University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Faces #8/10 MSU for Senior Day
2/26/2011 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, former Gopher Quincy Lewis adding color commentary, and Ron Miller contributing courtside reports and interviews. It will also 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.
It will be Senior Day, and five Minnesota seniors - Rachel Johnsrud (Maple Grove, Minn., athletic medicine intern), Jessica Lemanski (Stewartville, Minn., student manager), Emily Oberlander (St. Anthony, Minn., student manager), China Antoine (Madison, Ala., guard), and Kristen Dockery (Granger, Ind., forward) - will be honored in a post-game ceremony. The Amazing Christopher will perform at the halftime break.
The Gophers are 12-16 overall and 4-11 in the Big Ten after they battled through 40 minutes of regulation and 10 minutes of overtime on Thursday to escape Ann Arbor with an 82-78 double overtime win at Michigan, while the #8/10 Spartans are 24-4 overall and 12-3 in the conference after falling, 54-53, at home versus Ohio State. Despite the loss, MSU was able to celebrate its first-ever outright Big Ten title. Minnesota hopes for a split of the season series, as it was on the short end of a 66-54 decision in East Lansing on Jan. 23.
The win at Michigan was amazing, as the Gophers had to overcome the Wolverines' lone senior, Veronica Hicks, nailing a 40-foot desperation heave that banked in to send the game to the first overtime. But Kiara Buford had a game-high 21 points, and Brianna Mastey added a career-best 19 points to help Minnesota sweep the season series versus Michigan.
Last Sunday, Buford became the 20th Minnesota player to reach 1,000 career points by scoring 15 points in the loss at Northwestern. Buford made 7-of-20 field goals to increase her career total to 1,007 points at the time, but she and Kionna Kellogg (12 points, eight rebounds) were the lone Minnesota players to reach double-digits.
Individually, Buford is among the top scorers in the Big Ten, as she ranks eighth at 15.4 ppg. Buford has scored in double-figures in all but four games she's played in this season. Sophomore guard Leah Cotton ranks 22nd at 11.1 ppg, and has led the Gophers in scoring nine times.
China Antoine is fourth in the Big Ten for steals per game (2.3), fourth for assists per game (4.3), and fifth for assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). Voigt is ninth in rebounding (6.6 rpg), while Buford is 12th for three-point field goal percentage (.359), and Katie Loberg is 12th for field goal percentage (.472).
Scouting Minnesota
The Gophers head into their final regular season game on the heels of what was probably the team's most exciting, and most impressive, win of the season. Minnesota's 82-78 double overtime victory at third-place Michigan gave it a season sweep of the Wolverines, and likely helped to secure the #9 seed at next week's Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis.
Minnesota endured what would have been a devastating loss, as they were fortunate to have a three-point lead when Michigan's senior guard Veronica Hicks banked in a running 40-footer as time expired in regulation. Then, the Gophers trailed by four points in the first overtime period until the final minute, when a layup by junior guard Kiara Buford and a pair of free throws in a one-and-one situation by junior forward Jackie Voigt tied the score again to send it to the second OT.
But that's where Minnesota prevailed, as Buford's game-high 21 points and junior guard Brianna Mastey's career-high 19 points were finally enough. Mastey made 6-of-8 field goals and was 6-of-8 at the free throw line. Senior point guard China Antoine played an amazing total of 48 minutes -- one more than Buford -- and tallied 10 points, five rebounds, three assists, and a pair of steals, while Voigt finished with eight points and seven rebounds. Voigt's fifth board of the game was the 500th of her career. Senior forward Kristen Dockery added seven points and led the team with eight boards, while sophomore forward Katie Loberg and freshman forward Micaëlla Riché each had six points.
Last Sunday, Buford reached a career milestone, as she scored her 1,000th career point, but it came during the Gophers' fourth loss in-a-row. Buford led the Gophers by tallying 15 points at Northwestern, but it wasn't enough to stop NU. Freshman guard Kionna Kellogg was the only other Minnesota player in double-figures, as she recorded a career-high 12 points to go with a team-high eight rebounds.
On Feb. 17, Mastey came off the bench to make 6-of-8 field goals and finish with what was then a career-high 17 points for the Gophers. But it wasn't enough to fend off Brittany Rayburn and Purdue, as Rayburn finished with 27 points during the Boilermakers' 60-50 win at Williams Arena. Voigt added eight points and a team-high 11 rebounds, while Loberg had nine points and five boards. Buford made just 2-of-16 field goal attempts and was held to eight points.
And, looking back two weeks ago today, 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, but Minnesota came up two points short of the win. Buford scored 13 first-half points and finished with 15 in the game, while Dockery had her second-straight double-digit game with 12 points, and Kellogg added eight points and eight boards.
For the season, Buford leads the team with an average of 15.4 ppg, with sophomore guard Leah Cotton second at 11.1 ppg. Buford is averaging 16.3 ppg over her past 12 games. Loberg ranks third on the team for both points (8.8 ppg) and rebounds (4.1 rpg), while leading the Gophers with 20 blocked shots (0.9 bpg).
With 41 points over her past three games (13.7 ppg), Mastey has increased her season scoring average to 5.7 points, while adding 3.3 rebounds per outing. Dockery, who was crucial in the win at Michigan after Loberg got in early foul trouble, is averaging 5.2 points and 4.4 rebounds. Voigt leads the Gophers with an average of 6.6 rpg and has grabbed at least eight boards in 11 games this season, while also averaging 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 ranks fifth on the team with an average of 6.7 ppg, while leading the Gophers with 120 assists (4.3 apg), 63 steals (2.3 spg), and ranking second with a .349 (38-of-109) three-point percentage.
Buford Moves Up Scoring List
Junior guard Kiara Buford became the 20th University of Minnesota women's basketball player to reach 1,000 career points, as she finished with 15 points in the loss at Northwestern. Buford added a game-high 21 points in the win at Michigan, giving her 1,028 career points in 89 games, an average of 11.6 ppg.
With her performance at Michigan, Buford jumped to 18th on the all-time scoring list, moving past Elsie Ohm (1,011 points during 1976-79) and Jamie Broback (1,019 points during 2003-06).
And, with just nine points against Michigan State, Buford could jump all the way to 15th on the list. Kadidja Andersson (1,029 points during 2000-04) is currently 17th, while Cara Pearson (1,030 points during 1991-95) is 16th, and Pearson's teammate Shannon Loeblein (1,036 points during 1991-95) is 15th.
Prior to Buford reaching the milestone, 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.
Voigt Collects 500th Rebound
Junior forward Jackie Voigt moved past 500 career points earlier this season, and she's able to check off 500 career rebounds, as her fifth carom at Michigan allowed her to reach the milestone.
Voigt, who leads Minnesota with an average of 6.6 rebounds per game this season, enters the Michigan State game with 502 career boards. For the season, she has 179 rebounds, which is the largest single-season total of her career.
Voigt is still in need of 201 rebounds to crack Minnesota's all-time top 10 in the category, as Marty Dahlem (1979-82) ranks 10th with 703 career caroms.
Scouting Michigan State
The Spartans are in their fourth season under the direction of head coach Suzy Merchant.
Michigan State has clinched its first outright Big Ten title and is ranked 10th nationally by the Associated Press and 8th in the ESPN/USA Today poll with records of 24-4 overall and 12-3 in conference play. The Spartans' wins have come against IPFW (90-62), Dayton (74-62), Detroit (82-42), Western Kentucky (59-51), Richmond (76-52), Florida State (72-64), Texas (71-57), Milwaukee (55-48), Western Michigan (62-50), Iona (85-51), Dartmouth (88-33), Vermont (67-33), Illinois (70-57 and 69-56), Wisconsin (62-43 and 73-70 in ot), Michigan (63-56 and 69-56), Iowa (63-60), Indiana (69-55), Minnesota (66-54), Purdue (76-57), Penn State (60-49), and Northwestern (74-60), with the losses to nationally-ranked Baylor (78-52), Ohio State (67-53 and 54-53), and Iowa (66-64).
Kalisha Keane leads MSU in scoring at 16.1 ppg and has made 58-of-160 treys, while Lykendra Johnson ranks second on the team in scoring (11.7 ppg) and leads the Spartans with 9.1 rpg. Johnson had an incredible game against Ohio State's All-America center Jantel Lavender during Thursday's 54-53 loss to the Buckeyes, as she recorded 16 points, a game-high 17 rebounds, and four blocked shots. Brittney Thomas adds 9.1 ppg and a team-best 83 assists (3.0 apg), while Taylor Alton (6.3 ppg), Porsche Poole (6.0 ppg), and Cetera Washington (5.5 ppg, 6.0 rpg) add to the team's depth.
The Coaches
The University of Minnesota is led by ninth-year head coach Pam Borton (Defiance, 1987), who has a record of 177-106 (.625) at the U of M, and owns a career mark of 246-152 (.618) in her 13th season as a head coach.
Michigan State's Suzy Merchant (Central Michigan, 1991) is in her fourth year as head coach of the Spartans, with a record of 92-39 (.702) at MSU and 293-159 (.648) in her 16th season overall.
Gopher Players vs. Michigan State
Taking a look at Minnesota players' career numbers versus MSU, junior guard Kiara Buford averages 14.8 ppg and has scored in double figures in all five career games versus the Spartans. Buford led the Gophers in the 66-54 loss at the Bresline Center on Jan. 23, making 9-of-18 field goals and 4-of-5 free throws to finish with 24 points.
Senior point guard China Antoine scored eight points and was 2-of-2 from three-point range in her first career game against MSU, last year, but she struggled versus the Spartans earlier this season by making just 1-of-6 field goals (including 0-of-4 treys). Junior forward Jackie Voigt averages 4.2 ppg and 4.4 rpg, but Buford and Voigt are the only players on the team who have played in more than three games against MSU (each with five).
Sophomore forward Katie Loberg had one of the best games of her young career versus Michigan State, with a double-double of 10 points and a career-best 11 rebounds on Feb. 28, 2010, while redshirt freshman center Amber Dvorak also had one of her best performances by finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds, and two steals in January's loss at MSU.
Road Trip
Junior guard Kiara Buford has played really well in the Gophers' Big Ten road games so far this season, combining to make 54-of-120 (.450) field goals and average 17.4 ppg away from Williams Arena.
But she struggled to shoot the ball in four of the Gophers' seven Big Ten games at Williams Arena. In losses to Indiana, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Purdue, Buford combined to make just 8-of-54 (.148) field goals and average just 7.5 ppg.
However, she also made 5-of-11 field goals to finish with 18 points in the 63-58 win versus Northwestern, and followed by making 4-of-9 field goals and scoring 11 points in the 60-50 win versus Michigan.
Two weeks ago today 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 94-of-126 (.746) 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 147-of-352 (.418) field goal attempts and averages 15.4 ppg.
Borton is Minnesota's All-Time Wins Leader
Minnesota head coach Pam Borton has 177 wins on the Golden Gopher sidelines, which ranks first all-time for victories by a women's basketball coach.
Ellen Mosher-Hanson ranks second with 172 wins during her 10-year career (1977-87) at Minnesota, while Linda Hill-MacDonald ranks third with 66 victories during her seven-year tenure (1990-97).
Borton's career winning percentage of .625 is tops among coaches with more than one year at Minnesota.
A Win Would...
Make Minnesota 13-16 overall and 5-11 in the Big Ten ... Make the Gophers 10-7 in Williams Arena this season ... Make the Minnesota-MSU series 35-20 in favor of the Spartans, and improve Pam Borton's record against MSU to 6-12 ... Make Minnesota 189-305 in regular season Big Ten games since the start of the 1982-83 season ... Make Minnesota 278-182 all-time in Williams Arena, including 106-32 in the Pam Borton era... Improve Pam Borton's record to 178-106 while at Minnesota and 247-152 all-time ... Make Minnesota's record 543-564 since the 1971-72 season.
A Loss Would...
Make Minnesota 12-17 overall and 4-12 in the Big Ten ... Make the Gophers 9-8 in Williams Arena this season ... Make the Minnesota-MSU series 36-19 in favor of the Spartans, and drop Pam Borton's record against Michigan State to 5-13 ... Make Minnesota 188-306 in regular season Big Ten games since the start of the 1982-83 season ... Make Minnesota 277-183 all-time in Williams Arena, including 105-33 in the Pam Borton era... Drop Pam Borton's record to 177-107 while at Minnesota and 246-153 all-time ... Make Minnesota's record 542-565 since the 1971-72 season.
On the Horizon
Having concluded the regular season following its game versus MSU, the Gophers will wait to see whether they're seeded ninth or 10th for the upcoming Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis, March 3-6. Minnesota will be the ninth seed, unless Indiana defeats Iowa and the Gophers lose to Michigan State.
