University of Minnesota Athletics
University of Minnesota
6-0
Wake Forest
2-3
Minnesota Ties Program's Third-Best Start Ever
11/25/2017 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
The Golden Gophers beat Wake Forest 93-81 in their first game of the Lady Rebel Round-Up in Las Vegas. The win brought Minnesota's record to 6-0, tying the third-best start in program history set 10 years ago. The Maroon and Gold will face UNLV at 4:30 p.m. CT Sunday for the tournament championship. A video stream will be available at unlvrebels.com, and the radio broadcast will be carried by ALT 93.3 FM and iHeartRadio.
Gadiva Hubbard led the team with a season-high 25 points. Kenisha Bell scored 23 points and distributed nine assists. Destiny Pitts notched her third double-double with 18 points and 13 rebounds, and Carlie Wagner added 16 points.
Minnesota shot 47.5 percent, including 43.5 percent behind the 3-point arc. Pitts made four of those 3-pointers, and Hubbard three. The Demon Deacons (2-3) also made 10 triples, and briefly led the game a few times, but the Gophers never trailed after a big run to end the third and start the fourth. The Maroon and Gold outrebounded Wake Forest 41-38 and scored 28 fast break points.
Ariel Stephenson made five 3-pointers and led Wake with 20 points. The Demon Deacons had five players in double figures.
HOW IT HAPPENED
First Quarter: Pitts came out firing, hitting her first three 3-point attempts. Wake Forest also made some long-range shots, but Minnesota added free throws and transition layups to jump ahead. Bell and Wagner each had six points, including a Wagner basket at the buzzer to make it 30-20.
Second Quarter: The Demon Deacons briefly overtook the Gophers, 39-37 at the 3:10 mark, but Bell made a free throw and a 3-pointer to go back up 41-39. Hubbard and Wagner scored Minnesota's next six points and the Maroon and Gold led 47-41 at the break. Both teams shot 46.9 percent in the first half. Bell had 14 points and Pitts had 12 in the first 20 minutes.
Third Quarter: After falling behind 58-56, the Gophers ended the third quarter on a 13-2 run for a 69-60 lead. The run include a 3-pointer by Wagner, two field goals by Bell and five Minnesota free throws.
Fourth Quarter: Wake Forest made 3-pointers to stay within range, but the Gophers answered with a handful of triples of their own. Pitts, Hubbard and Wagner all made 3-pointers to boost the lead to 88-75. The Gophers continued to draw fouls and hold off the Deacons.
MORE NOTES
*Pitts has three double-doubles in the first six games of her college career. She has five double-digit rebounding games.
*Wagner moved into third place by herself on the Gophers' career 3-pointer list. She has 218, moving ahead of Lindsay Lieser (1999-03). Wagner is now behind only Rachel Banham (354) and Shannon Schonrock (230).
