University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
Iowa
Gophers Drop Season Finale at Iowa, 92-76
3/1/2015 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
IOWA CITY, Iowa -The University of Minnesota (22-8, 11-7) women's basketball team got a combined 51 points and 33 rebounds from Shae Kelley and Amanda Zahui B. in a 92-76 regualr-season finale loss at No. 17/16 Iowa (23-6, 14-4) Sunday afternoon at Carver Hawkeye Arena. The Gophers earned the No. 6 seed for the Big Ten Tournament next week in Hoffman Estates, Ill., and will face the winner of No. 11 seed Wisconsin and No. 14 seed Purdue Thursday night at approximately 8:30 p.m. CT.
Kelley led the Maroon and Gold with 29 points and 12 rebounds for her 13th double-double of the season, while Amanda Zahui B. finished the contest with her third 20-20 game of the year and 21st double-double with 22 points, 21 rebounds and seven blocks. Shayne Mullaney notched her sixth double-digit assist performance of the season with 11 assists to go along with eight points.
Minnesota out-rebounded the Hawkeyes, 48-34, which included a 21-12 advantage on the offensive glass, but Iowa connected on 13 three-point field goals to just four for the Gophers, who finished with a .437 (31-71) field goal percentage.
The home team started the game hot, putting the Gophers behind by 13 points, 15-2, just five minutes into the start of action. Minnesota used a 10-0 run, which included five points from Kelley, to cut the Hawkeyes' lead to just three points, 15-12, before a 14-10 run by the Gophers, capped by a three-point play by Mullaney, gave the visitors their first lead of the contest, 26-25, with 7:24 remaining in the half.
A layup from Kelley extended Minnesota's lead to three points, but Iowa used a 17-9 run to take a 42-37 advantage into halftime.
Kelley and Zahui B. combined to score 22 points in the paint for the Maroon and Gold with Kelley finishing the half with 14 points and seven rebounds and Zahui B. adding eight points and 11 rebounds. The Gophers shot .395 (15-38) from the field, but only connected on two three-pointers compared to six treys for Iowa.
Minnesota kept it close in the opening minutes of the second half, as they cut Iowa's lead to just two points, 46-44, following a three-point play from Kelley, but the Hawkeyes used a 10-0 run to extend their lead to 12 points, 56-44, with 12:50 remaining in the game.
The Gophers closed the gap to five points at the 10:53 mark, but would not be able to come any closer as time expired.
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