University of Minnesota Athletics
Minnesota Takes Winning Act to the Road
2/3/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
One week ago today, Minnesota was hoping that a return home to Williams Arena would help it put an end to its season-long seven-game losing streak after its 66-54 loss at #12 Michigan State.
The Gophers, of course, were able to snap the streak with a 63-58 win at home versus Northwestern last Thursday. Then, on Sunday afternoon, they made it two wins in a row by defeating first-place Michigan, 60-50, before a season-high crowd of 5,318 at The Barn.
This week, Indiana finds itself in a similar position, as the Hoosiers are returning from a 71-57 road loss at Purdue which extended its season-long losing streak to seven games. So, like Minnesota, Indiana is hopeful that a pair of games versus the Gophers and Wisconsin at Assembly Hall will help to cure its ills.
Minnesota will try to make sure the Hoosiers aren't able to follow the same path, and head coach Pam Borton is hoping the lineup the Gophers have utilized the past three games will continue to find success.
Beginning with the game at MSU, the Gophers' starting lineup has included freshman Kionna Kellogg at the three position, and Kellogg has been a spark for the Gophers. In fact, the 6-foot-1 rookie from Ames, Iowa, is this week's Big Ten Freshman of the Week.
In just her second and third career starts, Kellogg was instrumental in leading the Gophers to the pair of victories. She scored eight points, grabbed 15 rebounds, and blocked two shots in the win versus NU, and followed by tallying eight points with 13 boards and two steals against Michigan. Kellogg's honor marked the first time a Minnesota player had been recognized as the conference's top freshman since the weekly award was initiated at the beginning of the 2009-10 season.
Although Kellogg's performances versus Northwestern and Michigan were keys to the Gophers' success, she wasn't the only player who played well. Sophomore forward Katie Loberg had 19 points and seven rebounds, while junior guard Kiara Buford finished with 18 points and four steals, and junior forward Jackie Voigt registered her fourth career double-double with 10 points and 10 boards versus the Wildcats. Then, Buford and Voigt each scored 11 points and senior point guard China Antoine had 10 points in the win against the Wolverines. Antoine combined to total 10 assists (three turnovers) and six steals in the wins.
Those five players -- Antoine, Buford, Voigt, Loberg, and Kellogg -- have comprised the starting lineup the past three games, and Minnesota's bench has gotten a little shorter, with just sophomore guard Leah Cotton and senior forward Kristen Dockery averaging more than 10 minutes per game over the past two contests. Junior guard Brianna Mastey played just under 10 minutes per game. Freshman center Amber Dvorak and freshman guard Sari Noga have also had some very strong performances in recent games.
Tonight, the Gophers will attempt to split the season series with the Hoosiers, who haven't won since defeating Minnesota, 80-79, in overtime on Jan. 2. In that game, Indiana rallied from a 10-point deficit with 6:00 left in regulation to escape with the one-point victory.
At the time, the Hoosiers were 2-0 in the Big Ten, but Indiana now finds itself in the same situation Minnesota was in one week ago, trying to put an end to a seven-game skid which has dropped it into a ninth-place tie with Minnesota and Illinois in the conference standings at 2-7.
And Minnesota is hopeful that it can extend the Hoosiers' struggles just one more game, and capture a win at Assembly Hall, where it's won four of its past six games against the Hoosiers.
Tonight's game tips off at 6:00 p.m. (CST), and will be streamed live on www.bigtennetwork.com. The game can also be heard 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. The pre-game show begins at 5:30 p.m. (CST).
Notes: Today is sophomore forward Katie Loberg's 20th birthday, and the team helped her celebrate the occasion with some cupcakes here at the hotel in Bloomington . . . Indiana head coach Felisha Legette-Jack, in her fifth season with the Hoosiers, will be coaching her 150th game at IU this evening.
--Athletic Communications Assistant Michael Molde
