University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
5-1
College of Charleston
0-6
Gophers Cruise Past Cougars, 74-50
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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| 74 | Box Score | Box Score  | 50 |
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FORT MYERS, FLA. - The University of Minnesota (5-1) women's basketball team used strong second-half performances from freshman Carlie Wagner and junior Kayla Hirt to pick up a 74-50 win against College of Charleston (0-6) Saturday afternoon in the second round of the Gulf Coast Showcase at Germain Arena.
With the victory, the Gophers advance to the fifth-place game against Georgia Tech Sunday at 1:30 p.m. CT. The Yellow Jackets defeated Villanova, 71-63, earlier in the day to earn a spot in the fifth-place contest.
Wagner scored 12 points in the second half and finished the contest with a career-high 17 points to lead a quartet of Gophers in double-digit scoring, while Hirt added nine second-half points and concluded the game with 13 points. Amanda Zahui B. added 10 points and three steals and Shae Kelley contributed 10 points, a team-best 11 rebounds and five assists in the win for her fifth double-double of the year.
After shooting just .355 in the first half, the Gophers connected on 15 of their 29 attempts in the second half to post a .517 field goal percentage. The Maroon and Gold also picked up its rebounding in the final 20 minutes of play
Minnesota jumped out to an early 8-2 lead thanks to four points and three rebounds from Zahui B., but the Cougars used a 6-1 run to make it a one-point game at the 13:14 mark. The Gophers would follow with a 9-1 run to extend its advantage to eight points, capped by a Wagner three-pointer.
College of Charleston continued to hang around, and took its first lead since the opening seconds of the contest with a three-pointer at 3:14, 27-26, but freshman Tory Jacobs answered with a three-pointer of her own to put the Gophers back on top, 29-27. Minnesota would hold on to a two-point lead at halftime, 30-28.
The Maroon and Gold opened the second half with a 13-2 run to go up by 13 points, 43-30, before eventually taking its largest lead of the game, 66-39, with 4:10 to play thanks to 10 second-half points from Wagner and nine second-half points from Hirt.
The closest College of Charleston came to the Gophers midway through the second half was 10 points at 10:21.
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