University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Gophers vs. New Mexico
12/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Minnesota vs. New Mexico | |
| Date / Time | Wednesday, Dec. 16 | Noon |
| Location | Williams Arena - Directions |
| Tickets | MyGopherSports.com |
| Travel | Local Weather | Parking | Preferred Hotels |
| Live Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | KBEM 88.5 | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | New Mexico |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | New Mexico |
| Social Media | @GopherWBB | Facebook |
| Clips | Pain strengthens Banham's bond to Minnesota (espnW) |
| Gophers blanket Memphis (Pioneer Press) | |
| ICYMI: Banham going out on top (Star Tribune) | |
Minnesota (6-2) will host New Mexico (6-3) in a lunch-hour game at Williams Arena Wednesday, Dec. 16. Here are five things to know before the noon tipoff:
1 Minnesota scoring leader Rachel Banham was selected as the Dec. 14 Big Ten Player of the Week. She scored 23 points and grabbed 10 rebounds against Memphis to earn her second consecutive double-double. Her 13 points in the third quarter helped fuel a Minnesota comeback. The weekly award was the third of Banham's career, and the second by a Gopher this season (Mikayla Bailey, Nov. 16).
2 In the past three games, Carlie Wagner has scored 23, 27 and 21 points. Wagner has five 20-point games so far as a sophomore after recording two her freshman year. Her current scoring average of 20.5 is 8.4 points per game higher than last year's average. She has also increased her rebounding average from 3.6 to 5.9. Wagner has started every game and played the most minutes of any Gopher (averaging 38.9 per game).
3 Banham and Wagner are the No. 2 scoring duo in the nation as of Dec. 13. Banham (24.1 points per game, fifth in the nation and second in the Big Ten behind Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell) and Wagner (20.5) combine to score 44.6 points per contest. Their combined average trails only that of Washington's Kelsey Plum (NCAA-best 28.0 ppg) and Talia Walton, who combine for 47.4 points per game. Banham is the only player in the country to have at least 20 points in each of her team's game so far this season.
4 Minnesota enters the game against the Lobos on a nine-game home winning streak. This mark dates back to the Jan. 28, 2015 win against Penn State. Minnesota is 4-0 at home so far this season and was 13-2 within the confines of Williams Arena in 2014-15.
5 Minnesota scored a season-high 48 points in the paint in the win against Memphis, and 22 of them came in the crucial third quarter that put the Gophers ahead after trailing by eight at halftime. The guard-oriented Gophers similarly scored 46 points in the paint at Kent State (Nov. 24), including 22 in the fourth quarter alone in a comeback win.
Scouting the Lobos
• New Mexico is 6-3 (1-2 on the road), most recently coming off a 60-52 home win against Pepperdine.
• The Gophers and Lobos last met Nov. 30, 2005. Head coach Yvonne Sanchez (2014-15 Mountain West Coach of the Year) was then an assistant coach for UNM as her team won 62-44 in Minneapolis.
• Marlene Stollings faced UNM as a New Mexico State assistant (2001-03) while Sanchez was an assistant at UNM.
• Minneapolis native and Benilde St. Margaret's graduate Khadijah Shumpert leads the Lobos with 14.1 points per game and has two double-doubles this year. She played AAU for North Tartan with several Gophers, and high school ball against several.
• Another Minnesota connection on the Lobos' roster is assistant coach Amy Beggin, who played at UNM after graduating from Roseville Area HS.
• Cherise Benyon, a Mountain West All-Freshman choice last year, is averaging 10.4 ppg. The Lobos returned four starters from their team which advanced to the WBI Second Round last year.
