University of Minnesota Athletics
Wednesday, November 14
Cincinnati, Ohio
6:00 PM
University of Minnesota
2-0
78
at
53
Xavier
2-1
1
2
3
4
F
Minnesota
20
22
20
16
78
Xavier
7
13
12
21
53
Dominant First Quarter Sends Minnesota Past Xavier, 78-53
11/14/2018 9:54:00 PM | Women's Basketball
CINCINNATI, Ohio -- With a dominant first quarter setting the tone, No. 25 Minnesota (2-0) won its road debut Wednesday night at Xavier (2-1), 78-53.
Four players scored in double figures for the Golden Gophers with senior Kenisha Bell leading the way with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior Taiye Bello notched her second double-double in as many games with 11 points and 16 rebounds, which tied a career high. Bello also had 16 rebounds last season at Illinois.
Sophomore Destiny Pitts scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while junior Jasmine Brunson had 11 of her 13 come in the opening half. Pitts pulled down five rebounds, while Brunson added four assists.
The Golden Gophers blew the game open in the first quarter thanks to a 16-2 run over a span of 6:22, turning a 4-3 lead into a 20-7 advantage by the end of the frame. Brunson had six points during the stretch, while Bell and Bello each had four.
A 3-pointer for Xavier cut the Minnesota lead to 22-12 just over two minutes into the second quarter, but that's as close as the Musketeers would get the rest of the way. After the basket, the Golden Gophers embarked on a 16-4 run to push the lead up to 38-17.
Entering halftime, Minnesota led 42-20. Bello had her double-double by the intermission, pouring in 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
A pair of free throws with just over a second remaining in the third quarter gave Minnesota a 30-point edge at 62-32, while the team's largest lead came at 34 points after Bell made two free throws to make it a 75-41 lead with 6:08 to play.
After holding New Hampshire to just 47 points in the season opener and Xavier to 53 points Wednesday, Minnesota has now held consecutive opponents under 60 points for the first time since Dec. of 2015.
Minnesota outrebounded Xavier 46-28 and shot 49.2 percent from the field compared to just 34.4 percent for the Musketeers.
Minnesota is back in action for the first of six straight home games Saturday night against San Diego. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Williams Arena.
Game Notes
Minnesota is now 2-1 all-time against Xavier ... the Gophers have not trailed yet this season ... the Golden Gophers have won six straight road openers ... the team has started 2-0 for the seventh straight season ... Lindsay Whalen is the fifth coach in Gophers history to start her career 2-0 ... Bell now has 1,178 career points at Minnesota, passing Angie Iverson (1,162) for 16th in Minnesota history ... Bello has six career double-doubles, with the Gophers winning all six games ... senior Irene Garrido Perez scored a career-high eight points ... freshman Barbora Tomancova scored her first career points
Four players scored in double figures for the Golden Gophers with senior Kenisha Bell leading the way with 18 points, six rebounds and four assists. Junior Taiye Bello notched her second double-double in as many games with 11 points and 16 rebounds, which tied a career high. Bello also had 16 rebounds last season at Illinois.
Sophomore Destiny Pitts scored 12 of her 14 points in the second half, while junior Jasmine Brunson had 11 of her 13 come in the opening half. Pitts pulled down five rebounds, while Brunson added four assists.
The Golden Gophers blew the game open in the first quarter thanks to a 16-2 run over a span of 6:22, turning a 4-3 lead into a 20-7 advantage by the end of the frame. Brunson had six points during the stretch, while Bell and Bello each had four.
A 3-pointer for Xavier cut the Minnesota lead to 22-12 just over two minutes into the second quarter, but that's as close as the Musketeers would get the rest of the way. After the basket, the Golden Gophers embarked on a 16-4 run to push the lead up to 38-17.
Entering halftime, Minnesota led 42-20. Bello had her double-double by the intermission, pouring in 10 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in the opening 20 minutes.
A pair of free throws with just over a second remaining in the third quarter gave Minnesota a 30-point edge at 62-32, while the team's largest lead came at 34 points after Bell made two free throws to make it a 75-41 lead with 6:08 to play.
After holding New Hampshire to just 47 points in the season opener and Xavier to 53 points Wednesday, Minnesota has now held consecutive opponents under 60 points for the first time since Dec. of 2015.
Minnesota outrebounded Xavier 46-28 and shot 49.2 percent from the field compared to just 34.4 percent for the Musketeers.
Minnesota is back in action for the first of six straight home games Saturday night against San Diego. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Williams Arena.
Game Notes
Minnesota is now 2-1 all-time against Xavier ... the Gophers have not trailed yet this season ... the Golden Gophers have won six straight road openers ... the team has started 2-0 for the seventh straight season ... Lindsay Whalen is the fifth coach in Gophers history to start her career 2-0 ... Bell now has 1,178 career points at Minnesota, passing Angie Iverson (1,162) for 16th in Minnesota history ... Bello has six career double-doubles, with the Gophers winning all six games ... senior Irene Garrido Perez scored a career-high eight points ... freshman Barbora Tomancova scored her first career points
Team Stats
MINN
XU
FG%
.492
.344
3FG%
.313
.286
FT%
.789
.250
RB
46
28
TO
18
16
STL
7
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Pts
14
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
G
/ Women's BasketballF
/ Women's BasketballG
/ Women's Basketball
F
/ Women's BasketballG/F
/ Women's Basketball
F/C
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