University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Michigan
Minnesota Outlasts Michigan in Double Overtime, 82-78
2/24/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Junior guard Kiara Buford had 21 points, and junior guard Brianna Mastey finished with a career-high 19 points, as Minnesota outlasted Michigan in double overtime, 82-78, at Crisler Arena.
The win gave the Gophers a season sweep of Michigan, which fell to 16-11 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten. The Wolverines sent the game to overtime on a miraculous running bank shot by their lone senior, Veronica Hicks, but Minnesota played with as much fight and intensity as it has all season to improve to 12-16 overall and 4-11 in the conference.
Hicks and Sam Arnold led five Michigan players in double figures, with each scoring 14 points, but the Wolverines suffered a sweep to the Gophers after Michigan had swept Minnesota last season.
"I think this game showed what we've been capable of doing all season long, as we showed up to play, stuck together when things got tough, and persevered to get an important road win," ninth-year Minnesota head coach Pam Borton said. "We had our two best practices of the season leading up to this game, and we played as a unit tonight."
Minnesota got off to a rough start, as the Wolverines jumped out to an early 5-0 lead, and sophomore forward Katie Loberg picked up two fouls in the first minute of play to send her to the bench.
The Gophers battled back to tie the score, with senior forward Kristen Dockery making the first three-pointer of her career, followed by a layup by freshman guard Kionna Kellogg to knot the score at 5-5 with 17:22 on the clock.
Michigan pulled back in front, 12-5, on a pair of layups by Arnold and a trey by Kate Thompson, but the Gophers answered with a 7-0 run of their own to tie the game at 12-12.
The Wolverines managed to stay in front, 16-14, with Courtney Boylan scoring three points, but Minnesota went on an 11-3 run over the final five minutes, 33 seconds of the half to head to the locker room with a 25-19 advantage.
Buford had her only four points of the half during that stretch, and Mastey made a three-pointer and tallied the Gophers' final five points of the opening 20 minutes.
Early in the second half, Minnesota stretched its lead to eight points, 30-22, as Buford made a trifecta from the right side of the key. Buford then knocked down another trey to put the Gophers up, 33-25.
Michigan followed with an 8-0 run to tie the score at 33-33 at the 15:01 mark, but the Gophers' Mastey got a bank shot to fall, followed by a transition layup by junior forward Jackie Voigt, a runner in the lane by Buford, and a three-pointer by senior guard China Antoine to extend the lead to 42-33 with 12:49 left.
A 6-0 run by the Wolverines cut the lead to 42-39, and the teams then traded baskets for the next five-plus minutes. Buford helped Minnesota maintain its lead with four points during the seesaw action, and Minnesota finally scored back-to-back baskets, getting a turnaround jumper in the lane by Loberg and a layup by Antoine to make it 57-51 in favor of the Gophers with 5:41 on the clock.
But Michigan proceeded to go on an 8-1 run to take a 59-58 lead with 3:31 left, giving the Wolverines their first lead since holding a 16-14 edge early in the opening half.
But Antoine and Dockery each made a pair of free throws to put Minnesota back in front, 62-59, with 2:28 left. Michigan's Carmen Reynolds followed with a three-pointer with 2:12 on the clock to tie the game once again, before Loberg scored on a layup for a 64-62 edge with 1:10 remaining.
Reynolds had a chance to tie the score at the free throw line with 0:05 left, but she made one-of-two attempts to pull Michigan within one. On the inbounds play, Mastey was fouled immediately, and she went to the line, where she made both attempts despite Michigan's attempt to ice her by calling a pair of timeouts.
So, Minnesota led by three points, 66-63, with 4.4 seconds on the clock, and the Gophers were poised to celebrate an impressive road win. But Hicks spoiled the celebration by taking the inbounds pass, dribbling past mid-court, and banking in a 40-foot heave from the right sideline to send the game to overtime.
The officials reviewed the play, and put three-tenths of a second back on the clock. But the Gophers were unable to do anything with so little time, and the Michigan crowd roared its approval as Hicks' improbable field goal gave the Wolverines new life.
"If we would have lost this game, it would have been devastating, after working so hard," Borton said. "But we stuck together, and this was an important win for us in a tough place to play and on their Senior Night."
Mastey scored to give the Gophers a quick 68-66 lead in the first overtime period, but the Wolverines answered by scoring the next six points to pull ahead, 72-68. But Buford scored on a layup, and Voigt made a pair of free throws in a one-and-one situation with 36.9 seconds left, sending the game to double overtime.
This time, Hicks scored quickly to give Michigan a 74-72 edge, and the Wolverines were still holding a 76-74 lead with 1:51 left after Boylan scored on a runner in the lane.
But Voigt showed amazing effort to grab her own rebound and tie the game on a layup with 1:31 remaining. Then, after the Gophers played great defense to force a shot clock violation on Michigan with 0:59 left, Mastey made a pair of free throws and then scored on a wide-open transition layup with 0:29 left after Minnesota forced a turnover.
Hicks made a layup with 0:22 left, cutting it to 80-78, but Buford made a free throw with 20 seconds left and Mastey cemented the victory by making a pair of foul shots with 0:06 left.
Buford added four assists and four rebounds to her game-high point total, while playing 47 minutes, and Mastey made 6-of-8 field goals, 6-of-8 free throws, and pulled down six rebounds. Antoine played 48 minutes, finishing with 10 points, five boards, three assists, and two steals.
Voigt had eight points and seven rebounds, including the 500th board of her career, while Dockery finished with seven points and a team-high eight caroms. Minnesota finished with a 43-34 advantage on the glass. Loberg finished with six points, but her time on the court was limited due to foul trouble. As a team, the Gophers made 29-of-61 (.475) field goals and 19-of-26 (.731) free throws.
The Gophers close their regular season versus #8/10 Michigan State on Sunday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (CST) in Williams Arena. The Senior Day game will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com. For ticket information, call the Golden Gopher Ticket Office at 612.624.8080 or 1.800.U.GOPHER, or visit www.mygophersports.com.
