University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
10-1
Liberty
6-4
Gophers Defeat Liberty, 74-60
12/20/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
 |
|  | |||||||||||||
| 74 | Box Score | Box Score  |  Photo Gallery | 60 |
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dec. 20, 2014
MINNEAPOLIS - The University of Minnesota (10-1) women's basketball team had five players score in double figures as it defeated Liberty (6-4), 74-60, Saturday afternoon at Williams Arena on the first day of the Subway Classic.
Amanda Zahui B. paced the Golden Gophers with 17 points and 13 rebounds for her seventh double-double of the season, while Shae Kelley added 16 points and Mikayla Bailey, Shayne Mullaney and Carlie Wagner contributed 11 points apiece.
After shooting just .345 in the first half, Minnesota put together a strong second half to secure the victory. As a team, the Gophers posted a .542 (13-24) field goal percentage in the second half of play, which included a .500 percentage from beyond the arch. The Maroon and Gold finished the contest with 50 rebounds to the Flames' 38 and took 30 trips to the free throw line, compared to just eight free throw attempts by the visitors.
The Gophers took an early nine-point lead, 13-4, thanks to six points from Kelley and five points from Wagner, but the Flames closed the gap to one point, 20-19, on a 15-7 run. Minnesota would put together a run of its own to extend its lead back to seven points with 6:35 to play in the first half. The Maroon and Gold would maintain at least a two-point lead through the remainder of the first stanza and headed into the locker room with a six-point advantage, 34-28.
Kelley led all scorers in the first half with 11 points, while Zahui and Wagner added eight and seven points, respectively. Zahui led the Gophers with eight rebounds, with Wagner and Kelley adding four apiece.
The Gopher shot .345 (10-29) through the first 20 minutes of play, while holding Liberty to just .300 (12-40) shooting from the floor, and out-rebounded the Flames, 30-20.
The Maroon and Gold started the second half on a 12-0 run, which included six points from Bailey, to take a 46-28 lead just three minutes into the second half of play. The Gophers would take a 19-point lead, its largest of the contest, on a basket from Zahui at 6:33 and would maintain a double-digit advantage throughout the remainder of the contest.
Minnesota closes out play in the Subway Classic against Central Michigan Sunday at 2:30 p.m. at Williams Arena.
-UM-
