University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
4-1
Georgia
4-1
Gophers Fall in Tight Game vs. Georgia
11/24/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Box Score 
Minnesota rallied from a double-digit deficit to take the lead late before falling 70-58 to Georgia. The Thursday afternoon game in Bimini, Bahamas, was the Golden Gophers' first of two games in the Junkanoo Jam, and their first loss of the season. Minnesota (4-1) will play North Carolina on Friday. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. CT.
Kenisha Bell scored 20 points to lead the Gophers, including 16 in the second half. Gadiva Hubbard had 16 and Carlie Wagner 14. Bell shot 8-for-8 from the free throw line during the Gophers' second-half comeback bid.
The Gophers trailed by 12 at halftime, then trimmed it to five going into the fourth quarter. They took a 52-51 lead on a Wagner three-point play with about six minutes left in the game. A few possessions later, it was knotted at 54, but Georgia (4-1) closed the game on a 16-4 run.
Minnesota had two more rebounds than the Bulldogs with 47, but Georgia shot 42.2 percent to the Gophers' 27.1. The 3-point shot was not a major factor for either team, with the Maroon and Gold going 3-of-21 and UGA going 4-of-14.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Minnesota grabbed an early 7-2 lead before Georgia went on a run to go up 8-7. The Gophers held a 17-14 advantage at the end of the period. Wagner had seven points in the first. She and Hubbard each drained a 3-pointer in the opening quarter.
Second Quarter: Led by Caliya Robinson, who scored 30 points in the game, Georgia shot 10-for-14 in the second to take a 36-24 halftime lead.
Third Quarter: Minnesota opened the third on a 12-2 run to get within four points of the Bulldogs, and trailed 47-42 heading into the fourth. Hubbard and Jessie Edwards each scored through contact to start the quarter.
Fourth Quarter: Wagner's three-point play with about six minutes remaining gave Minnesota its first lead since the first half, 52-51. Georgia answered with a 3-pointer, then Hubbard scored to tie it at 54. From there the Gophers were not able to regain the lead.
MORE NOTES
*Bell notched her second 20-point game of the season. She is the first Gopher other than Wagner to lead the team in scoring in a game this year.
*Bell, the team's assists leader, tallied five on Thursday.
*Wagner has scored in double figures in all five games this year, and in 39 consecutive games overall.
*Minnesota has started each of the past three seasons 4-0 under Marlene Stollings, the first time in program history the Gophers have done so three times in a row.
