University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Indiana
Minnesota Rallies to Defeat Hoosiers, 65-59
2/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Minnesota rallied from a nine-point deficit with 7:52 remaining in the game to win its first road game of the season and its third-straight game overall with a 65-59 victory at Indiana on Thursday night.
Junior guard Kiara Buford scored a team-high 16 points, while sophomore forward Katie Loberg added 14 points on her 20th birthday, and senior forward Kristen Dockery scored several critical points for the Gophers down the stretch. Dockery finished with 10 points, all in the second half, to help seal the win.
Minnesota trailed 55-46 at the third media timeout of the second half, but the Gophers then outscored Indiana 19-4 from that point on to win at IU's Assembly Hall for the fifth time in their last seven trips here. The win improved the Gophers to 11-12 overall and 3-7 in the Big Ten.
The victory for the Gophers was very similar to Indiana's 80-79 overtime win at Williams Arena on Jan. 2, in which the Hoosiers rallied from a 10-point deficit with 6:00 left in regulation to escape with a win. But the Hoosiers have now lost eight straight games since that win, and fell to 8-14 overall and 2-8 in the conference.
Loberg got the Gophers off to a quick start by hitting four field goals over the first 8:08, as Minnesota made seven of its first 10 attempts to build a 14-11 lead.
After Indiana scored five straight points to pull in front, 16-14, with 8:37 left in the first half, the Gophers responded by getting three-pointers on successive possessions, the first two from Buford and the third from senior point guard China Antoine to make the score 23-20 in favor of Minnesota with 6:15 remaining.
But Minnesota was held to six points the rest of the half, and Indiana got a pair of treys from Whitney Lindsay and one from Hope Elam over the final 1:16 to take a 32-29 lead into the locker room.
Loberg led the Gophers with 10 first-half points, while Buford had eight. As a team, Minnesota made 11-of-21 (.524) field goal attempts, including 3-of-7 three-pointers. But IU made 5-of-9 first-half trifectas to take its lead at the break.
Indiana opened the second half much like it closed the first, with the Hoosiers making a pair of three-pointers over the first four-plus minutes to stretch their lead to six points, 41-35.
Minnesota closed the gap to 41-40 by holding Indiana scoreless for more than four minutes, with junior guard Brianna Mastey scoring on a baseline jumper and Antoine knocking down a trey.
Indiana then went on a 14-6 run to build its biggest lead at nine points, 55-46, with 7:52 remaining in regulation. But the Gophers answered by going on a 10-0 run over the next 3:55 to take a 57-55 lead on a pair of free throws by Dockery with 3:57 left.
Junior forward Jackie Voigt added nine points, while leading the Gophers with seven rebounds, while Antoine finished with eight points and four assists, and freshman forward Kionna Kellogg had six points and six boards in the win. As a team, Minnesota made 25-of-48 (.521) field goals, including 4-of-8 three-pointers, and 11-of-12 free throws. The Gophers also held a 29-28 advantage in rebounding.
Indiana was led by a game-high 22 points from guard Jori Davis, while Hope Elam and Whitney Lindsay each scored 14 points for the Hoosiers. Indiana made 20-of-49 (.408) field goals, including 8-of-18 (.444) treys, but was just 11-of-17 (.647) at the charity stripe.
The Gophers now have one week to prepare for their next game, at the University of Iowa, next Thursday evening at 8:00 p.m. (CST). That game will be televised live on the Big Ten Network.
