University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
8-3
NJIT
3-9
Gophers End Non-Conference with 83-50 Win
12/28/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
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Minnesota (8-3) closed its non-conference schedule with an 83-50 victory against NJIT (3-9) on Monday night. Four Gophers scored in double figures and Minnesota tallied a season-high 14 steals.
The Maroon and Gold turned the Highlanders' 20 turnovers into 39 points. The Gophers turned the ball over only eight times. Minnesota also held a 20-4 mark in fast break points, and a 60-39 rebounding advantage.
Rachel Banham led all scorers with 22 points and added eight rebounds, five assists and four steals. She has reached the 20-point threshold in 10 of 11 games this year.
Like Banham, Mikayla Bailey made three 3-pointers. She finished the contest with 14 points and seven rebounds.
Shayne Mullaney turned in a well-rounded game with 10 points, nine rebounds, eight assists and four steals. Carlie Wagner added 12 points, six rebounds and four steals.
Kynadi Johnson and Danielle Garven each scored their first four points as Gophers. Johnson was making her Gophers debut after missing the early part of the season recovering from injury. Freshman Annalese Lamke set a new career high with six points.
The Gophers opened the game on a 13-0 run and led 23-8 at the end of the first quarter, with Jessie Edwards scoring the first five points.
Minnesota poured on 28 points in the second quarter to establish a 51-19 halftime lead. Banham shot 5-for-10 with 15 points in the half, including a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Bailey and Mullaney each had eight points and two 3-pointers before the break. The Gophers outshot the Highlanders 43.5 percent to 28.6 percent in the opening half.
The Gophers again scored 28 in the third quarter to secure an eventual large margin of victory despite NJIT's fourth-quarter run. Ronni Grandison led the Highlanders with 14 points.
The Gophers will open Big Ten play Dec. 31 at Rutgers with noon CT start time. Their first conference home game will be Jan. 3 against Penn State beginning at 2 p.m. For ticket information please visit mygophersports.com or call 1-800-U-GOPHER.
