University of Minnesota Athletics
Game Preview: Gophers at Northwestern
2/5/2016 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
| Minnesota at Northwestern | |
| Date / Time | Sunday, Feb. 7 | 2 p.m. |
| Location | Welsh-Ryan Arena | Evanston, Ill. |
| Live Video | BTN Plus |
| Radio | 1500 ESPN | Listen Online |
| Live Stats | Click here |
| Official Sites | Minnesota | Northwestern |
| Game Notes | Minnesota | Northwestern |
| Social Media | @GopherWBB | Facebook |
| Clips | Outside the Paint with Karley Barnes (GopherSports) |
| Rutgers recaps: Star Tribune | Pioneer Press | |
The Golden Gophers (15-7, 7-4 Big Ten) will look for a road win at Northwestern (14-9, 3-8 Big Ten) on Sunday. The teams' second meeting of the year will begin at 2 p.m. and will air on BTN. Here are five notes to know before tipoff:
1 Minnesota won the first meeting this season with then-No. 20 Northwestern, 95-92, in Minneapolis. Rachel Banham and the Wildcats' Nia Coffey led their teams with 32 and 27 points, respectively. Minnesota led by 11 at halftime before the Wildcats clawed back to keep it close. Minnesota capitalized on seven of its eight free throws in the final 40 seconds to seal the win. The Gophers' last win in Evanston came on Feb. 15, 2014, as Northwestern won the 2015 matchup.
2 Banham and Carlie Wagner are the No. 1 scoring duo in the nation as of Feb. 4. Banham (24.3 points per game, fifth in the nation, second in Big Ten behind Ohio State's Kelsey Mitchell) and Wagner (19.3 ppg, 38th nationally, seventh in Big Ten) combine to score 43.5 ppg. The Minnesota duo is ahead of Ohio State's Mitchell and Ameryst Alston (43.1) and Kelsey Plum and Talia Walton from Washington (43.2). In 11 games this season, both Banham and Wagner have scored 20 or more points. They have a combined 32 20-point games this year, and a combined 86 in their careers. Both have scored in double figures every game this season.
3 Banham, the Gophers' all-time leading scorer and No. 2 in the Big Ten, passed the 2,700-point mark during the Rutgers game. She now ranks 28th in NCAA history, ahead of current Minnesota Lynx and former LSU star Seimone Augustus. Banham is on a 10-game streak of 20-point games. The streak started Jan. 3 with 20 points in win against Penn State.
4 Thursday's win against Rutgers moved Minnesota's record when outrebounding its opponents to 11-1 overall and 4-1 in Big Ten play. The Gophers' only loss when winning the battle of the boards had come against the Scarlet Knights earlier in the season.
5 Minnesota's bench has outscored that of its opponent in five consecutive games. One of the main reasons for this is guard Shayne Mullaney. Coming off the bench for most of conference play, she is averaging 12.2 points per game during Big Ten season. She has six straight games in double figures. Joanna Hedstrom provided a career-high 18 points off the bench at Michigan (including five 3-pointers) and added 11 points against Rutgers.
Scouting the Wildcats
• Northwestern is 14-9 (3-8 Big Ten) after snapping a five-game losing streak with a 69-59 win at Illinois. Since playing at Minnesota, the Wildcats have also faced Indiana, Ohio State and Iowa.
• The Wildcats' Nia Coffey has 13 double-doubles this year, averaging a team-high 20.0 points and 10.5 rebounds. She has 41 blocks in 23 games.
• Maggie Lyon (16.1), Christen Inman (15.1) and Ashley Deary (13.0) also score in double figures for Northwestern. Lyon is the Wildcats' biggest 3-point threat, with 53 triples on the season.
• Deary leads the nation with 4.43 steals per game. She is second in the Big Ten with 6.6 assists per game.
Looking Ahead
• Rachel Banham will be the featured Gopher for the game against Nebraska on Feb. 11.
• Minnesota's "pink game" to Box Out Breast Cancer will be against Iowa on Feb. 15.
