigan, and Indiana was their longest since winning four consecutive conference games between Jan. 25 and Feb. 8, 2009.
Senior guard China Antoine made 5-of-8 treys to lead Minnesota with 19 points at Iowa. She scored the Gophers' first six points and their last seven, as Minnesota came up two points short of the win. Junior guard Kiara Buford scored 13 first-half points and finished with 15 in the game, while senior forward Kristen Dockery had her second-straight double-digit game with 12 points, and freshman guard Kionna Kellogg added eight points and eight boards.
Against OSU, Buford got off to a rough start by missing her first four free throw attempts, but she made her final 10 attempts at the line and was 6-of-12 from the field for a game-high 23 points. Loberg made 6-of-10 field goals and was a perfect 6-of-6 at the free throw line to finish with 18 points, while Voigt was 7-of-11 from the field (including 3-of-3 from three-point range) to tie her career-high with 17 points. Voigt just missed a double-double, pulling down nine boards in the game, while Kellogg added seven points and six rebounds.
Buford leads the team with an average of 15.5 ppg, with sophomore guard Leah Cotton second at 12.2 ppg. Buford is averaging 16.9 ppg over her past nine games.
Loberg ranks third on the team for points (9.0 ppg) and is tied with Dockery for second in rebounds (4.3 rpg), while leading the Gophers with 18 blocked shots (0.9 bpg).
Junior guard Brianna Mastey averages 4.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per outing, while Dockery is averaging 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds. Voigt leads the Gophers with an average of 6.5 rpg and has grabbed at least eight boards in 10 games this season, while also adding 7.0 ppg. She scored 10 points versus Northwestern and 11 against Michigan, marking the first time in her career that she had reached double figures in back-to-back Big Ten games.
Antoine ties with Voigt for fourth on the team with an average of 7.0 ppg, while leading the Gophers with 111 assists (4.4 apg), 57 steals (2.3 spg), and a .371 (36-of-97) three-point percentage.
Buford Eyes 1,000
Junior guard Kiara Buford is closing in becoming the 20th University of Minnesota women's basketball player to have scored 1,000 career points. Buford enters the Purdue game with 984 career points in 86 games, an average of 11.4 ppg.
The most recent Minnesota player to reach 1,000 points was Ashley Ellis-Milan, who accomplished the feat with 11 points in the Gophers' season-opening win versus Lamar on Nov. 15, 2009. Ellis-Milan needed just two points that day to reach the milestone, and she currently ranks 12th all-time with 1,281 points.
Scouting Purdue
The Boilermakers are in their fifth season under the direction of head coach Sharon Versyp.
The Boilermakers, who won this season's Preseason WNIT by starting the year 4-0, enter Thursday's game with a mark of 17-9 overall and 7-6 in the Big Ten. Purdue's wins have come against Austin Peay (93-53), Toledo (79-66), South Dakota State (73-40), DePaul (67-58), Murray State (71-25), Auburn (76-56), Southern Illinois (75-36), Gardner-Webb (59-58), Western Illinois (76-44), Michigan (65-64), Indiana (55-50), Northwestern (54-43), Penn State (79-69), SIU-Edwardsville (69-39), Indiana (71-57), Iowa (60-41), and Illinois (92-63), with losses to Maryland (56-55), Notre Dame (72-51), Texas A&M (100-55), Wisconsin (68-66 and 60-46), Northwestern (76-64), Michigan (57-45), Michigan State (76-57), and Ohio State (90-67).
The Boilermakers are led by Brittany Rayburn, who averages 13.7 points and has made 118-of-131 (.901) free throw attempts. Courtney Moses ranks second on the team with an average of 12.7 points per game, while making 47-of-109 (.431) treys. Drey Mingo averages 10.9 ppg and leads the Boilermakers with 5.0 rpg, while Antionette Howard averages 7.5 ppg and Alex Guyton adds 71. ppg.
Four of the five starters reached double-figures in Thursday's 92-63 win versus Illinois, with Mingo leading all players with 23 points and six rebounds. Howard came off the bench for 21 points and five assists.
The Coaches
The University of Minnesota is led by ninth-year head coach Pam Borton (Defiance, 1987), who owns win-loss records of 176-104 (.629) at the U of M, and 245-150 (.620) in her 13th season as a head coach.
Purdue's Sharon Versyp (Purdue, 1989) is in her fifth year as head coach at her alma mater with records of 107-58 (.648) at Purdue and 224-123 (.646) in her 11th season overall.
Gopher Players vs. Purdue
Taking a look at Minnesota players' career numbers versus Purdue, senior guard China Antoine has the best history, as she averaged 16.5 points and made 5-of-11 three-pointers in two games versus the Boilermakers last season. Junior guard Kiara Buford and averages 8.2 points and scored 18 points in her most recent appearance versus Purdue, while junior forward Jackie Voigt averages 5.3 points and 4.8 rebounds. Voigt had eight points and 10 rebounds in her most recent game. Buford and Voigt are the only players on the team who have played in more than three games against Purdue (each with four).
Road Trip
Junior guard Kiara Buford has played really well in the Gophers' Big Ten road games so far this season, combining to make 39-of-83 (.470) field goals and average 17.2 ppg away from Williams Arena.
But she struggled to shoot the ball in the Gophers' first three Big Ten games at Williams Arena. In losses to Indiana, Iowa, and Wisconsin, Buford combined to make just 6-of-38 (.158) field goals and average just 7.3 ppg. But she then made 5-of-11 field goals to finish with 18 points in the 63-58 win versus Northwestern, and she followed by making 4-of-9 field goals and scoring 11 points versus Michigan.
On Sunday versus Ohio State, it appeared as if it might be another difficult day for shooting at The Barn, as she missed her first four free throw attemps. But Buford, who has made 87-of-117 (.744) free throws this season, finished by making her final 10 attempts and also connected on 6-of-12 field goals for 23 points.
Last year, Buford made 46-of-121 (.380) field goals in Big Ten home games, and 34-of-88 (.386) on the road. This season, Buford has made 130-of-299 (.435) field goal attempts and averages 15.5 ppg.
A Win Would...
Make Minnesota 12-14 overall and give the Gophers their fourth win in their past six Big Ten games ... Make the Gophers 10-6 in Williams Arena this season ... Make the Minnesota-Purdue series 36-18 in favor of the Boilermakers, and improve Pam Borton's record against Purdue to 7-8 ... Make Minnesota 188-303 in regular season Big Ten games since the start of the 1982-83 season ... Make Minnesota 278-181 all-time in Williams Arena, including 106-31 in the Pam Borton era... Improve Pam Borton's record to 177-104 while at Minnesota and 246-150 all-time ... Make Minnesota's record 542-562 since the 1971-72 season.
A Loss Would...
Make Minnesota 11-15 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten ... Make the Gophers 9-7 in Williams Arena this season ... Make the Minnesota-Purdue series 37-17 in favor of the Boilermakers, and drop Pam Borton's record against Purdue to 6-9 ... Make Minnesota 187-304 in regular season Big Ten games since the start of the 1982-83 season ... Make Minnesota 277-182 all-time in Williams Arena, including 105-32 in the Pam Borton era... Drop Pam Borton's record to 176-105 while at Minnesota and 245-151 all-time ... Make Minnesota's record 541-563 since the 1971-72 season.
On the Horizon
Following the Gophers' game versus the Boilermakers, they'll hit the road for their next two games - at Northwestern on Sunday at Noon, and at Michigan next Thursday at 6:00 p.m. (CST). Minnesota won the first meeting versus both of those teams this season, defeating the Wildcats 63-58 on Jan. 27, and posting a 60-50 win versus the Wolverines on Jan. 30.
