University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Northwestern
Minnesota's Season Ends With Loss to Northwestern
3/4/2011 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. -- Senior guard China Antoine scored a team-high 18 points for Minnesota, but Northwestern was able to fend off the Gophers's second-half rally and pull away late for a 53-44 win in the First Round of the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Gophers trailed by as many as 10 points in the second half, but rallied to pull within one point, 43-42, before the eighth-seeded Wildcats (18-12) used a 10-2 run in the closing minutes to record the nine-point victory. NU advances to face top-seeded Michigan State on Friday at 5:00 p.m. (CST).
Minnesota (12-18) was unable to overcome its worst shooting percentage of the season, as the Gophers made just 15-of-59 (.254) field goals. Antoine was the lone player to reach double figures for the Gophers, while also adding five steals in 40 minutes. Sophomore guard Leah Cotton was the second-leading scorer after coming off the bench for six points. Minnesota's leading scorer this season, junior guard Kiara Buford, was held to just five points.
"I thought it was obviously a battle of defenses tonight," ninth-year Minnesota head coach Pam Borton said. "And a lot of turnovers, a lot of missed shots in the paint. I think we gave ourselves an opportunity to win with our defense and getting ourselves back in the game. At least in the first half and cutting it to one."
The Wildcats were led by a game-high 22 points from Kendall Hackney, while All-Big Ten center Amy Jaeschke added 16 points and 10 rebounds. Northwestern held a 43-37 advantage in rebounding, but the Wildcats didn't shoot the ball much better than the Gophers, making 18-of-50 (.500) attempts.
The combined total of 97 points was the lowest in the 17-year history of the Big Ten Tournament.
Antoine made 7-of-13 field goals (3-of-7 treys), but Minnesota's other starters combined to make just 6-of-35 (.171) field goals in the game. Buford was 2-of-8, while sophomore forward Katie Loberg was 1-of-12 and junior forward Jackie Voigt went 1-of-10. Loberg, who did manage to lead the Gophers with nine rebounds, had entered the contest ranked among the top 15 in the Big Ten for field goal percentage this season.
"I thought our team did a real good job executing down the stretch," Borton said. "We just couldn't put the ball in the basket. I think we got a lot of nice looks inside to our post players. But we have three of our better players having tough nights scoring. It's going to be tough to win."
Northwestern jumped out to an early 6-1 lead on layups from Meshia Reed and Hackney, and then a short jumper by Hackney which followed a free throw by Buford.
Brianna Mastey came off the bench for the Gophers and cut the Wildcats' lead to 6-3 with Minnesota's first field goal of the game, a 15-foot jumper at the 16:22 mark.
But Jaeschke scored her first points on a layup, followed by a fast break layup by Hackney to make it 10-3 with 13:39 left in the half. A little more than two minutes later, Hackney added to her total by making a free throw and then knocking down a trey to give the Wildcats a 14-3 lead.
With the Gophers trailing by 10 points, Antoine got them going by making a three-pointer from the top of the key, then picking off an NU pass and taking it the length of the court for a layup to cut it to 16-8.
Minnesota then closed the half with an 8-2 run over the final eight minutes, 23 seconds. Kionna Kellogg's layup with 4:18 left cut it to 18-12, then Cotton made a pair of free throws to pull the Gophers within four with 3:51 remaining.
Then, with the clock about to expire in the opening half, Kellogg grabbed a missed jumper by Buford and put it back up with her left hand to send the teams into the break with Minnesota trailing by just two points, 18-16.
The Gophers felt fortunate to be so close, after making just 5-of-27 (.185) field goals and committing 11 turnovers. But NU wasn't much better, turning the ball over 15 times, and making 8-of-25 (.320) field goals.
Minnesota opened the second half by tying the score at 20-all on a six-foot pull-up jumper in the lane by Buford, her first field goal of the game, and another steal and layup by Antoine.
Northwestern responded with a 10-0 run, keyed by a three-point play by Jaeschke and a three-pointer by Beth Marshall to stretch its lead back to 30-20 with 13:31 left.
The Gophers then got a layup off an offensive rebound by Loberg, followed by a 14-foot pull-up jumper from the right wing by Antoine to cut it to 30-24. The Wildcats scored to pull back in front by eight, 32-24, but Loberg and Cotton each made a pair of free throws, and Cotton then came up with a steal and a drive for a layup to cut NU's lead to 32-30 with 9:57 remaining.
The teams then traded three-pointers, with Marshall making her second of the half, with Antoine answering for the Gophers. Then, after Jaeschke scored on a layup, Voigt made her only field goal -- a trey from the top of the key to cut the Wildcats' lead to 41-39.
After a pair of free throws by Hackney put Northwestern back up by four points, 43-39, Antoine canned another three-pointer to make it a one point game. But Northwestern closed the game with a 10-2 run to record its first win at the Big Ten Tournament since 2000.
